Gr 7 Up-Jonathan Swift's satirical novel was first published in 1726, yet it is still valid today. Gulliver's Travels describes the four fantastic voyages of Lemuel Gulliver, a kindly ship's surgeon. Swift portrays him as an observer, a reporter, and a victim of circumstance. His travels take him to Lilliput where he is a giant observing tiny people. In Brobdingnag, the tables are reversed and he is the tiny person in a land of giants where he is exhibited as a curiosity at markets and fairs. The flying island of Laputa is the scene of his next voyage. The people plan and plot as their country lies in ruins. It is a world of illusion and distorted values. The fourth and final voyage takes him to the home of the Houyhnhnms, gentle horses who rule the land. He also encounters Yahoos, filthy bestial creatures who resemble humans. The story is read by British actor Martin Shaw with impeccable diction and clarity and great inflection. If broken into short listening segments, the tapes are an excellent tool for presenting an abridged version of Gulliver's Travels.-Jean Deck, Lambuth University, Jackson, TNCopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Edward Leeson's abridgment preserves the high points of Swift's classic while seamlessly removing repetitive or tangential material. Martin Shaw's narration is smooth and intelligent; he delivers Swift's ridiculous words smoothly. Shaw speaks in Swift's invented languages as a trained actor, moving in and out of outlandish characters evocatively. However, his narration is too even and lacks any sense of threat or emotional upset. When Gulliver is tied to the ground by the Lilliputians, or longs for the company of the horse-like Houyhnhnms, Shaw sounds as relaxed as he did when talking about Gulliver's dinner. This removes the edge from a social satire that should be truly cutting. G.T.B. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
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