Stay Awake: Stories Audiobook, by Dan Chaon Play Audiobook Sample

Stay Awake: Stories Audiobook

Stay Awake: Stories Audiobook, by Dan Chaon Play Audiobook Sample
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Read By: Kirby Heyborne Publisher: Dreamscape Listen Time: at 1.0x Speed 5.17 hours at 1.5x Speed 3.88 hours at 2.0x Speed Release Date: February 2012 Format: Unabridged Audiobook ISBN: 9781611205183

Quick Stats About this Audiobook

Total Audiobook Chapters:

158

Longest Chapter Length:

04:02 minutes

Shortest Chapter Length:

02:23 minutes

Average Chapter Length:

02:58 minutes

Audiobooks by this Author:

5

Other Audiobooks Written by Dan Chaon: > View All...

Publisher Description

In these haunting, suspenseful stories, lost, fragile, searching characters wander between ordinary life and a psychological shadowland. They have experienced intense love or loss, grief or loneliness, displacement or disconnection, and find themselves in unexpected, dire, and sometimes unfathomable situations.

A father's life is upended by his son's night terrors and disturbing memories of the first wife and child he abandoned; a foster child receives a call from the past and begins to remember his birth mother; a divorced woman experiences her own dark version of empty-nest syndrome. They exist in a place by the window late at night when the streets are empty and the world appears to be quiet. But you are up, unable to sleep—so you stay awake.

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"I recently finished reading this short story collection for the 3rd time this year. Needless to say, I really like the writing of Dan Chaon and highly recommend his books to people who like to think about the stories after finishing them. Chaon will not give you all the answers, you will have to come to conclusions on your own. I love how the stories interconnect :-) this is a great collection and worth reading again and again in my opinion."

— Dustin (5 out of 5 stars)

Awards

  • A 2012 Washington Post Notable Book for Fiction
  • A 2012 San Francisco Chronicle Best Book for Fiction
  • Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
  • A 2012 Story Prize for Short Fiction Finalist

Stay Awake Listener Reviews

Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 (3.00)
5 Stars: 3
4 Stars: 4
3 Stars: 6
2 Stars: 4
1 Stars: 3
Narration: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 (0.00)
5 Stars: 0
4 Stars: 0
3 Stars: 0
2 Stars: 0
1 Stars: 0
Story: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 (0.00)
5 Stars: 0
4 Stars: 0
3 Stars: 0
2 Stars: 0
1 Stars: 0
Write a Review
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " I had read Chaon's "You Remind Me of Me" and that lead to to "Await Your Reply". I was pulled in by that novel's many layers. "Stay Awake Stories" certainly did that. He masters suspense in long and short form very well. "

    — Pamela, 2/20/2014
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " I liked the open-endedness. But it barely compensates for the sections that crossover into mawkish self-pity or sentimentality. "

    — Bill, 2/5/2014
  • Overall Performance: 1 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 5

    " In this book's defense, I really hate short stories. Also in this book's defense, I somehow thought all these short stories would link up. And I kept reading and waiting and in my mind trying to formulate how all these characters and stories were going to merge. And then they didnt. Or at least they didnt in the 3/4 of the book I read and then abandoned. This book stinks. "

    — Lisa, 1/31/2014
  • Overall Performance: 1 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 5

    " Some of the stories just sort of 'end' and there you are. The writing is good, but the twist is flat. Also each of them seems to contain an older sister, a previous spouse, a memory of a nurse comforting a patient in a cast, etc. In fact, that made it a creepy read. This book was in the Washington Post 2012 recommended fiction. Eh. Update: Too many other books to read, gave up on it. "

    — Irene, 1/24/2014
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " You can read some short story collections one story at a time, put it down, and come back to it. With Chaon's work you want to read through the whole thing in one sitting. "

    — GoodREADS, 1/15/2014
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " Stark and haunting. Reminds me of "The Road". "

    — Lisa, 1/6/2014
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " Awesome short stories with a good amount of creepiness. "

    — Megan, 1/2/2014
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " Some really strange short stories............ "

    — Karen, 12/13/2013
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " Well written and dark, dark, dark. Wonderful short stories. "

    — Alexis, 12/6/2013
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Good writing, although these are some WEIRD stories. Like, seriously weird. And there is so much death, usually of the super tragic variety. "

    — Becky, 12/5/2013
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " some good short stories, mixed in with some really weird ones. "

    — Diana, 11/4/2013
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " Was a quick read or I might not have plowed through. Nothing was bad...just grim. Will try something else by same author, just to be fair :o) "

    — Angie, 8/9/2013
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " These are completely awesome and terribly disturbing stories. "

    — Yawsten, 6/16/2013
  • Overall Performance: 1 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 5

    " Boring. Author is trying too hard. "

    — Walter, 6/3/2013
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " This is one depressing writer! I checked the collection out of the library because I was curious about the story of an empty-nester mom. It was fine. But the rest of the stories all seem to have tragic elements not in keeping with what my current life outlook can absorb. Proceed with caution. "

    — Marla, 5/26/2013
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " This is really a 3.5 because I was originally going to give it a 3, but then I absolutely loved the last story, which kicked it up half a star. If you read only one story from this collection, read "The Farm. The Gold. The Lily-White Hands." "

    — Fancy, 3/10/2013
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " I loved The Bees, which is the first story in this collection. I can't wait to read the rest. "

    — Cait, 1/2/2013
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " Loved each and every story. "

    — Rebecca, 9/19/2012
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Quite well written but very depressing...a dozen oneiric mood pieces dealing with lost,abandoned,deformed and dead children and the adults who use,misuse and utterly fail to understand the children or themselves...Dreams are the dominant trope throughout and they're all bad ones... "

    — Frederic, 9/4/2012
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " I think these were supposed to be suspense/horror...not really impressed. "

    — Kayne, 4/19/2012

About Dan Chaon

Dan Chaon is the acclaimed author of Among the Missing, which was a finalist for the National Book Award, and You Remind Me of Me, named one of the best books of the year by the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, Christian Science Monitor, and Entertainment Weekly, among other publications. Await Your Reply was a New York Times Notable Book and appeared on more than a dozen best-of-the-year lists;. He has been a finalist for the National Magazine Award in Fiction and was the recipient of the 2006 Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He teaches at Oberlin College, where he is the Pauline M. Delaney Professor of Creative Writing.

About Kirby Heyborne

Ann Richardson is an Earphones-winning narrator who studied broadcast journalism and Spanish at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Years later, the desire to take up a creative yet productive career lead her to narrating audiobooks and founding Great Plains Audiobooks, an audiobook publishing company focusing on bringing Midwestern literature to audio.