Problems with People: Stories Audiobook

The best-selling author of Snow Falling on Cedars returns to his Pacific Northwest settings-and moves beyond them-in ten sharply observed, funny, and wise new stories that explore the mysteries of love, and unravel our complex desires to connect with others. Ranging from teenage to middle-age, the voices that inhabit Problems with People offer humorous or searing but always tightly focused accounts of the universal quest to understand one another-individually, and as part of our political and historical moment. Their stories are sometimes shot through with tragedy-the long-ago loss of a young boyfriend, a son's death at sea-while in others, the mere circumstances of our cultures and selves-whether it is being Jewish; overweight and single; a tourist in a history-haunted land; or on the brink of a diminished old age-prompt questions about our sense of reality and belonging. Spanning diverse geographies-across America and in distant countries including Nepal, South Africa, and Germany-these stories showcase Guterson's signature gifts for characterization, psychological nuance, emotional suspense, and evocation of the natural world. They celebrate the small, unexpectedly brightening surprises that lurk within the dramas of our daily lives.

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“The distinct narrative voices of George Guidall, T. Ryder Smith,and Mark Zeisler contribute a welcome variation to David Guterson’s new storycollection, which is about angst, hubris, longing, and the missed opportunitieswe call life. Guidall is rounded and rich, Smith straight-ahead crisp, andZeisler pleasant, with a hint of Midwest openness—dissimilar, but not sodifferent as to be dissonant. Despite widely varied settings and protagonists,the tone of the slice-of-life stories has a certain sameness. Thus, the benefitof three narrators, each of whom honors Guterson’s signature nuance andinsight, while adding his own interpretation and rhythm. Between them, theauthor and narrators have created a fine and thoughtful audiobook.”

— AudioFile