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Fun with Problems: Stories Audiobook
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(3.00) - 235 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
In Fun with Problems, Robert Stone demonstrates once again that he is "one of our greatest living writers" (Los Angeles Times). The pieces in this new volume vary greatly in length—some are almost novellas, others no more than a page—but all share the signature blend of longing, violence, black humor, sex, and drugs that has helped Stone illuminate the dark corners of the human soul. Entire lives are laid out with remarkable precision, in captivating prose: a screenwriter carries on a decades-long affair with a beautiful actress, whose descent into addiction he can neither turn from nor share; a bored husband picks up a mysterious woman only to find that his ego has led him woefully astray; a world-beating Silicon Valley executive receives an unwelcome guest at his mansion in the hills; a scuba dive guides uneasy newlyweds to a point of no return. Fun with Problems showcases Stone's great gift: to pinpoint and make real the impulses—by turns violently coercive and quietly seductive—that cause us to conceal, reveal, and betray our very selves.
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"I continue to be somewhat beguiled by Robert Stone's short stories. Sometimes they go off on unexpected tangents that cause my interest to wane, like the latter part of "Charm City" or the middle of "The Wine-Dark Sea." But other times they're just great, like "From the Lowlands" and "High Wire" and "The Archer." Even in the less-focused stories, there's lots of great insight and humor, lots of lines I found myself reading again and thinking how I would write them down somewhere, if I was the kind of person who wrote such things down somewhere."
— Mike (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“Stone doesn’t just let his wounded characters whimper in the corner. He turns them loose on a world hard enough to knock them down but indifferent enough to not care about them once they’re gone.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
The stories are witty and diverse and are all unified by some element of brokenness.
— Booklist -
“Each character comes closer and closer to truth, but heartbreakingly, never quite turns the corner. You know they are on the right track though and that makes suffering with these characters enjoyable.”
— Booklist
Fun with Problems Listener Reviews
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" Good writing, interesting short stories, some good, some just ok. "
— doug, 2/10/2014 -
" Not Fun with problems would be a better titile for these people and their constent problems for which apparently their are no remedies. My suggestion fix is to skip these "Not Fun" yet very trying tales. 1 of 10 stars "
— Tim, 1/30/2014 -
" Uh, sucked. "
— Poppy, 1/27/2014 -
" "It's a fallen world, is it not? We carry love in earthen vessels." "
— Patrick, 1/22/2014 -
" Great collection of very short, regular short and almost novella-length stories. Stone is at his best in "High Wire," a Los Angeles-in-the-80s story. "
— Jane, 1/15/2014 -
" I really struggle with short stories but enjoyed this volume a lot. Stone is dark and his stories are dark--and very well written. I particularly liked Honeymoon and High Wire but disliked The Wine-Dark Sea. Recommended. "
— Kalen, 1/6/2014 -
" Stories about addiction, set mostly in California. The characters got old for me fairly quickly, though I did enjoy a few of the stories. "
— Mary, 12/4/2013 -
" You won't miss anything if you don't read it. Some parts are good, some are not as OK. "
— Incoherent, 12/3/2013 -
" just started but love the title "
— Diane, 11/22/2013 -
" I found the writing style dry and unappealing. "
— Abigail, 11/16/2013 -
" Dense fast moving prose yet an endless repeat of self destructive characters. "
— Daniel, 10/17/2013 -
" Taut and violent on a molecular level, these stories examine humans at their best and worst. Humans being themselves. Some great pieces here, recommended if you enjoy Joyce Carol Oates' more sparsely-decorated style. "
— Alicia, 10/14/2013 -
" best writing, best characters, people always doing the most unexpected things, scary insights "
— Kevin, 8/23/2012 -
" I don't mind "dark tales" and usually love short story collections, but it was hard for me to want to finish most of the stories in this collection. A few were good, most were forgettable. "
— Dorian, 7/22/2012 -
" A good collection of short stories. Some better than others, but all were worth reading. Stone is a very under appreciated writer. "
— Ryan, 3/4/2012 -
" I'm still hungover from Stone's latest story collection. It took me about four attempts to get into the title story, but once I got past that, the remaining stories were lively and pleasantly uncomfortable - full of messy drunks causing messes. "
— Chris, 2/5/2012 -
" Men behaving badly, and the women who enable them. "
— Jess, 12/8/2011 -
" A collection of (too few) short stories by a master of the form, some very very good, some not as good, but all-in-all a very interesting read. "
— Gary, 3/18/2011 -
" "It's a fallen world, is it not? We carry love in earthen vessels." "
— Patrick, 1/2/2011 -
" There's a little too much manly man going on in here for me, but Robert Stone has a commanding writing style and an almost bohemian perspective. Nothing really stuck with me, though I did enjoy Charm City. "
— Mbreaden, 12/1/2010 -
" best writing, best characters, people always doing the most unexpected things, scary insights "
— Kevin, 11/24/2010 -
" Stone is the dark chronicler of what happens when the craven appetites of the stoned intersect with the naivete of the fatefully un-hip in contemporary America. A great writer with a finger on the pulse of our collective decadent heart. "
— Michael, 9/8/2010 -
" Men behaving badly, and the women who enable them. "
— Jess, 9/2/2010 -
" First story is surprisingly good. The rest didn't always succeed in grabbing my attention. "
— Quentin, 7/19/2010 -
" Dense fast moving prose yet an endless repeat of self destructive characters. "
— Daniel, 4/4/2010
About Robert Stone
Robert Stone (1937–2015) received most of the accolades and awards possible for a contemporary novelist, and he has been called the best writer of the post-Vietnam era. His many novels, which have enjoyed commercial success as well as critical acclaim, include the National Book Award winner Dog Soldiers, Damascus Gate, Bay of Souls, and A Hall of Mirrors. He was also the author of the short story collection Bear and His Daughter, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
About David Colacci
David Colacci is an actor and director who has directed and performed in prominent theaters nationwide. His credits include roles from Shakespeare to Albee, as well as extensive work on new plays. As a narrator, he has won numerous Earphones Awards, earned Audie Award nominations, and been included in Best Audio of the Year lists by such publications as Publishers Weekly, AudioFile magazine, and Library Journal. He was a resident actor and director with the Cleveland Play House for eight years and has been artistic director of the Hope Summer Rep Theater since 1992.