Two narrators guide listeners through 12 tales of transplanted Latinx protagonists in this worthwhile audiobook by Gabriel García Márquez. In this 2009 short story collection, European locations like Vienna, Barcelona, and Rome become backdrops for tales spun from immigration and estrangement. The stories, written during the 1970s and ‘80s, feature heroes ranging from a would-be saint to a deposed dictator. Narrator Frankie Corzo’s voice is often termed “velvety.” Her performance embodies García Márquez's view of mystery existing within seemingly ordinary circumstances. Although Christopher Salazar’s youthful delivery isn’t commensurate with the lush scenes García Márquez paints, his clarity compensates, and his Spanish is seamless. For veteran García Márquez readers, this collection delights as it reminds listeners that being a stranger in a strange land is far less geographic than psychic.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 2021
Duration: 5 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781665038935
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
A series of terrifying accounts of the macabre is brought to life through David Ledoux's splendid reading. Ledoux offers a straightforward approach, making Hill's startling tales as believable as they are frightening. As narrator, Ledoux understands these stories—be it the dazzlingly imaginative "Pop Art" or the tense "Best New Horror," in which the central character is a horror editor who finds himself entrapped in one of his stories. Hill is a master at creating a high-tension atmosphere that never ceases to pay off with a scare. This innate ability is perfectly realized by Ledoux, who knows precisely when to increase his tone and pitch, or let his voice accelerate to increase the stakes. Dark, brooding, and realistic, Ledoux's performance is underplayed where it could go over the top.
Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2007
Duration: 12 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9780061554667
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Ottessa Moshfegh, author of several audiobooks, one of which she narrates, steps in to deliver this new production of the late Leonard Cohen's early fiction, written in the 1950s. The 16 short stories and a novella are a snapshot of the period and the artist's development of his voice. Cohen focuses on themes of violence, deeply intimate sex, rejection, the betrayals of old age, and more violence. Moshfegh's voice may be unexpected, given Cohen's many first-person male characters, but, curiously, it works. Moshfegh meets the moments of sexual intimacy, and of shocking violence, straight on, conveying a reverence for these early works.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2022
Duration: 7 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781696609784
Publisher: HighBridge Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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