Nearly all of these 20 stories are better heard than read. Guest editor Lauren Groff vied for "rawer, meaner, spikier" stories that have their own "weird logic." Her choices are striking and unpredictable but tend to ramble over stretches of time without much suspense or dramatic resolution. This diverse ensemble brings variety, contrast, and narrative vigor that is mostly lacking on the page. The standout is Christina Delaine, who narrates seven stories, the foreword, and the introduction and as an AI shopper assistant in Suzanne Wong's outstanding "Mall of America," delivers a stellar performance. The other narrators all contribute some degree of dramatic flair.
Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2024
Duration: 17 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063275997
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Tóibín empathetically describes characters in extreme moments, and the narrators bring their experiences...
Melancholy hangs like a low cloud over these powerful stories of displacement, adjustment, and self-revelation. Both Derbhle Crotty and Darragh Shannon deliver nuanced and persuasive performances, giving structure and meaning to the often spare and restrained prose. Their Irish accents add music to the proceedings. Shannon offers rich characterizations, and Crotty's pacing is thoughtful; she gets inside the protagonist’s head especially well in the novella-length concluding piece, “The Catalan Girls.” That story follows three sisters who spend most of their lives in Argentina before returning home to Catalonia. Two of the most affecting stories, “Sleep” and the title story, provide different takes on loss.
Tóibín empathetically describes characters in extreme moments, and the narrators bring their experiences eloquently to life.Pub Date: March 31, 2026
Duration: 8 hrs, 29 mins
DD ISBN: 9781797104768
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2026
Gregoire's performance of these original stories stimulates listeners' imagination, providing plenty of food for thought.
Samek's collection of 12 short stories is thought provoking, surreal, and original. These creative stories are linked by several common threads: psychology, technology, and time. Narrator Chandler Gregoire adopts a personable tone, feminine and relatable, though her pacing can sometimes become a little bit rapid. Several standout stories from the collection include the titular tale of an older brother who has a puppeteer to control him; “Muscle to Muscle, Toe to Toe,” in which a couple is matched by an algorithm but it ends up feeling artificial; and “The Cloud,” in which mothers' limbs are stored in the cloud.
Gregoire's performance of these original stories stimulates listeners' imagination, providing plenty of food for thought.Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2026
Duration: 5 hrs, 16 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217278107
Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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