Alice Adams (1922) - Booth Tarkington

Written by Booth Tarkington
Read by Traci Svendsgaard
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps

Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Release date: July 7, 2008
Duration: 08:09:30

Plucky and romantic Alice tries to rise above the crudities of her hopelessly shabby background in this Pulitzer Prize–winning classic about ambition and self-delusion.

The lower-middle class Adams family faces a slow disintegration in a small Midwestern town. Alice, a social climber, is ashamed of her unsuccessful family and determined to distinguish herself. Lacking the social props she needs to shine in society, Alice attends a dance and lies about her background, hoping to attract a wealthy husband. But in the end, her high aspirations must be tempered by the reality of her situation.

Alice Adams’ resiliency of spirit makes her one of Tarkington’s most compelling female characters.

The book is not well read by the narrator “…For no discernible reason, she plays the characters with exaggerated Southern country yokel accents, such that “well” becomes “way-ell,” and so forth. Flirty Alice is a complex character, but she’s presented here like a music hall ingénue with a most irritating wheedle to her voice. The story wins over the performance, but it could have been better served.”—Audio File

P.S.-Unfortunately, this is the only recording made of this book.