To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (2006, Unabridged, Compact Disc)

Caedmon’s eagerly awaited publication of a much-loved modern classic is a must for any serious audiobook collection. A poignant and powerful coming of age tale set in the 1930s in the racially divided South, the novel won a Pulitzer Prize and made its protagonist, lawyer Atticus Finch, into one of American literature’s most highly regarded role models and his children, Jem and “Scout,” their imaginative sidekick, Dill, and their infamous neighbor, “Boo” Radley, into old friends. Caedmon treats this novel with the respect it deserves: its packaging is understated but arresting in muted fall colors; its disks are a pale lime green; sleeves are imprinted with quotes and the opening words of each track for easy reference. The choice of Spacek as reader is as inspired as her performance. She differentiates her characters subtly, never letting the listener forget that it is a vibrant, precocious, frequently awestricken 6 through 9-year-old tomboy through whose eyes we follow the action. But Spacek’s soft, innocent, melodic twang takes on strength and dissonance during the dramatic courtroom scenes and its aftermath. A splendid production.