THE BIG LOVE
Sarah Dunn, , read by Eliza Foss. . HighBridge Audio, $29.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-1-56511-859-1
When Alison Hopkins's live-in boyfriend, Tom, leaves mid-dinner party to buy mustard and then calls to say he's never coming back, she doesn't know who to blame: Tom, for falling back in love with his old girlfriend Kate Pearce; Kate, for clouding his mind with her seductive charms; or herself, for being a lapsed Evangelist Christian living, as her mother would say, "in sin." So Alison decides to distribute the blame, reserving a large portion for herself. It's hard not to sympathize with Alison as she struggles to salvage her life and her column-writing career, but Foss's exaggerated narration doesn't do this funny, insightful and mildly neurotic protagonist justice. Foss's robust voice cycles from nearly inaudible to ear-ringingly loud. Although she sometimes uses different inflections to convey Alison's emotions, she more often uses volume, which will frustrate listeners who don't want to keep their fingers trained on the volume control. Foss also struggles with her male impersonations; curiously, all her male characters come off sounding like they have head colds. Although Dunn's tale possesses both wit and charm, this audio adaptation would have benefited from a subtler treatment.
Reviewed on: 08/02/2004
Genre: Audio
Analog Audio Cassette - 978-1-56511-858-4
Compact Disc - 978-1-6651-8427-4
Hardcover - 240 pages - 978-0-316-73815-6
MP3 CD - 978-1-6651-8426-7
Open Ebook - 119 pages - 978-0-316-14485-8
Open Ebook - 978-0-7595-1188-0
Open Ebook - 978-0-7595-1186-6
Other - 1 pages - 978-1-59887-242-2
Other - 978-0-316-01990-3
Other - 978-0-7595-1189-7
Paperback - 256 pages - 978-0-316-01078-8
Peanut Press/Palm Reader - 978-0-7595-1187-3
Pre-Recorded Audio Player - 1 pages - 978-1-59895-542-2
