Excellent Good Fair Poor : AUDIOCASSETTE

“Jason Robards Reads William Kennedy’s ‘Ironweed’.” Newman (two cassettes). Robards’ hoarse, down-home voice, hinting of hard days and long nights, is perfect casting for Kennedy’s Francis Whelan, the Albany alcoholic who once played third base in Toronto and has come home after 22 years to confront the living and the dead from his past. Whelan and his comical-tragic pals earned Kennedy’s novel a wholly deserved Pulitzer prize. Kennedy’s own careful abridgement preserves the full flavor of his sweet, soulful Skid Row survivors, seen as they see themselves. Information: (213) 550-1806.