The author, known primarily for his iconic graphic novels, is English, so it's not surprising that several narrators of this stunning short story collection have British accents. The speculative stories vary in length and feature, among others, a woman whose brain hemispheres are severed, aliens who are trying to stay hidden despite a peculiar experience with time, and Jesus inheriting property after the Rapture. The longest story, which takes up half the audiobook, is a fictional echo of the author's frustrations with the comic book industry. Each narrator delivers stories that are bizarre and beautiful. Stand-out performances include Samuel Barnett's "Cold Reading" and Matt Reeves's "What We Can Know About Thunderman." All the narrators connect with their characters in ways that enrich the narratives and fully immerse listeners.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2022
Duration: 17 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
These stories present extraordinary contemporary writing and create a rewarding listening experience.
Novelist Orange has selected a scintillating collection of stories that are thought provoking and well crafted. Among the many pleasures is how well the narrators have been paired with the short stories. Lee Osorio and Ines del Castillo capture the style and tone of the letter-writing father and daughter in Noel Quinones’ “This Time and the Next”; Peter Ganim inhabits the two very different narrators of Kevin Wilson’s insightful “All Stories” and William Pei Shih’s sendup of musical pretention in “The Masterclass”; Jen Zhao performs Guka Han’s haunting “Earshot” sensitively and eloquently.
These stories present extraordinary contemporary writing and create a rewarding listening experience.Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
Duration: 11 hrs, 38 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217406777
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Oct. 20, 2026
An intriguing listen, with a narrator who aptly elevates the text’s thoughtful, seductive prose.
Narrator Victoria Villarreal breathes life into Mexican author Rivera Garza’s sweeping essay collection. Blending fiction and journalism, the stories explore travel alongside topics including gender, love, capitalism, and climate change. In one story, two women travel together while feeling threatened by the dangers men can pose. Another follows college students traveling from a rural area to the complicated metropolis of Mexico City. In “The Meaning of Rain,” a woman visits Belfast, Ireland, where she believes her former lover is from, and ponders the rain that once arrived punctually in Mexico City before climate change disrupted its patterns. Villarreal’s clear voice maintains tension, and she switches effortlessly between Spanish and English and among various characters.
An intriguing listen, with a narrator who aptly elevates the text’s thoughtful, seductive prose.Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2026
Duration: 4 hrs, 33 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217405268
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Oct. 30, 2026
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