The Manor

English, Yiddish (translation)

This is the story, perhaps even the saga, of a Jewish family in nineteenth-century Poland. In it are reflected many of the large movements of the time. Singer's writing is a relentless staccato of short, declarative sentences. Noah Waterman makes the worst of them by reading at a breathless, enervating speed with minimal inflection; however, his diction is amazingly clear. But this is a reading, not a performance. Those who believe that an audiobook should have minimal interpretative intervention from the reader may find this a model production. Those who enjoy oral performance are more likely to be disappointed. Waterman's particular skill and style would be more at home in nonfiction. J.N. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine