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The New York Stories Audiobook
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Publisher Description
Collected for the first time, the New York stories of John O'Hara, "among the greatest short story writers in English, or in any other language" (Brendan Gill, Here at The New Yorker)
Collected for the first time, here are the New York stories of one of the twentieth century’s definitive chroniclers of the city—the speakeasies and highballs, social climbers and cinema stars, mistresses and powerbrokers, unsparingly observed by a popular American master of realism. Spanning his four-decade career, these more than thirty refreshingly frank, sparely written stories are among John O’Hara’s finest work, exploring the materialist aspirations and sexual exploits of flawed, prodigally human characters and showcasing the snappy dialogue, telling details and ironic narrative twists that made him the most-published short story writer in the history of the New Yorker.
With an introduction by the editor, and a foreword both written and read by E.L. Doctorow.
Narrated by Becky Ann Baker, Dylan Baker, Bobby Cannavale, Jon Hamm, Richard Kind, Jan Maxwell, Gretchen Mol, and Dallas Roberts
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"Superb . . . The 32 stories inhabit the Technicolor vernaculars of taxi drivers, barbers, paper pushers and society matrons. . . . Undoubtedly, between the 1930s and the 1970s, [O’Hara] was American fiction’s greatest eavesdropper, recording the everyday speech and tone of all strata of midcentury society. . . . What elevates O’Hara above slice-of-life portraitists like Damon Runyon and Ring Lardner is the turmoil glimpsed beneath the vibrant surfaces."
— The Wall Street Journal
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“Superb…The thirty-two stories inhabit the Technicolor vernaculars of taxi drivers, barbers, paper pushers and society matrons…Undoubtedly, between the 1930s and the 1970s, [O’Hara] was American fiction’s greatest eavesdropper, recording the everyday speech and tone of all strata of midcentury society…What elevates O’Hara above slice-of-life portraitists like Damon Runyon and Ring Lardner is the turmoil glimpsed beneath the vibrant surfaces.”
— Wall Street Journal -
“This is fiction, but it has, for me, the clang of truth.”
— John Updike -
“O’Hara’s eyes and ears have been spared nothing.”
— Dorothy Parker -
“A writer of dream-sharp tales, crisp yet dense.”
— Los Angeles Times -
You can binge on his collections, the way some people binge on Mad Men, and for some of the same reasons.
— Lorin Stein, editor of The Paris Review -
Don Draper is an O’Hara character if ever there was one. . . . The stories have the tang of genuine observation and reporting. . . . You’re aware of how brilliantly O’Hara uses dialogue to convey exposition, and of how often his people, like Hemingway’s, leave unsaid what is really on their minds. . . . O’Hara [was] a master of the short story . . . The New York anthology . . . is part of a welcome Penguin effort to reissue his work in paperback.
— Charles McGrath, The New York Times Book Review -
O'Hara occupies a unique position in our contemporary literature.... He is the only American writer to whom America presents itself as a social scene in the way it once presented itself to Henry James, or France to Proust.
— Lionel Trilling, The New York Times -
This is fiction, but it has, for me, the clang of truth.
— John Updike -
O’Hara’s eyes and ears have been spared nothing.
— Dorothy Parker -
A writer of dream-sharp tales, crisp yet dense.
— Los Angeles Times -
O’Hara practices the classic form of the modern short story developed by Joyce and perfected by Hemingway. . . . His coverage is worthy of a Balzac.
— E. L. Doctorow, from the Foreword -
His short stories are gorgeous broken scenes of American life . . . and his style and themes—a bridge, if you will, between F. Scott Fitzgerald and John Updike—remain painfully and beautifully relevant today.
— Huffington Post -
An author I love is John O’Hara. . . . I think he’s been forgotten by time, but for dialogue lovers, he’s a goldmine of inspiration.
— Douglas Coupland, Shelf Awareness -
Among the greatest short-story writers in English, or in any other language... [He helped] to invent what the world came to call The New Yorker short story.
— Brendan Gill, Here at The New Yorker
Awards
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Winner of the 2015 Audie Award for Best Classic Narration
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Winner of Audie Awards, 2015
The New York Stories Listener Reviews
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About John O’Hara
John O’Hara (1905–1970) was among the most prominent American writers of the twentieth century. Championed by Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Dorothy Parker, he wrote fourteen novels, including Appointment in Samarra and BUtterfield 8, and had more stories published in the New Yorker than anyone in the history of the magazine.
About the Narrators
Becky Ann Baker, narrator and actress, has received critics’ praise for her readings of books by such authors as Stephen King, James Patterson, Patricia Cornwell, Iris Johansen, and Karin Slaughter. She has performed in numerous roles on Broadway, starring in Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins. Her many television credits include Girls, Smash, and Nurse Jackie, and her film credits include Spider-Man 3, The Discoverers, and Hope Springs.
Michael Ledwidge is the author of The Narrowback, Bad Connection, and most recently the coauthor, with James Patterson, of The Quickie, Step on a Crack, and Worst Case. He has coauthored several New York Times bestsellers.
Dylan Baker is an American stage, screen, and television actor. He attended Georgetown Prep and William and Mary College before earning his BFA at Southern Methodist University, where his passion for acting was ignited with numerous stage roles. Later refining his talents at Yale’s School of Drama, Baker turned professional with big screen roles in movies like Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Delirious, and Love Potion No. 9. His audiobook narration has won him eleven AudioFile Earphones Awards.
Gretchen Mol is an actor and model. She has appeared in films by Woody Allen, Spike Lee, and more, starring opposite Matt Damon, Al Pacino, Sylvester Stallone, Sean Penn and more.
Jan Maxwell is an American stage and television actress. She made her Broadway debut in the musical City of Angels and has been nominated for two Tony Awards and two Drama Desk Awards. She won the 2005 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Her Broadway credits include Sixteen Wounded, Match, and The Dinner Party. She is the sister of Obie Award–winning playwright Richard Maxwell.
Richard Kind is an American actor known for his roles in television sitcoms, including Mad About You and Spin City. Also a prominent voice actor, his work includes Disney’s Tom and Jerry: The Movie, A Bug’s Life, Cars, and Cars 2. He lives in Santa Monica.
Dallas Roberts, who attended Juilliard, has lived in New York City for fourteen years. He was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for his role in the Off-Broadway play Nocturne by Adam Rapp. He is married to Christine Jones, who is the Set Designer for Spring Awakening and a professor at NYU. They have two sons, one of whom is named Ever Reverend Jones.
Aden Hakimi is a voice-over actor based in Brooklyn. He studied theater performance at Northeastern University in Boston, with adjunct studies at Cambridge University in England and the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin. For over a decade, he has done voice work for audiobooks, commercials, animation, and corporate videos.