-
The Penguin Book of the Modern American Short Story
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett, Scott Brick, Cassandra Campbell, Frankie Corzo, Ramón de Ocampo, John Freeman, Mark Feuerstein, Kim Mai Guest, Deepti Gupta, Dominic Hoffman, Lisa Renee Pitts, George Saunders
- Length: 17 hrs and 11 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $22.50
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's summary
A selection of the best and most representative contemporary American short fiction from 1970 to 2020, including such authors as Ursula K. LeGuin, Toni Cade Bambara, Jhumpa Lahiri, Sandra Cisneros, and Ted Chiang, hand-selected by celebrated editor and anthologist John Freeman.
In the past 50 years, the American short story has changed dramatically. New voices, forms, and mixtures of genres have brought this unique US genre a thrilling burst of energy. This rich anthology celebrates this avalanche of talent. Beginning in 1970, it culls together a half century of powerful American short stories from all genres, including - for the first time in a literary anthology - science fiction, horror, and fantasy, placing writers such as Usula Le Guin, Ken Liu, and Stephen King next to some of the often-taught geniuses of the form - Grace Paley, Toni Cade Bambara, Sandra Cisneros, and Denis Johnson. Culling widely, Freeman, the former editor of Granta and now of his own literary annual, brings forward some astonishing work to be regarded in a new light. Often overlooked tales by Charles Johnson and Toni Morrison will recast the shape and texture of today's enlarging atmosphere of literary dialogue. Stories by Lauren Groff and Ted Chiang raise the specter of engagement in ecocidal times. Short tales by Tobias Wolff, George Saunders, and Lydia Davis rub shoulders with near novellas by Susan Sontag and Andrew Holleran. This audiobook will be a treasure trove for listeners and teachers alike.
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
67 Fun, Uplifting, & Inspirational Short Stories from Around the World
- By: Easy Publishing Company
- Narrated by: Kyle Tait
- Length: 3 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Do you ever have a day when you're just feeling down? On those days, don't you wish that you drink even a little bit from the cup of inspiration and motivation? Well now you can. This book is packed full of uplifting, motivating, and inspiring stories that will make you smile, improve your day, and help you take on whatever life has in store for you.
-
-
Buy IF YOU ARE CHRISTIAN...
- By Max on 09-10-19
-
The Best Short Stories 2023
- The O. Henry Prize Winners
- By: Lauren Groff - editor, Jenny Minton Quigley - editor
- Narrated by: Lauren Groff, full cast
- Length: 15 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Continuing a century-long tradition of cutting-edge literary excellence, this year's edition contains twenty prizewinning stories chosen from the thousands published in magazines over the previous year. Guest editor Lauren Groff has brought her own refreshing perspective to the prize, selecting stories by an engaging mix of celebrated names and emerging voices and including several stories in translation.
-
-
Every story is overwhelmingly melancholy.
- By Jane S. on 10-31-23
By: Lauren Groff - editor, and others
-
Ghost Stories: Stephen Fry's Definitive Collection
- By: Stephen Fry, Washington Irving, M.R. James, and others
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As the days grow shorter and the temperature drops, Halloween approaches. Come, brave listener, pull up a chair, and spend some time with master storyteller Stephen Fry as he tells us some of his favourite ghost stories of all time, in truly terrifying spatial audio. From the headless horseman of Sleepy Hollow to the tortured spirits of M.R. James, from Edgar Allan Poe’s terrifying tale of a doppelganger to Charlotte Riddell’s Open Door that should definitely stay shut, join Stephen as he tells you some truly terrifying tales.
-
-
Wonderful narration. Mediocre stories.
- By Michael Fuchs on 11-07-23
By: Stephen Fry, and others
-
The Travelers
- A Novel
- By: Regina Porter
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin, Dominic Hoffman
- Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Meet James Samuel Vincent, an affluent Manhattan attorney who shirks his modest Irish-American background but hews to his father’s meandering ways. James muddles through a topsy-turvy relationship with his son, Rufus, which is further complicated when Rufus marries Claudia Christie. Claudia’s mother - Agnes Miller Christie - is a beautiful African-American woman who survives a chance encounter on a Georgia road that propels her into a new life in the Bronx. Soon after, her husband, Eddie Christie, is called to duty on an air craft carrier in Vietnam.
-
-
Each character is quite a character.
- By Anonymous User on 01-01-22
By: Regina Porter
-
Great Classic Stories II
- By: Edgar Allan Poe, James Joyce, Mark Twain, and others
- Narrated by: Simon Vance, Kate Fenton, Stephen R. Thorne, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This wonderful collection of 18 short stories includes work by some of literature's most treasured names, including Mark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Oscar Wilde, and many more. This superlative treasury includes "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe; "A Piece of String" by Guy Le Maupassant; "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin; "The Mark on the Wall" by Virginia Woolf; "Nuns at Lunch" by Aldous Huxley, and many more!
-
-
Another great selection of stories
- By Adeliese Baumann on 02-04-13
By: Edgar Allan Poe, and others
-
Inappropriately Human
- 21 Short Stories
- By: Andrew Heaton
- Narrated by: Andrew Heaton
- Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Award-winning comedian Andrew Heaton brings wit and warmth to his vision of humanity, the supernatural, and bureaucrats in his debut short story collection. Learn the pitfalls of settling resurrected Neanderthals in Detroit. Explore the work-life balance of a professional who assumes other people’s hangovers. Or the travails of a State Department diplomat posted to a planet with relentless boredom and allergies. Discover the challenges time-travel regulators face when everyone tries to kill Hitler.
-
-
What A Wonderful Collection By A Fantastic New Author
- By vurnt22 on 07-20-22
By: Andrew Heaton
-
67 Fun, Uplifting, & Inspirational Short Stories from Around the World
- By: Easy Publishing Company
- Narrated by: Kyle Tait
- Length: 3 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Do you ever have a day when you're just feeling down? On those days, don't you wish that you drink even a little bit from the cup of inspiration and motivation? Well now you can. This book is packed full of uplifting, motivating, and inspiring stories that will make you smile, improve your day, and help you take on whatever life has in store for you.
-
-
Buy IF YOU ARE CHRISTIAN...
- By Max on 09-10-19
-
The Best Short Stories 2023
- The O. Henry Prize Winners
- By: Lauren Groff - editor, Jenny Minton Quigley - editor
- Narrated by: Lauren Groff, full cast
- Length: 15 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Continuing a century-long tradition of cutting-edge literary excellence, this year's edition contains twenty prizewinning stories chosen from the thousands published in magazines over the previous year. Guest editor Lauren Groff has brought her own refreshing perspective to the prize, selecting stories by an engaging mix of celebrated names and emerging voices and including several stories in translation.
-
-
Every story is overwhelmingly melancholy.
- By Jane S. on 10-31-23
By: Lauren Groff - editor, and others
-
Ghost Stories: Stephen Fry's Definitive Collection
- By: Stephen Fry, Washington Irving, M.R. James, and others
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As the days grow shorter and the temperature drops, Halloween approaches. Come, brave listener, pull up a chair, and spend some time with master storyteller Stephen Fry as he tells us some of his favourite ghost stories of all time, in truly terrifying spatial audio. From the headless horseman of Sleepy Hollow to the tortured spirits of M.R. James, from Edgar Allan Poe’s terrifying tale of a doppelganger to Charlotte Riddell’s Open Door that should definitely stay shut, join Stephen as he tells you some truly terrifying tales.
-
-
Wonderful narration. Mediocre stories.
- By Michael Fuchs on 11-07-23
By: Stephen Fry, and others
-
The Travelers
- A Novel
- By: Regina Porter
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin, Dominic Hoffman
- Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Meet James Samuel Vincent, an affluent Manhattan attorney who shirks his modest Irish-American background but hews to his father’s meandering ways. James muddles through a topsy-turvy relationship with his son, Rufus, which is further complicated when Rufus marries Claudia Christie. Claudia’s mother - Agnes Miller Christie - is a beautiful African-American woman who survives a chance encounter on a Georgia road that propels her into a new life in the Bronx. Soon after, her husband, Eddie Christie, is called to duty on an air craft carrier in Vietnam.
-
-
Each character is quite a character.
- By Anonymous User on 01-01-22
By: Regina Porter
-
Great Classic Stories II
- By: Edgar Allan Poe, James Joyce, Mark Twain, and others
- Narrated by: Simon Vance, Kate Fenton, Stephen R. Thorne, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This wonderful collection of 18 short stories includes work by some of literature's most treasured names, including Mark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Oscar Wilde, and many more. This superlative treasury includes "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe; "A Piece of String" by Guy Le Maupassant; "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin; "The Mark on the Wall" by Virginia Woolf; "Nuns at Lunch" by Aldous Huxley, and many more!
-
-
Another great selection of stories
- By Adeliese Baumann on 02-04-13
By: Edgar Allan Poe, and others
-
Inappropriately Human
- 21 Short Stories
- By: Andrew Heaton
- Narrated by: Andrew Heaton
- Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Award-winning comedian Andrew Heaton brings wit and warmth to his vision of humanity, the supernatural, and bureaucrats in his debut short story collection. Learn the pitfalls of settling resurrected Neanderthals in Detroit. Explore the work-life balance of a professional who assumes other people’s hangovers. Or the travails of a State Department diplomat posted to a planet with relentless boredom and allergies. Discover the challenges time-travel regulators face when everyone tries to kill Hitler.
-
-
What A Wonderful Collection By A Fantastic New Author
- By vurnt22 on 07-20-22
By: Andrew Heaton
-
Wonderful Town
- New York Stories from The New Yorker
- By: Woody Allen, John Cheever, E. B. White, and others
- Narrated by: Tyne Daly, Timothy Jerome, Joe Morton, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York City is not only The New Yorker magazine's place of origin and its sensibility's lifeblood, it is the heart of American literary culture. Wonderful Town, an anthology of superb short fiction by many of the magazine's most accomplished contributors, celebrates the 75-year marriage between a preeminent publication and its preeminent context with this collection of 44 of its best stories from (so to speak) home.
-
-
Great stories and readers, but technically sloppy
- By Alison on 09-08-04
By: Woody Allen, and others
-
Tenth of December
- Stories
- By: George Saunders
- Narrated by: George Saunders
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Writing brilliantly and profoundly about class, sex, love, loss, work, despair, and war, Saunders cuts to the core of the contemporary experience. These stories take on the big questions and explore the fault lines of our own morality, delving into the questions of what makes us good and what makes us human.
-
-
Be prepared for something different...but good!
- By Mr. D on 02-21-14
By: George Saunders
-
Liberation Day
- Stories
- By: George Saunders
- Narrated by: George Saunders, Tina Fey, Michael McKean, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The “best short story writer in English” (Time) is back with a masterful collection that explores ideas of power, ethics, and justice, and cuts to the very heart of what it means to live in community with our fellow humans. With his trademark prose—wickedly funny, unsentimental, and perfectly tuned—Saunders continues to challenge and surprise: here is a collection of prismatic, deeply resonant stories that encompass joy and despair, oppression and revolution, bizarre fantasy and brutal reality.
-
-
Extraordinary
- By REBECCA on 10-18-22
By: George Saunders
-
Pastoralia
- By: George Saunders
- Narrated by: George Saunders
- Length: 4 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hailed by Thomas Pynchon as "graceful, dark, authentic, and funny," George Saunders gives us, in his inventive and beloved voice, this best-selling collection of stories set against a warped, hilarious, and terrifyingly recognizable American landscape.
-
-
Greatest living short story author reads own work.
- By Spam on 08-25-19
By: George Saunders
-
The Best of Me
- By: David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris
- Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For more than 25 years, David Sedaris has been carving out a unique literary space, virtually creating his own genre. A Sedaris story may seem confessional, but is also highly attuned to the world outside. It opens our eyes to what is at absurd and moving about our daily existence. And it is almost impossible to listen without laughing.
-
-
Almost No New Material
- By Lizardectomy on 11-05-20
By: David Sedaris
-
The Best American Essays 2022
- By: Alexander Chee
- Narrated by: Robert Atwan, Iva-Marie Palmer, Ewan Chung, and others
- Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alexander Chee, an essayist of “virtuosity and power” (Washington Post), selects twenty essays out of thousands that represent the best examples of the form published the previous year.
-
-
Best of this series ever
- By Melissa on 02-28-23
By: Alexander Chee
-
Classic American Short Stories, Volume 1
- By: William Faulkner, Thomas Wolfe, Edith Wharton, and others
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 4 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Unlike the other arts, American literature has been a powerful, influential, and leading aspect of American culture. By turns sedate and mercurial and possessing a moral mind set of various social values, the American short story reveals in its pages the psyche of a growing, sprawling nation whose sense of destiny has always been larger than life. Here are seven masterpieces that will make you smile, make you frown, and leave you pondering the mystery that surrounds the soul of a great nation.
-
-
Beautifully performed!
- By James on 07-08-05
By: William Faulkner, and others
-
The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2022
- By: Jess Walter - editor, Steph Cha - series editor
- Narrated by: Desean Terry, Lindsey Dorcus, Max Meyers, and others
- Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A collection of the year’s best mystery and suspense short fiction selected by #1 New York Times bestselling author and guest editor Jess Walter and series editor Steph Cha.
By: Jess Walter - editor, and others
-
CivilWarLand in Bad Decline
- Stories and a Novella
- By: George Saunders, Joshua Ferris - introduction
- Narrated by: George Saunders, Joshua Ferris
- Length: 5 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Since its publication in 1996, George Saunders’ debut collection has grown in esteem from a cherished cult classic to a masterpiece of the form, inspiring an entire generation of writers along the way. In six stories and a novella, Saunders hatches an unforgettable cast of characters, each struggling to survive in an increasingly haywire world.
-
-
>>BUCKLE. UP.<<
- By Mary K Foster on 05-23-21
By: George Saunders, and others
-
The John Cheever Audio Collection (Unabridged Stories)
- By: John Cheever
- Narrated by: Meryl Streep, George Plimpton, others
- Length: 6 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Here is the preface to 12 magnificent stories, originally part of The John Cheever Audio Collection, in which John Cheever celebrates - with unequaled grace and tenderness - the deepest feelings we have.
-
-
A mere fraction
- By T. McG. on 02-22-18
By: John Cheever
-
The Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best Mystery Stories of the Year: 2022
- By: Sara Paretsky - editor and introduction, Otto Penzler - series editor
- Narrated by: Daniel Thomas May, Rachel Perry
- Length: 22 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Under the auspices of New York City's legendary mystery fiction specialty bookstore, The Mysterious Bookshop, and aided by Edgar Award-winning anthologist Otto Penzler, international bestseller and MWA Grandmaster Sara Paretsky has selected the twenty most puzzling, most thrilling, and most mysterious short stories from the past year, collected now in one entertaining volume.
-
-
strong collection of storirs
- By Geoffrey on 09-30-24
By: Sara Paretsky - editor and introduction, and others
-
When Things Get Dark
- Stories Inspired by Shirley Jackson
- By: Ellen Datlow - editor
- Narrated by: Nicol Zanzarella, Cassandra Campbell, Erin Moon, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A chilling anthology in tribute to the genius of Shirley Jackson. Shirley Jackson is a seminal writer of horror and mystery fiction, whose legacy resonates globally today. Chilling, human, poignant, and strange, her stories have inspired a generation of writers and listeners. This anthology, edited by legendary horror editor Ellen Datlow, brings together today’s leading horror writers to offer their own personal tribute to the work of Shirley Jackson.
-
-
Come for the Oates, stay for the rest!
- By Rebecca Rowland, author on 12-23-21
Critic reviews
“Freeman’s excellent introduction to this new anthology of modern short stories will be useful to readers who are unfamiliar with the format; for students of the short story, it’s a refreshing overview...a short story for any mood.... This anthology sets itself apart by providing an inclusive starting point for readers interested in discovering the power of the short story; it is golden for those who already recognize that power.” (Library Journal, starred review)
“A well-selected anthology of short fiction, ranging from long to flash, representing the last half-century.... A fresh gathering that highlights the work of mostly well-known story writers through their lesser-known works.” (Kirkus)
Related to this topic
-
A Nail Through The Heart
- A Poke Rafferty Thriller
- By: Timothy Hallinan
- Narrated by: Victor Bevine
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Ever been to Bangkok?
- By Richard Delman on 12-11-11
By: Timothy Hallinan
-
One True Thing
- By: Anna Quindlen
- Narrated by: Christina Moore
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A young woman sits in jail, accused of the mercy killing of her dying mother. She didn't do it, but she thinks she knows who did. In the last months of her life, Ellen Gulden's mother revealed startling secrets that challenged everything Ellen believed about her family. Now, in jail, Ellen believes those secrets will tell her who had the courage to end her mother's suffering.
-
-
Quindlen's writing skills shine in One True Thing.
- By Bonny on 08-26-13
By: Anna Quindlen
-
We Begin at the End
- By: Chris Whitaker
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Duchess Day Radley is a 13-year-old self-proclaimed outlaw. Rules are for other people. She is the fierce protector of her five-year-old brother, Robin, and the parent to her mother, Star, a single mom incapable of taking care of herself, let alone her two kids. Walk has never left the coastal California town where he and Star grew up. He may have become the chief of police, but he’s still trying to heal the old wound of having given the testimony that sent his best friend, Vincent King, to prison decades before. And he's in overdrive protecting Duchess and her brother.
-
-
Horrible narrator in this audible book
- By M. patton on 03-03-21
By: Chris Whitaker
-
The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna
- A Novel
- By: Juliet Grames
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan
- Length: 16 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For Stella Fortuna, death has always been a part of life. Stella’s childhood is full of strange, life-threatening incidents - moments where ordinary situations like cooking eggplant or feeding the pigs inexplicably take lethal turns. Even Stella’s own mother is convinced that her daughter is cursed or haunted. When the Fortunas emigrate to America on the cusp of World War II, Stella and her sister, Tina, must come of age side by side in a hostile new world with strict expectations for each of them.
-
-
Misogyny at its worst
- By brenda on 01-15-20
By: Juliet Grames
-
Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All
- By: Laura Ruby
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Frankie’s mother died and her father left her and her siblings at an orphanage in Chicago, it was supposed to be only temporary - just long enough for him to get back on his feet and be able to provide for them once again. That’s why Frankie's not prepared for the day that he arrives for his weekend visit with a new woman on his arm and out-of-state train tickets in his pocket. Now, Frankie and her sister, Toni, are abandoned alongside so many other orphans - two young, unwanted women doing everything they can to survive.
-
-
Boring, boring, boring
- By Marie J. on 08-20-21
By: Laura Ruby
-
Mercy Among the Children
- A Novel
- By: David Adams Richards
- Narrated by: Bernard Clark
- Length: 13 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sydney Henderson is a truly great man. As a young man, Sydney, believing he has accidentally killed a friend, makes a pact with God, promising never to harm another if the boy's life is spared. In the years that follow, the almost pathologically gentle Sydney holds true to his promise - at terrible cost to himself and his family. Stunningly beautiful and haunting, scenes from this magisterial novel will remain etched in the mind forever.
-
-
Epic story
- By jhar14 on 06-04-22
-
A Nail Through The Heart
- A Poke Rafferty Thriller
- By: Timothy Hallinan
- Narrated by: Victor Bevine
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Ever been to Bangkok?
- By Richard Delman on 12-11-11
By: Timothy Hallinan
-
One True Thing
- By: Anna Quindlen
- Narrated by: Christina Moore
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A young woman sits in jail, accused of the mercy killing of her dying mother. She didn't do it, but she thinks she knows who did. In the last months of her life, Ellen Gulden's mother revealed startling secrets that challenged everything Ellen believed about her family. Now, in jail, Ellen believes those secrets will tell her who had the courage to end her mother's suffering.
-
-
Quindlen's writing skills shine in One True Thing.
- By Bonny on 08-26-13
By: Anna Quindlen
-
We Begin at the End
- By: Chris Whitaker
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Duchess Day Radley is a 13-year-old self-proclaimed outlaw. Rules are for other people. She is the fierce protector of her five-year-old brother, Robin, and the parent to her mother, Star, a single mom incapable of taking care of herself, let alone her two kids. Walk has never left the coastal California town where he and Star grew up. He may have become the chief of police, but he’s still trying to heal the old wound of having given the testimony that sent his best friend, Vincent King, to prison decades before. And he's in overdrive protecting Duchess and her brother.
-
-
Horrible narrator in this audible book
- By M. patton on 03-03-21
By: Chris Whitaker
-
The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna
- A Novel
- By: Juliet Grames
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan
- Length: 16 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For Stella Fortuna, death has always been a part of life. Stella’s childhood is full of strange, life-threatening incidents - moments where ordinary situations like cooking eggplant or feeding the pigs inexplicably take lethal turns. Even Stella’s own mother is convinced that her daughter is cursed or haunted. When the Fortunas emigrate to America on the cusp of World War II, Stella and her sister, Tina, must come of age side by side in a hostile new world with strict expectations for each of them.
-
-
Misogyny at its worst
- By brenda on 01-15-20
By: Juliet Grames
-
Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All
- By: Laura Ruby
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Frankie’s mother died and her father left her and her siblings at an orphanage in Chicago, it was supposed to be only temporary - just long enough for him to get back on his feet and be able to provide for them once again. That’s why Frankie's not prepared for the day that he arrives for his weekend visit with a new woman on his arm and out-of-state train tickets in his pocket. Now, Frankie and her sister, Toni, are abandoned alongside so many other orphans - two young, unwanted women doing everything they can to survive.
-
-
Boring, boring, boring
- By Marie J. on 08-20-21
By: Laura Ruby
-
Mercy Among the Children
- A Novel
- By: David Adams Richards
- Narrated by: Bernard Clark
- Length: 13 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sydney Henderson is a truly great man. As a young man, Sydney, believing he has accidentally killed a friend, makes a pact with God, promising never to harm another if the boy's life is spared. In the years that follow, the almost pathologically gentle Sydney holds true to his promise - at terrible cost to himself and his family. Stunningly beautiful and haunting, scenes from this magisterial novel will remain etched in the mind forever.
-
-
Epic story
- By jhar14 on 06-04-22
-
He Came in with It
- A Portrait of Motherhood and Madness
- By: Miriam Feldman
- Narrated by: Ann Richardson
- Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In an idyllic Los Angeles neighborhood, where generations enjoy deep roots in old homes, the O’Rourke family fits right in. Miriam and Craig are both artists and their four children carry on the legacy. When their teenage son, Nick, is diagnosed with schizophrenia, a tumultuous decade ensues in which the family careens off the conventional course. Like the 10 Biblical plagues, they are hit by one catastrophe after another: violence, evictions, arrests, a suicide attempt, a near-drowning - even cancer and a brain tumor - play against the backdrop of a wild teenage bacchanal.
-
-
So Beautifully Written
- By Michael on 08-01-22
By: Miriam Feldman
-
What Storm, What Thunder
- By: Myriam J.A. Chancy
- Narrated by: Ella Turenne
- Length: 11 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Earth had buckled, and, in that movement, all that was not in its place fell upon the Earth’s children, upon the blameless as well as the guilty, without discrimination. At the end of a long sweltering day, as markets and businesses begin to close for the evening, an earthquake of 7.0 magnitude shakes the capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince. Award-winning author Myriam J. A. Chancy masterfully charts the inner lives of the characters affected by the disaster
-
-
We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.
- By AuthorAnnaBella on 03-15-22
-
Magic Hour
- By: Kristin Hannah
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 14 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the rugged Pacific Northwest lies the Olympic National Forest - nearly a million acres of impenetrable darkness and impossible beauty. From deep within this old growth forest, a six-year-old girl appears. Speechless and alone, she offers no clue as to her identity, no hint of her past.
-
-
Horrible narration
- By Howard Egan on 12-27-20
By: Kristin Hannah
-
The Past Is Never
- A Novel
- By: Tiffany Quay Tyson
- Narrated by: Devon Sorvari
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Siblings Bert, Willet, and Pansy know better than to go swimming at the old rock quarry. According to their father, it's the Devil's place, a place that's been cursed and forgotten. But Mississippi Delta summer days are scorching hot, and they can't resist cooling off in the dark, bottomless water - until the day six-year-old Pansy vanishes...not drowned, not lost, simply gone. When their father disappears as well, Bert and Willet leave their childhoods behind to try and hold their broken family together.
-
-
Intriguing Southern gothic tale
- By Robert Jason on 03-11-20
-
The Time Traveler's Wife
- By: Audrey Niffenegger
- Narrated by: Fred Berman, Phoebe Strole
- Length: 17 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Clare and Henry have known each other since Clare was six and Henry was 36. They were married when Clare was 23 and Henry was 31. Impossible but true, because Henry is one of the first people diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder: periodically his genetic clock resets and he finds himself misplaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity from his life, past and future. His disappearances are spontaneous, his experiences unpredictable, alternately harrowing and amusing.
-
-
One of my favorite books
- By Joey on 01-13-08
-
On Division
- A Novel
- By: Goldie Goldbloom
- Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Williamsburg, Brooklyn, just a block or two up from the East River on Division Avenue, Surie Eckstein is soon to be a great-grandmother. Her 10 children range in age from 13 to 39. Her in-laws, postwar immigrants from Romania, live on the first floor of their house. Her daughter Tzila Ruchel lives on the second. She and Yidel, a scribe in such demand that he makes only a few Torah scrolls a year, live on the third. Wed when Surie was 16, they have a happy marriage and a full life, and, at the ages of 57 and 62, they are looking forward to some quiet time together.
-
-
A great book
- By Sab on 04-24-20
By: Goldie Goldbloom
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Classic American Short Stories, Volume 1
- By: William Faulkner, Thomas Wolfe, Edith Wharton, and others
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 4 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Unlike the other arts, American literature has been a powerful, influential, and leading aspect of American culture. By turns sedate and mercurial and possessing a moral mind set of various social values, the American short story reveals in its pages the psyche of a growing, sprawling nation whose sense of destiny has always been larger than life. Here are seven masterpieces that will make you smile, make you frown, and leave you pondering the mystery that surrounds the soul of a great nation.
-
-
Beautifully performed!
- By James on 07-08-05
By: William Faulkner, and others
-
The Best Short Stories 2023
- The O. Henry Prize Winners
- By: Lauren Groff - editor, Jenny Minton Quigley - editor
- Narrated by: Lauren Groff, full cast
- Length: 15 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Continuing a century-long tradition of cutting-edge literary excellence, this year's edition contains twenty prizewinning stories chosen from the thousands published in magazines over the previous year. Guest editor Lauren Groff has brought her own refreshing perspective to the prize, selecting stories by an engaging mix of celebrated names and emerging voices and including several stories in translation.
-
-
Every story is overwhelmingly melancholy.
- By Jane S. on 10-31-23
By: Lauren Groff - editor, and others
-
The Best American Short Stories 2023
- By: Min Jin Lee, Heidi Pitlor
- Narrated by: Laura Copland, Jeena Yi, Pascale Armand, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
“Without stories, we cannot live well,” shares guest editor Min Jin Lee, describing how storytelling affects and nurtures readers. The Best American Short Stories 2023 features twenty pieces of short fiction that reflect a world full of fractured relationships, but also wondrous hope. A lifelong friendship may become a casualty of the Russia-Ukraine war. Rejected by his lover, a man seeks to reconcile with his family. Twitter users miraculously muster enough empathy to help a lost cat find a forever home.
-
-
Another Great Year of Shorts
- By Michael on 01-18-24
By: Min Jin Lee, and others
-
The World's Best Classic Short Stories
- By: O. Henry, Edgar Allan Poe, Oscar Wilde, and others
- Narrated by: Cathy Dobson
- Length: 20 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A glittering collection of some of the world's finest short stories.
-
-
I just can't listen to this narrator
- By Jennifer Greenberg on 09-04-16
By: O. Henry, and others
-
The Best Short Stories 2024
- The O. Henry Prize Winners
- By: Amor Towles - editor, Jenny Minton Quigley - editor
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Kristen DiMercurio, Blair Young, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The prestigious annual story anthology, featuring prize-winning stories by Kate DiCamillo, Jess Walter, Dave Eggers, Allegra Goodman, Jai Chakrabarti, Francisco Gonzalez, and more.
-
-
Superb!
- By Andre on 10-12-24
By: Amor Towles - editor, and others
-
Short Story Classics
- From the Great Storywriters of the World
- By: Edgar Allan Poe, George Eliot, Kate Chopin, and others
- Narrated by: Cathy Dobson
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A vintage collection of some of the greatest short stories ever written: "The Purloined Letter", by Edgar Allan Poe; "The Nose", by Nikolai Gogol; "The Story of an Hour", by Kate Chopin; "The Gift of the Magi", by O. Henry; "The Apparition of Mrs. Veal", by Daniel Defoe; "The Lifted Veil", by George Eliot; "Life of Ma Parker", by Katherine Mansfield; "The Baron", by Katherine Mansfield; "The Cask of Amontillado", by Edgar Allan Poe; "The Seventh Pullet", by Saki; and more.
By: Edgar Allan Poe, and others
-
Classic American Short Stories, Volume 1
- By: William Faulkner, Thomas Wolfe, Edith Wharton, and others
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 4 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Unlike the other arts, American literature has been a powerful, influential, and leading aspect of American culture. By turns sedate and mercurial and possessing a moral mind set of various social values, the American short story reveals in its pages the psyche of a growing, sprawling nation whose sense of destiny has always been larger than life. Here are seven masterpieces that will make you smile, make you frown, and leave you pondering the mystery that surrounds the soul of a great nation.
-
-
Beautifully performed!
- By James on 07-08-05
By: William Faulkner, and others
-
The Best Short Stories 2023
- The O. Henry Prize Winners
- By: Lauren Groff - editor, Jenny Minton Quigley - editor
- Narrated by: Lauren Groff, full cast
- Length: 15 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Continuing a century-long tradition of cutting-edge literary excellence, this year's edition contains twenty prizewinning stories chosen from the thousands published in magazines over the previous year. Guest editor Lauren Groff has brought her own refreshing perspective to the prize, selecting stories by an engaging mix of celebrated names and emerging voices and including several stories in translation.
-
-
Every story is overwhelmingly melancholy.
- By Jane S. on 10-31-23
By: Lauren Groff - editor, and others
-
The Best American Short Stories 2023
- By: Min Jin Lee, Heidi Pitlor
- Narrated by: Laura Copland, Jeena Yi, Pascale Armand, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
“Without stories, we cannot live well,” shares guest editor Min Jin Lee, describing how storytelling affects and nurtures readers. The Best American Short Stories 2023 features twenty pieces of short fiction that reflect a world full of fractured relationships, but also wondrous hope. A lifelong friendship may become a casualty of the Russia-Ukraine war. Rejected by his lover, a man seeks to reconcile with his family. Twitter users miraculously muster enough empathy to help a lost cat find a forever home.
-
-
Another Great Year of Shorts
- By Michael on 01-18-24
By: Min Jin Lee, and others
-
The World's Best Classic Short Stories
- By: O. Henry, Edgar Allan Poe, Oscar Wilde, and others
- Narrated by: Cathy Dobson
- Length: 20 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A glittering collection of some of the world's finest short stories.
-
-
I just can't listen to this narrator
- By Jennifer Greenberg on 09-04-16
By: O. Henry, and others
-
The Best Short Stories 2024
- The O. Henry Prize Winners
- By: Amor Towles - editor, Jenny Minton Quigley - editor
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Kristen DiMercurio, Blair Young, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The prestigious annual story anthology, featuring prize-winning stories by Kate DiCamillo, Jess Walter, Dave Eggers, Allegra Goodman, Jai Chakrabarti, Francisco Gonzalez, and more.
-
-
Superb!
- By Andre on 10-12-24
By: Amor Towles - editor, and others
-
Short Story Classics
- From the Great Storywriters of the World
- By: Edgar Allan Poe, George Eliot, Kate Chopin, and others
- Narrated by: Cathy Dobson
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A vintage collection of some of the greatest short stories ever written: "The Purloined Letter", by Edgar Allan Poe; "The Nose", by Nikolai Gogol; "The Story of an Hour", by Kate Chopin; "The Gift of the Magi", by O. Henry; "The Apparition of Mrs. Veal", by Daniel Defoe; "The Lifted Veil", by George Eliot; "Life of Ma Parker", by Katherine Mansfield; "The Baron", by Katherine Mansfield; "The Cask of Amontillado", by Edgar Allan Poe; "The Seventh Pullet", by Saki; and more.
By: Edgar Allan Poe, and others
-
The Best American Short Stories 2024
- By: Lauren Groff, Heidi Pitlor
- Narrated by: Christina Delaine, Vikas Adam, Joniece Abbott-Pratt, and others
- Length: 17 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
“There have never been as many exquisitely built stories in existence than there are now,” proclaims guest editor Lauren Groff in her introduction. This abundance led to a volume of robust stories with the nerve to push against narrative expectations. The Best American Short Stories 2024 boasts a collection of twenty stories that “buzz with their own strange logic.” Daring and resonant, the stories in this volume invite in Groff “a feeling that both the author and I were simultaneously discovering something together.”
By: Lauren Groff, and others
-
The Best American Short Stories 2019
- By: Anthony Doerr, Heidi Pitlor
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff, Heidi Pitlor, Scott Shepherd, and others
- Length: 16 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
#1 New York Times best-selling, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Anthony Doerr brings his“stunning sense of physical detail and gorgeous metaphors” (San Francisco Chronicle) to selecting The Best American Short Stories 2019. Doerr and the series editor, Heidi Pitlor, winnow down twenty stories out of thousands that represent the best examples of the form published the previous year.
-
-
a lovely blend of stories well read
- By Timothy P. Welch on 10-22-22
By: Anthony Doerr, and others
-
The Best American Short Stories 2022
- Best American
- By: Andrew Sean Greer - editor, Heidi Pitlor - series editor
- Narrated by: Andrew Sean Greer, Reynaldo Piniella, Shawn K. Jain, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A collection of the year’s best short stories, selected by Pulitzer Prize winner Andrew Sean Greer and series editor Heidi Pitlor.
-
-
So depressing
- By pj on 02-21-23
By: Andrew Sean Greer - editor, and others
-
The Short Story Collection
- Classic Short Stories
- By: Stephen Crane, O. Henry, Anton Chekov
- Narrated by: Frank Muller, George Guidall
- Length: 1 hr and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This group of four classic stories from the 19th century includes works that appear in many collections of European literature. Offering tantalizing revelations and unforgettable characters, these tales have delighted readers ever since they were first published. These classic short stories are narrated by two of the most critically-acclaimed readers in the audiobook field: George Guidall and Frank Muller. Their performances bring fresh emotional nuances to the tales while highlighting the wonderful strands of irony.
-
-
very disjointed story telling
- By Amazon Customer on 08-29-24
By: Stephen Crane, and others
-
Short Stories: The Vintage Collection
- By: Saki, Thomas Hardy, Kate Chopin, and others
- Narrated by: Derek Jacobi, Martin Jarvis, Hugh Laurie, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The fifth volume in CSA Word's massively popular complete and unabridged ‘Short Stories’ collection is bound to please. With something for everyone this collection of classic stories read by only the best-suited and most established readers will delight the ears as a vintage wine excites the gullet; The Vintage Collection is audible gold. Features eye-catching typographical series design.
-
-
Superb Collection and Production
- By andrew on 07-14-12
By: Saki, and others
-
50 Greatest Short Stories
- By: Terry O'Brien - editor, Terry O'Brien - introduction
- Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi, Deepti Gupta
- Length: 22 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Selected from the best of the world's short fiction, 50 Great Short Stories brings together writings by great masters of the genre. Carefully picked for their timeless quality, listeners are sure to be delighted by the inclusion of such favourites as 'The Gift of the Magi', 'The Lady with the Dog', 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button', 'Rain' and 'Mrs Packletide's Tiger', to name but a few.
-
-
Very Disappointed
- By Nicole Singer on 12-14-18
By: Terry O'Brien - editor, and others
-
Great Classic Stories II
- By: Edgar Allan Poe, James Joyce, Mark Twain, and others
- Narrated by: Simon Vance, Kate Fenton, Stephen R. Thorne, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This wonderful collection of 18 short stories includes work by some of literature's most treasured names, including Mark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Oscar Wilde, and many more. This superlative treasury includes "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe; "A Piece of String" by Guy Le Maupassant; "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin; "The Mark on the Wall" by Virginia Woolf; "Nuns at Lunch" by Aldous Huxley, and many more!
-
-
Another great selection of stories
- By Adeliese Baumann on 02-04-13
By: Edgar Allan Poe, and others
-
Short Story Collection, Vol. 051
- By: Keisha Wilmore
- Narrated by: Lars Rolander, Bob Neufeld, Loubet, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Short Story Collection 051: a collection of 20 short works of fiction.
By: Keisha Wilmore
-
The Best Short Stories 2021
- The O. Henry Prize Winners
- By: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - editor, Jenny Minton Quigley - editor
- Narrated by: Feodor Chin, Frankie Corzo, Gary Furlong, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Now entering its second century, the prestigious annual story anthology has a new title, a new look, and a new guest editor. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has brought her own refreshing perspective to the prize, selecting stories by an engaging mix of celebrated names and young emerging voices. The winning stories are accompanied by an introduction by Adichie, observations from the winning writers on what inspired them, and an extensive resource list of magazines that publish short fiction.
-
-
Don't Waste Your Money
- By Eric Meyer on 12-15-21
By: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - editor, and others
-
Classic American Short Stories, Volume 2
- By: Theodore Dreiser, Jack London, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and others
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The greatest short story writers strive to achieve a single, dramatic effect, a feature which the early masters of this genre perfected. Although the short story came from Europe, it was reborn in America and reached a pinnacle of superb form on these shores by the turn of the 20th century. In so many of our best writers, we hear echoes of a pioneer ethos that sustains the heart of a great literature. Here are 12 of America's best.
-
-
Fun listening too
- By Michael on 10-01-06
By: Theodore Dreiser, and others
-
Where I'm Calling From
- Selected Stories
- By: Raymond Carver
- Narrated by: Norman Dietz
- Length: 16 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By the time of his early death in 1988, Raymond Carver had established himself as one of the great practitioners of the American short story. Where I'm Calling From, his last collection, encompasses classic stories from Cathedral, What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, and earlier Carver volumes, along with seven new works previously unpublished in book form.
-
-
Love Carver, But Dietz Ruins It With Reading
- By Noirbat on 05-10-18
By: Raymond Carver
-
Classic American Short Stories
- And More Classic American Short Stories
- By: O. Henry, Stephen Crane, Jack London, and others
- Narrated by: William Roberts, Garrick Hagon, Liza Ross
- Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Represented here are 16 short stories by seven great American writers, dating from the 19th and 20th centuries. Different in atmosphere and writing style, they nevertheless caught the mood and concerns of the day in a way that was distinctly American.
-
-
No Table of Contents - Frustrating
- By Nancy Odegaard on 02-14-22
By: O. Henry, and others
What listeners say about The Penguin Book of the Modern American Short Story
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Charlene Sessions Kandl
- 11-18-24
Excellent collection wonderfully performed
Perfectly reflected the introduction by John Freeman. Fantastic progression reflecting both the social progression over 50-60 years as well as the general progression of the short story during that time period.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- sfp
- 06-19-23
So many gems
I can’t remember an anthology with so many absolutely first class stories. I will be re-reading Lahiri, Englander, Wolff, King, Everett, and Joy Williams. I will be haunted by I.B. Singer’s The Reencounter and Julie Otsuka’s Diem Perdidi.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- R. Snyder
- 03-13-24
Great stories
I liked all the different voices both narratively and vocally. The collection is diverse and interesting.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Lazy Chicken
- 10-03-22
Too dark for my taste
I could only get through about 2 hours before calling it quits. The first story was the only interesting one. In my opinion
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful