Oates pays homage to some of American literature's best authors. Using Poe, James, Dickinson, Twain, and Hemingway as her characters, Oates creates fictionalized death scenes in writing styles that mimic them. So Poe lingers in an island lighthouse while Twain forms a relationship with a young girl. The Hemingway piece depicts the great writer in a state of psychosis. Mark Deakins fluidly adapts to the different style and tone of each narrative. His solemn yet rhythmic cadence for Poe's story melts into an elderly Southern voice for Twain and then transitions into a matter-of-fact tone for Hemingway. His versatile inflections make him the perfect narrator for this collection in that they allow for individual characterizations but still provide a singular voice that connects all the stories.
Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2008
Duration: 7 hrs, 15 mins
Publisher: Books on Tape
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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