The Conch Bearer.

THE CONCH BEARER. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. 2003. Read by Alan Cumming. 4 tapes. 6.5 hrs. Listening Library. 0-8072-1959-2. $26.00. Cardboard; plot, author, reader notes. J

Twelve-year-old Anand's kind gesture of giving his tea to an old man on the street even though he himself is starving leads to an unlikely friendship with this revered healer Abhaydatta. Anand is asked to accompany him on a journey to return a conch with magical powers to its home in the Silver Valley in the far-off Himalayas. Through all the perils of the journey he is accompanied by Nisha, a young street sweeper who also develops a comfortable friendship with the old man.

Cumming's reading is outstanding. His voice has a slight hint of the Indian English dialect, which enhances the atmosphere of the tale immensely. He is able to voice the young children as well as the old man with equal ease and authenticity. He captures the ambiance of the teeming slums of the crowded city as well as the pace of daily life in the villages along the route of the journey, and the beauty and tranquility of the mountains. This fantasy with likable children facing the overwhelming odds of evil gives fascinating descriptions of Indian landscapes, foods and their way of life. Carol Kellerman, Santa Fe, NM