Night and Day

Listeners will enjoy a vivid depiction of Edwardian society in this novel, which deals with the period's fixed attitudes about the roles of women and marriage. The principals are Mary Datchet, an independent woman who works in an office and supports the women's suffrage movement, and Katharine Hilbery, the only daughter of an estimable English family. Narrator Juliet Stevenson has a soft, leisurely tone that smoothly transitions from the thoughts to the voices of the characters. She captures Woolf's brilliance for realistic dialogue and interpersonal confusion: The two male characters, William Rodney and Ralph Denham, are emphatic yet often awkward. Katharine Hilbery's removed way of speaking characterizes her wandering thoughts. Stevenson's reading is a delightful complement to Woolf's prose, highlighting its diction and musicality. D.M.W. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

Insightful yet fun, Woolf's story depicts the dance of romance between couples and a young woman's struggle for identity through mind and heart. Sardonic wit and humor earmark the works of Virginia Woolf; Night and Day with its bright characters is no exception. Flo Gibson, however, seems to miss the mark in its presentation. Although the characters are competently portrayed, Gibson glosses over the ironic humor underlying the text, leaving the reading stilted and dry. Poor pacing also contributes to the mediocrity of this presentation. Gibson's painstakingly slow consistency doesn't reflect Woolf's complex lingerings and accelerations. Because of this, the book drags in places it shouldn't. Rife with potential, Night and Day is a good choice for audio, but this particular performance doesn't do it justice. J.S.G. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine