As a writer, Millhauser sees things in society that no one else recognizes but that everyone feels. He builds a dazzling but darkly comic series of surrealistic tales from his observations. This new collection opens like a Saturday morning cartoon as a story called “Cat ‘n’ Mouse” is rendered in Millhauser’s characteristically precise style as read by George Guidall. It’s followed by 12 more stories that explore different themes, including obsession, youth, misery, and human ambition. The enchanting readers make the total experience haunting and thought-provoking. The last story, “The Wizard of West Orange,” about the librarian at Thomas Edison’s laboratory, is so well delivered by Andy Paris that listeners will hate to hear it end. Engaging narrators pour life and realism into fantastic events.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2011
Duration: 9 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
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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