[LISTENED TO: December 2015] From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
I was sure that I had read this book. I have a copy of it and I knew the premise, but clearly, after listening to this audio book (at Sarah’s suggestion) I learned that I had not. And the book was awesome. All four of us enjoyed it a lot.
The story was great, but it may have had to do with Jill Clayburgh’s reading. I don’t really know anything about her and at first I wasn’t convinced that two kids from suburban Connecticut would have such strong New York accents, but they really worked. Especially when the kids started fighting and she had subtle distinctions between Claudia and Jaime.
Of course, the book itself is masterful. But there’s some really unusual choices in the book, which made me wonder how good it would be. It begins with a letter from Mrs Frankweiler to her lawyer, Saxonberg, (a rip-roaring intro to a kids book, eh?). This introductory device sets up the story in which Mrs Frankweiler tells the story of Claudia and Kincaid’s adventures in New York City. And it works wonderfully. (more…)
I Just Read About That... 