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The Dinner Party
- Stories
- Narrated by: Chris Kayser, Jennifer Riker, Zach Roe, Nicholas Tecosky
- Length: 7 hrs and 4 mins
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Publisher's summary
The first collection of short stories from the critically acclaimed, prize-winning author of To Rise Again at a Decent Hour.
These 11 stories by Joshua Ferris, many of which were first published in The New Yorker, are at once thrilling, strange, and comic. The modern tribulations of marriage, ambition, and the fear of missing out as the temptations flow like wine and the minutes of life tick down are explored with the characteristic wit and insight that have made Ferris one of our most critically acclaimed novelists.
Each of these stories burrows deep into the often awkward and hilarious misunderstandings that pass between strangers and lovers alike and that turn ordinary lives upside down. Ferris shows to what lengths we mortals go to coax human meaning from our very modest time on earth, an effort that skews ever more desperately in the direction of redemption. There's Arty Groys, the Florida retiree whose birthday celebration involves pizza, a prostitute, and a life-saving heart attack. There's Sarah, the Brooklynite whose shape-shifting existential dilemma is set in motion by a simple spring breeze. And there's Jack, a man so warped by past experience that he's incapable of having a normal social interaction with the man he hires to help him move out of storage.
The stories in The Dinner Party are about lives changed forever when the reckless gives way to possibility and the ordinary cedes ground to mystery. And each one confirms Ferris' reputation as one of the most dazzlingly talented, deeply humane writers at work today.
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- By Liberty on 09-23-18
By: Patrick deWitt
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A Nail Through The Heart
- A Poke Rafferty Thriller
- By: Timothy Hallinan
- Narrated by: Victor Bevine
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Poke Rafferty was writing offbeat travel guides for the young and terminally bored when Bangkok stole his heart. Now the American expat is assembling a new family with Rose, the former go-go dancer he wants to marry, and Miaow, the tiny, streetwise urchin he wants to adopt. But trouble in the guise of good intentions comes calling just when everything is beginning to work out.
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Ever been to Bangkok?
- By Richard Delman on 12-11-11
By: Timothy Hallinan
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So Close
- By: Emma McLaughlin
- Narrated by: Emily Durante
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Amanda Beth Luker has spent her whole life desperately looking for someone who can show her the way out of her trailer park Florida town. And then, finally, help arrives - in the form of Tom Davis, a successful lawyer with political aspirations who grew up just a few towns over from Amanda. But it's his wife, Lindsay, who really captures Amanda's imagination. Strong, smart, and determined, she gives Amanda something she's never had: a role model.
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I've never been so mad at a book before.
- By Stacie on 06-15-16
By: Emma McLaughlin
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Double Feature
- A Novel
- By: Owen King
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 16 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Unraveling the tumultuous, decades-spanning story of the Dolan family’s friends, lovers, and adversaries, Double Feature is about letting go of everything - regret, resentment, ambition, dignity, moving pictures, the dead - and taking it again from the top. Combining propulsive storytelling and mordant wit against the backdrop of indie filmmaking, Double Feature brims with a deep understanding of the trials of ambition and art, of relationships and life, and of our attempts to survive it all.
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Worst book ever! Well maybe.
- By Randall on 08-11-17
By: Owen King
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God-Shaped Hole
- A Novel
- By: Tiffanie DeBartolo
- Narrated by: Rachael Warren
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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When Beatrice Trixie Jordan replies to a personal ad, she meets Jacob Grace, a charming, effervescent 30-something free-spirit writer passionately seeking life. He possesses his own turns of phrase and ways of thinking and feeling that dissonantly harmonize with Trixie's off-center vision. As they rollercoaster through the joys and furies of their wrenching romance, they try to come to terms with the hurt brought about by both of their distant fathers who, in different ways, forsook them.
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To see a fortune teller or not to see one...
- By Renee on 08-08-18
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Chanel Bonfire
- By: Wendy Lawless
- Narrated by: Wendy Lawless
- Length: 6 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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By the time Wendy Lawless turned 17, she'd known for quite some time that she didn't have a normal mother. But that didn't stop her from wanting one.... Georgann Rea didn't bake cookies or go to PTA meetings; she wore a mink coat and always had a lit Dunhill plugged into her cigarette holder. She went through men like Kleenex, and didn't like dogs or children. Georgann had the ice queen beauty of a Hitchcock heroine and the cold heart to match.
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Not an Engaging Listen
- By Sobriquet on 03-13-13
By: Wendy Lawless
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Inheriting Edith
- A Novel
- By: Zoe Fishman
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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For years Maggie Sheets has been an invisible hand in the glittering homes of wealthy New York City clients, scrubbing, dusting, mopping, and doing all she can to keep her head above water as a single mother. Everything changes when a former employer dies, leaving Maggie a staggering inheritance - a house in Sag Harbor. The catch? It comes with an inhabitant: the deceased's 82-year old mother, Edith.
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Narrator is distracting.
- By Onelove on 05-13-20
By: Zoe Fishman
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Insomniac City
- New York, Oliver, and Me
- By: Bill Hayes
- Narrated by: Stephen Bel Davies
- Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Bill Hayes came to New York City in 2009 with a one-way ticket and only the vaguest idea of how he would get by. But, at 48 years old, having spent decades in San Francisco, he craved change. Grieving over the death of his partner, he quickly discovered the profound consolations of the city's incessant rhythms, the sight of the Empire State Building against the night sky, and New Yorkers themselves, kindred souls that Hayes, a lifelong insomniac, encountered on late-night strolls with his camera.
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Touching and Intimate Portrait
- By Amazon Customer on 01-18-19
By: Bill Hayes
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The UnAmericans
- Stories
- By: Molly Antopol
- Narrated by: Jennifer Van Dyck
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Again and again, Molly Antopol’s deeply sympathetic characters struggle for footing in an uncertain world, hounded by forces beyond their control. Their voices are intimate and powerful and they resonate with searing beauty. Antopol is a superb young talent, and The UnAmericans will long be remembered for its wit, humanity, and heart.
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Sensational stories! Brilliant new author.
- By MidwestGeek on 05-04-14
By: Molly Antopol
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The Merlot Murders
- A Wine Country Mystery
- By: Ellen Crosby
- Narrated by: P. J. Davis-Oran
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Lucie Montgomery's semi-estranged brother, Eli, calls her in France to tell her that their father, Leland, has been killed in a hunting accident on the family's 500-acre Virginia vineyard. But the vineyard is now shabby and run-down and her siblings want to sell it. Then Lucie's godfather tells her Leland's death was no accident. With her greedy brother, hell-raising sister, and a seemingly cut-rate vintner hired by Leland just before he died, all the suspects are disturbingly close to home.
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Wine & history w/ your mystery!
- By Cracker1951 on 03-27-08
By: Ellen Crosby
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Midnight Cowboy
- By: James Leo Herlihy
- Narrated by: Michael Urie
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Midnight Cowboy is considered by many to be one of the best American novels published since World War II. The main story centers around Joe Buck, a naive but eager and ambitious young Texan, who decides to leave his dead-end job in search of a grand and glamorous life he believes he will find in New York City. But the city turns out to be a much more difficult place to negotiate than Joe could ever have imagined. He soon finds himself and his dreams compromised. Buck's fall from innocence and his relationship with the crippled street hustler Ratso Rizzo form the novel's emotional nucleus.
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Superb
- By Macala Shon on 01-26-21
What listeners say about The Dinner Party
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Sara
- 06-04-17
Snippets Of Life In Stories
OK up front I'll tell you that I love Joshua Ferris' writing. I love the way he captures the chatter that goes on inside the character's head. My favorite of his books was To Rise Again At A Decent Hour. I thought the first half of that book was one of the funniest things I have read in a very long time. It was banned bedtime listening because I couldn't stop laughing out loud. In the second half of the book the humor stopped, we switched gears and Ferris explored the inner workings of connection in life; the need and feeling of being a part of something greater than yourself as an individual. I loved the whole book and this may have impacted how happy I was to have a new work by Ferris available.
This collection of 11 short stories offers small slices or in some cases just slivers of life experienced by a wide and varied collection of characters. A reviewer on amazon mentioned that being inside someone else's head can be an uncomfortable place to be and I agree with that thought on one level. On the other hand, these stories really capture a snapshot of life as experienced by Ferris' characters. Unfiltered, strange, weirdly odd and at times careening out of control.
Sometimes the stories were easy to relate to and other times they stood out as completely foreign. Because of this, I listened to one story at a time, purposefully taking a break between each story. There was so much information, so much raw emotion that the transition between stories felt almost jarring. I needed time to process what I had just heard. Engaging, thought provoking, disturbing, at times funny and outrageous. Better buckle up, it's a wild ride.
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27 people found this helpful
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- Michelle
- 08-08-20
Started off well
First story had me laughing. I thought all other would be humorous as well but no. I struggled to keep listening . Too few good stories. Disappointed.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Elaine
- 07-28-17
Too Good
Would you consider the audio edition of The Dinner Party to be better than the print version?
I didn't read the print version.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Dinner Party?
The guy who switches the ornamental pigs in one office for the pics of the deceased young girl in another office during his melt down.
What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
So many of the voices added so much inflection and attitudes - just great mostly male characters developed to the significant extent in such a concise format!
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
When the lonely, self pitying elderly man ran off with the prostitute!
Any additional comments?
A must read, you've heard that before, but it really is entertaining and very interesting as you delve into the thorny territory of relationships.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Kate 33
- 05-04-17
Not what I expected
I found this book to be rather disappointing. The only 'good' stories are toward the end so you have to suffer through a bunch of strange stuff before you get there. Too many of the stories are left just hanging, which may be some sort of style right now, but I find it disingenuous. I still enjoy a good beginning, middle and end, you know, a story. When listening to the stories that Eliana Marianes narrates, I highly recommend that you lower the speed to 0.75 or you will never be able to keep up with what she is saying. If you are debating between this book and another, choose the other.
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4 people found this helpful
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- ChargingDC
- 07-20-17
Blah
If you enjoy random stories about random events, without any well developed or compelling characters, this audiobook is for you. Not one of the stories grabbed me in any memorable way, and the volume left me wishing that I had opted for a different book.
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2 people found this helpful