The Captain's Verses

An audiobook may not be the best way to experience these love poems. Each one is gorgeous--and so gorgeously read by Armando Duran that the listener may want to stop after one or two and think about them, rather than moving straight through the collection. Neruda is the definitive Spanish-language poet of the twentieth century, and his love poems hold a place comparable to Shakespeare's sonnets in the English-speaking world. Duran seems to be channeling the poet, carrying us from the first burst of carnal love to Neruda's other passion, revolutionary politics. This is a production to be savored like a fine cognac. D.M.H. � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine