Some of the great Impressionist painters are the subjects of Susan Vreeland's short stories, which are told by spectators in their lives: their children, their servants, their neighbors. The telling of these stories requires a familiarity with those times and a feeling for the rhythms in the lives of the artists and the world that affected them. Karen White has not looked at the entire story as a picture in itself. She reads one sentence at a time, sometimes one word at a time, losing the flavor of the Old World scenes in which Monet, Manet, and Renoir lived.
Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2005
Duration: 10 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Books on Tape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
All four narrators bring a smart edge to these stories.
Nunez's collection of short stories featuring thoughtful protagonists is well paired with a cast of four talented narrators: Hillary Huber, Rebecca Lowman, Catherine Ho, and Gabra Zackman. The stories are witty, smart, and somewhat cynical. Standout stories include “Philosophers,” drolly narrated by Huber, in which the protagonist remembers a Vietnam-era boyfriend; “Greensleeves,” in which a woman relates her thoughts to her therapist, with narrator Lowman employing an intriguing cadence and rhythm; “The Balloon,” in which the lead character remembers a lover, with narrator Zackman sounding mature, direct, and rational; and “The Naked Juror,” read by Ho, about a woman who wants to be a juror.
All four narrators bring a smart edge to these stories.Pub Date: July 14, 2026
Duration: 6 hrs, 12 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217336777
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: July 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2026
Upbeat, intuitive performances bring a curious collection to life.
Narrators Sarah Welborn and Matt Godfrey fully embrace the quirkiness of this short story collection. Welborn reads the stories led by female roles with an upbeat wryness, pausing on certain words and drawing them out and making some statements into questions, as if to poke fun at the bizarre turns of plot. Matt Godfrey, on the other hand, gives a buoyant nostalgia to the male leads, boys trying to find their place in the world. The vocal energy is sometimes at odds with the stories’ darker messages, but it doesn’t make the performance any less enjoyable.
Upbeat, intuitive performances bring a curious collection to life.Pub Date: June 9, 2026
Duration: 6 hrs, 58 mins
DD ISBN: 9781696614221
Publisher: HighBridge
Review Posted Online: Aug. 18, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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