The Woodlanders

The vicissitudes of life found in most Hardy novels, THE WOODLANDERS very much included, wear down characters; fate is, if not malevolent about, at least indifferent to, the hopes of his protagonists. In this novel four lovers' lives intersect in ways that compel listeners onward, even as they accurately suspect that bad things are likely to happen to all of these people. Also compelling is the magnificent narration by Samuel West. He renders the speech of Hardy's rural folk with significant and consistent attention to their different education and status, their longings and sorrows, their few victories and many defeats; he is involved in their stories. Further, West makes Hardy's sometimes convoluted prose highly accessible and gives it the profundity it clearly merits. A tour de force, this, a narration wondrous to hear, an outstanding book outstandingly read. T. H. (c) AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine