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Stay Awake: Stories Audiobook
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(3.00) - 1,132 listener ratings
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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)
Stay Awake Listener Reviews
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" 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 -
" I liked the open-endedness. But it barely compensates for the sections that crossover into mawkish self-pity or sentimentality. "
— Bill, 2/5/2014 -
" 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 -
" 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 -
" 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 -
" Stark and haunting. Reminds me of "The Road". "
— Lisa, 1/6/2014 -
" Awesome short stories with a good amount of creepiness. "
— Megan, 1/2/2014 -
" Some really strange short stories............ "
— Karen, 12/13/2013 -
" Well written and dark, dark, dark. Wonderful short stories. "
— Alexis, 12/6/2013 -
" 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 -
" some good short stories, mixed in with some really weird ones. "
— Diana, 11/4/2013 -
" 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 -
" These are completely awesome and terribly disturbing stories. "
— Yawsten, 6/16/2013 -
" Boring. Author is trying too hard. "
— Walter, 6/3/2013 -
" 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 -
" 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 -
" I loved The Bees, which is the first story in this collection. I can't wait to read the rest. "
— Cait, 1/2/2013 -
" Loved each and every story. "
— Rebecca, 9/19/2012 -
" 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 -
" 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
Kirby Heyborne is a musician, actor, and professional narrator. Noted for his work in teen and juvenile audio, he has garnered over twenty Earphones Awards. His audiobook credits include Jesse Kellerman’s The Genius, Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother, and George R. R. Martin’s Selections from Dreamsongs.