Under the Volcano

John Lee's evocative reading of Lowry's classic tale of delusion and drunkenness admirably explicates the stream-of-consciousness narrative and steers the shifts of perspective in this portrait of hopelessness on the eve of WWII. Lee's seamless transitions from English to Spanish to bits of French and German, coupled with his ability to mimic the upper-class English speech of Geoffrey and Hugh Firmin, the protagonist and his brother, make this a remarkable listening experience. Death hangs over the Mexican landscape like a shroud, and this audiobook evokes the magic and mystery, hope and despair of three intersecting characters--the brothers Firmin and Geoffrey's former wife, an American film star named Yvonne--on the Day of the Dead in Mexico in 1938. A.D.M. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine


Spying this title on a store shelf, one would hope that the mesmerizing Albert Finney, who appeared in John Houston's 1984 film version, had done the narration honors. Who else could muster and sustain the sweaty, poetic intensity befitting this extraordinary, beautifully written, teeth-gnashing novel? Set in Mexico on the eve of WWII, the story tells of a man in extremis, an alcoholic consul bursting with regret, longing, resentment and remorse, whose climactic moment rapidly approaches. Nick Ullett is no Finney, but he comes satisfyingly close. His energy fails him at times; he has difficulty negotiating some of the straggling phrases, but, otherwise, he acquits himself with distinction, particularly in conveying the sub-text and atmosphere. Y.R. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine