Kids

I eagerly purchased this audiobook of T. H. White???s complete The Once and Future King, because for a long time Audible only had the individual books available. And I loved the first four books, which begin with the halcyon fantasy of The Sword in the Stone, in which the boy Arthur (???Wart???) is educated by an anachronistic Merlyn. The scenes describing the daily life of a medieval castle during different seasons are vivid and beautiful, while those recounting Wart???s fantastic adventures and transformations into various animals are imaginative, suspenseful, and humorous. White loved and respected flora and fauna (even snakes), and this first book is encyclopedic and fantastic, dense and rich, absorbing and moving.

From the second book, The Queen of Air and Darkness, which opens in the cold north as Queen Morgause boils a black cat alive while her four sons are telling the story of their grandmother???s rape by Arthur???s father, begins the increasingly dark movement of the novel, centered on the tragedy caused by Arthur???s family history and the romantic triangle between himself, Guenevere, and Lancelot (The Ill-Made Knight). In the 2nd through 4th books White most closely follows Malory, though he also moves the era forward from the 11th to the 15th century and empathically imagines how medieval men and women felt and thought with modern psychological insight. At the same time, he writes plenty of joie de vivre, questing and combating knights, and fascinating details about medieval life (food, fashion, feudalism, etc.).

The novel really concludes with the 4th book (The Candle in the Wind) as the last battle between Arthur and Mordred is about to begin, but this audiobook then adds The Book of Merlyn, which may be good for completists, but which I found disappointing, as on the eve of the last battle Merlyn takes his former pupil off for a night of anachronistic political and philosophical debate with Badger and company about why humans wage war and what might be done to prevent it. Apart from Arthur changing into an ant and a goose to experience two different social systems, there is little ???story??? in this last book: too little Arthurian Matter and too much Whiteian Musing.

Jason Neville does a marvelous job reading the long work, effortlessly giving different characters distinctive voices and personalities without over doing it (so that, for example, his female characters sound like human beings rather than like a man imitating ???women???). And his King Pellinore reminds me of John Gielgud.

I recommend this audiobook for anyone interested in the Matter of Britain or philosophical and well-written fantasy.

Which is more impressive in this audiobook, the fairy tales of Oscar Wilde or the readings of them by the assembled famous British actors? At their best, Wilde's stories are exquisitely beautiful and painful and reveal deep understanding of the tragedy of the human condition (mortality, inequality, prejudice, selfishness, and hatred), as well as its transcendence through generosity, self-sacrifice, beauty, faith, and love. The readers are perfect, with wise, compassionate, and flexible voices and deep understanding of each word they say and of each scene they depict.

Special highlights are Dame Judi Dench reading "The Nightingale and the Rose" so full of wit and emotion, Jeremy Irons reading "The Devoted Friend" with a surprisingly wide range of voices for different characters, Joanna Lumley reading "The Star Child" and moving me to tears, and Robert Harris reading "The Happy Prince" and moving me to tears, too, especially whenever he says, "Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow." Sir Derek Jacobi reading "The Fisherman and His Soul," Sinead Cusack reading "The Birthday of the Infanta," and Sir Donald Sinden reading "The Selfish Giant" all do fine jobs with fine tales.

The only dud (forgive the pun) is "The Remarkable Rocket," which, despite Geoffrey Palmer's excellent reading and despite the interesting concept (sentient fireworks talking about their upcoming royal display) is finally a mediocre joke that long overstays its welcome. The only disappointment is that the cover art says that there is a bonus track of "The Actress" read by Elaine Stritch, but it's absent from the audiobook.

Anyway, I highly recommend this excellent audiobook.

Listening to Peter Pan read by Christopher Cazenove was a delightful and moving experience, a story of exuberant childlike imagination (in which the line between make-believe play and real adventure is blurry) with an undercurrent of painful adult loss. One moment we are laughing at the pathetic pirate Smee, the unlucky Lost Boy Tootles, the conflicted Captain Hook (who can never resolve the dilemma of ???good form???), or the playful narrator (who likes to hint at doom on the horizon or to remind us that we are after all only spectators), the next moment we are sighing at the sadness of Peter Pan???s existence or at the inevitability of maturity and mortality. Wendy and Peter playing at being and almost becoming the parents of the Lost Boys is affectingly humorous and sad, because it is not quite the real thing and because it cannot continue.

Christopher Cazenove???s reading of the book is flawless and engaging (just as is his reading of Howard Pyle???s The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood). He doesn???t need to change his voice dramatically to represent different characters, because his emotional engagement with them is so affecting.

I love Barrie???s fusion of ideal (joyful innocent play) and real (heartless selfishness and forgetfulness) childhood. He channeled his conflicting feelings for children, childhood, parents, and adulthood into a charming and moving classic. If you???ve only ever seen the Disney version of the story, or if you???ve never experienced Peter Pan in any form, I highly recommend this audiobook version of it. I know that I???ll listen to this book again many times.