AUDIOBOOK REVIEW

          Twain, Mark.  _The Diaries of Adam and Eve_ Fair Oaks press,
          Limited Edition.  Read by Mandy Patinkin and Betty Buckley,
          narrated by Walter Cronkite.  Recorded at Corelli/Jacobs
          (New York City) and Hyde Street Studios (San Francisco).
          Music by Lester Seigel. Produced by Don Roberts.

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Reviewed for the Mark Twain Forum by:

          Wesley Britton
          Harrisburg Area Community College
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Copyright (c) 1999 Mark Twain Forum.  This review may not be
published or redistributed in any medium without permission.


Scheduled to come out in September 1999, this new Mark Twain artifact is
likely to be on every Twainians Xmas wishlist.  While not an indispensable
addition to scholarly libraries, how can any lover of Twain resist adding
this two-CD set to their collection?  After the release of Hal Holbrook's
long awaited _Mark Twain Tonight_ video earlier this year, _The Diaries of
Adam and Eve_
Is the most interesting media release of 1999.  (For entertainment purposes
that is, excluding CD-ROMs for more educational intent.)

The best aspect of this set is the content itself, of course, which follows
the text of Fair Oaks' own 1997 expanded edition with excerpts from the 1897
British edition of "Adam's Diary."  Weaving together all the relevant words
Twain placed in the mouths of our mythological
great-great-great-great-great-etc. grandparents, the recorded reading time
runs just over two hours and thus makes for an evening of enjoyable, well
put together listening.  (Disc One runs approximately 61 minutes, Disc Two
about 64.  Disc 1 covers Eve's birth to the fall; Disc 2 contains the
material after the eviction notice.)

It is important to point out that this is an audio reading and not a
dramatic presentation.  Despite the considerable talents of both Mandy
Petinkin and Betty Buckley, Adam and Eve respectively, little attempt was
made to have them "act" their parts.  Instead, each reads their passages
often with little inflection or nuance, which may strike some listeners as a
very dry approach.  Warmth and enthusiasm is provided in the voice of Walter
Cronkite who reads a short introduction and the brief narrative seques, as
well as delivering an extended conclusion emphasizing the relationship
between Sam and Livy Clemens.  This conclusion is a real bonus to the
package, including passages from letters between the Clemens', the models
for Twain's Edenic couple.  The Cronkite passages both frame and provide
context for the reading, adding insights into the drafting and publication
history of the manuscripts. Lester Seigel's occasional incidental music
helps create mood and ambiance and provides breaks in the long reading, but
the major characters themselves were clearly directed to largely let the
text speak for itself. Of the two principal readers, Buckly seems to be
enjoying herself in her aural portrayal.  She is girlish, whimsical, and
wry.  To my ears-and this is no doubt only personal taste-Adam seems tired
and wooden, reciting words of a character rather than from within the
character.  I concede this is an arguable point, and by no means should this
opinion discourage anyone from deciding for themselves how they like
Patinkin's interpretation.

With the advent of audiobooks now available on Compact disc, new formats
bring both new advantages and sometimes discouraging disadvantages.  The
primary advantage is durability as CDs rarely have the fatal conflicts
cassette tapes occasionally have with hungry players.  In addition, CDs can
be enjoyed on home or car stereos, whether CD or DVD machines, and on most
modern computers as well.  But one inconvenience is that it is difficult, on
most players, to return to where you left off unless you luckily stop
reading at the end of a chapter.  Otherwise, when you return to the book,
the reader will have to reread possibly lengthy passages before catching up
to the last point of reading.  This also makes it difficult to find specific
quotes or passages, so if an instructor would like to record particular
sections for classroom use, some patience is likely to be required.  For
example, Disc 2 has six chapters, meaning each is approximately ten minutes.
Fortunately, each is indicated by musical interludes which can signal the
reader running out of time.  My personal equipment does not have a "Pause"
button, which makes incoming phone calls a major disruption.  My DVD player
did not like this disc, but then again it has previously rejected Bob Segar
and John Lennon bootleg CDs.  So I cannot give an adequate judgement of the
sound quality as my computer player is blessed with low budget speakers
which sounded fine in some sections, overdriven in others.  I presume the
fault is in my equipment, not the product itself.

Before this offering, the best dramatizations of the Adam and Eve characters
include in the claymation Adventures of Mark Twain which featured a comic
Adam and self-assured Eve in a pastiche of Twain works.  David Birney also
produced an excellent rendition with his then wife, Meredith Baxter-Birney,
but this stage show is not readily available on video and does not include
much of the material here.  So this new production is not only a welcome
addition to Twain media libraries, hopefully it is a harbinger of things to
come.