Preview

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Honeydew

By: Edith Pearlman
Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.83

Buy for $21.83

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

A new story collection from Edith Pearlman, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award and finalist for the National Book Award for her last collection, Binocular Vision. From the National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author of Binocular Vision, Honeydew further solidifies Edith Pearlman's place among the likes of all-time great story writers such as John Updike, Alice Munro, Frank O'Connor, and Anton Chekhov.

Pearlman writes about the predicaments of being human. The title story involves an affair, an illegitimate pregnancy, anorexia, and adolescent drug use, but the real excitement comes from the intricate attention Pearlman devotes to the interior life of young Emily, who wishes she were a bug. In "Sonny", a mother prays for her daughters to be barren so they never have to experience the death of a child. "The Golden Swan" transports the listener to a cruise ship with lavish buffets-and a surprise stowaway.

In prose that is as wise as it is poetic, Pearlman shines light on small, devastatingly precise moments to reflect the beauty and grace found in everyday life. She maps the psychological landscapes of her exquisitely rendered characters with unending compassion and seeming effortlessness.

Both for its artistry and for the lives of the characters it presents, Honeydew is a collection that will pull listeners back time and again. These stories demonstrate once more that Pearlman is a master of the form and that hers is a vision unfailingly wise and forgiving.

©2014 Edith Pearlman (P)2014 Hachette Audio
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

"Pearlman's economy of language creates imagistic prose that feels like poetry. It's especially effective on audio, thanks to Suzanne Toren's artistry.... The cast is large and memorable, the stories piercing and perceptive, and Toren's performance puts a unique stamp on each remarkable piece." (AudioFile)

What listeners say about Honeydew

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    24
  • 4 Stars
    10
  • 3 Stars
    16
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    4
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    27
  • 4 Stars
    11
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    4
Story
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    21
  • 4 Stars
    10
  • 3 Stars
    12
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    4

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

each story a joy

each story a fully explored and a well expressed in a language i loved thanks

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Better of read

I love short stories. This was my first experience listening to them rather than reading them and I don't believe I'll try it again. Perhaps it was just the narration, but I couldn't tell where one story ended and the next began. I stopped listening about an hour in--couldn't get into it at all.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Nice stories, suboptimal narration

These r lovely stories but I will read them old fashioned way. Narration was uber-annoying. Possibly sound quality but voice sounded like a robot, almost computer generated. Not a good audio experience. Too bad.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful