Joyce Carol Oates paints a haunting tapestry of American life in 22 short stories that take the listener from tempestuous inner cities to isolated rural backwaters. Obsession with loss, fear of betrayal, and sudden violence plague Oates' characters as she examines the lives of the working poor and follies of the irresponsible rich with searing clarity. George Guidall's and Barbara Caruso's masterful performances make this rich collection of stories a must-listen.
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“[Guidall and Caruso] are superb. They give realistic texture to the American idiomatic speech so important to Oates’ modern characterizations. They also understand that these charged stories need quiet, sympathetic voices held well in control as a counter to the emotional chaos emanating from the page. Their sensitive, interpreting voices are welcome company. One wouldn't want to make the journey through these stories alone.”
— AudioFile
“[Oates’] baroque imagination, her ability to convey the depths of violence and evil lying just below a thin veneer of civilization, gives her stories a chilling dimension.
— Publishers Weekly“Chilling yet impressive—typical Oates.”
— Booklist“These tightly drawn, insightful, and compulsively readable stories by the enormously talented and prolific Oates belong in all fiction collections. Highly recommended.”
— Library Journal" Some stories are really awesome, some were a bit drawn out for me, but its always entertaining, dark, and nasty at times...oh Joyce..:) "
— Marcos, 4/3/2012" Short stories are not my thing, but JCO is a writer who is always fearless about going to the heart of the matter, so the short story is a great form for her. I'm not always comfortable about following where she goes, but I'm always enlightened and often moved. "
— Dave, 2/16/2012" Always wonderful, Oates shorts are the best writing she does. "
— Dev, 8/3/2011" Short stories are not my thing, but JCO is a writer who is always fearless about going to the heart of the matter, so the short story is a great form for her. I'm not always comfortable about following where she goes, but I'm always enlightened and often moved. "
— Dave, 1/15/2011" Always wonderful, Oates shorts are the best writing she does. "
— Dev, 3/22/2007Joyce Carol Oates, an award-winning author of fiction, nonfiction, short stories, plays, and novellas, is the author of some of the most enduring fiction of our time, including two New York Times bestsellers. Her books have won the National Book Award, O. Henry Award, the Jerusalem Prize, and the National Humanities Medal, among others. Her work has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize several times. She has been a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters since 1978.
George Guidall, winner of more than eighty AudioFile Earphones Awards, has won three of the prestigious Audie Award for Excellence in Audiobook Narration. In 2014 the Audio Publishers Association presented him with the Special Achievement Award for lifetime achievement/ During his thirty-year recording career he has recorded over 1,700 audiobooks, won multiple awards, been a mentor to many narrators, and shown by example the potential of fine storytelling. His forty-year acting career includes starring roles on Broadway, an Obie Award for best performance off Broadway, and frequent television appearances.
Barbara Caruso, winner of numerous Earphones Awards for narration, is an accomplished actress. A graduate of London’s prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, she was a featured player in the Royal Shakespeare Company. She has played starring roles on Broadway and in theaters across the country. She won the Alexander Scourby Reader of the Year Award for her performances of young adult fiction and has more than one hundred audiobook narrations to her credit.