This collection of interlocking stories chronicles all that life has to offer, both good and bad, in a Western Australian coastal town. They are spare, emotional vignettes that focus on choices and the consequences that come from them. Two narrators, Humphrey Bower and Caroline Lee (both Australian), guide us expertly through this maze of humanity. Their voices, alternating haphazardly throughout the stories, are strong, clear, and emotional without being overwrought or dramatic. Bower exudes both the vigor of the Aussie male and the fragility that undercuts it. Lee's characters project the toughness they need to survive but also the tenderness they wish Bower's males would exhibit. Their readings complement and expand the text, making this a unique listening experience. R.I.G. 2007 Audies Award Finalist © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2006
Duration: 10 hrs, 45 mins
Publisher: Bolinda 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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