Blitz

A most impressive listening experience, this is one of Collins' new Author Collections specially written for Audio. The four short stories have the unmistakable hard-hitting Robert Westall stamp where the sympathy is with the ordinary soldier, not the cushioned officer. James Bolam has the right tone and accent for these startlingly real incidents from wartime Tyneside - like the souvenir-hunting boys who discover the crashed plane and the dazed pilot-survivor whilst Susan Jameson conveys the suspense and fear of the girl whose father deserts. The sparing sound effects of sirens and air-raids add to the tension.