Hard Light

This collection by Newfoundland poet and fiction writer Michael Crummey was published in book form in 1998, but it feels more comfortable as an audio because it's grounded in an oral tradition. These brief stories--most just two or three minutes long--are based on tales Crummey heard from friends and family, particularly his late father. The two narrators have contrasting styles that work well together--Ron Hynes's salty male voice describes daily life, such as "making the fish" (processing cod), while Deidre Gillard-Rowlings's animated female voice relates the more colorful stories of youthful misadventures. Like a great family story, HARD LIGHT can be heard in one sitting but gets better with repeated listening. D.B. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine