The Garden Party

With the timing and phrasing of a musician, Marguerite Gavin narrates this last-published, collection of Katherine Mansfield's short stories. Gavin has a lovely singing voice that particuarly enhances one of the stories about a singing teacher. She generally reads with a great deal of enthusiasm and expression. Her characterization is adequate although the lower register voices are strained. Her accents also sound a bit affected, but that may also be a reflection, in part, of the manners of the time period represented. It would be helpful to the listener of this collection of 15 stories if the individual titles were listed on the package. In addition, the reader was misidentified on the review copy. J.E.M. (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine

August 1, 1999
The Garden Party is the last volume of short stories published before this New Zealand author's untimely death from tuberculosis at age 35. These 15 stories are typical Mansfield slice-of-life glimpses into human relationships: parent-child, wife-husband, friend-friend, all recognizable, all vivid in their gentleness and sensitivity. Marguerite Gavin reads in a light, American-accented, rather uninspired way, but her voices are marvelous; presenting British accents of every description from cockney to Queen, with clear delineation between characters male and female, is a skill especially important in these character-driven tales. Her sound effects (birdcalls, running water, etc.) are perfect, and she sings in such a lovely clear soprano that the listener wishes there were more songs in the stories. The short story format is often a favorite with listeners who hesitate to commit to hours and hours of the same work. Mansfield belongs in all fiction collections; highly recommended.--Harriet Edwards, East Meadow P.L., NY

Copyright 1999 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.