Showing results by publisher "Recorded Books" in Short Stories

The recipient of the Journey Prize and Edna Staebler Award, Heather Birrell made a splash in the literary world with her first collection, I Know You Are But What Am I? In Mad Hope, Birrell employs her keen insight into the human condition to present tales featuring a complex array of characters, including a gay man caring for a friend and a science teacher faced with a shocking request.

Chekhov, noted author, playwright and physician, is one of the most accessible and enjoyable of the Russian writers. He writes about life’s routines in a way that encompasses the heights and depths of human emotion all in the span of a day, or even a meal. This recording includes four of his most acclaimed short stories, including: "The Black Monk", "The House with the Mezzanine", "The Peasants", and "Gooseberries".

Against a backdrop of peach orchards and languid summer afternoons, Dori Sanders spins a wise, sweet tale of crossing racial barriers in the South Carolina countryside. It was unthinkable that Gaten Hill, a successful black man, would marry Sara Kate, an uppercrust white woman. It was unbelievable that hours after his wedding, he would be killed in a devastating accident.

A Pulitzer Prize finalist and winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, New York Times best-selling author Dave Eggers is the voice of a generation. This stunning collection of his matchless short fiction includes the highly acclaimed “The Only Meaning of Oil-Wet Water.”

In the smoky darkness of the local watering hole, two preppy college boys come in for a drink and end up changing three old buddies forever. After being savagely beaten by his wife's lover, a husband crosses the border into Mexico for a night of wild action that soon escalates out of hand. The aged proprietor of the local furniture emporium doesn't have friends, doesn't watch TV, doesn't smoke, drink, or go out, and has never attended a parade, festival, concert, play, or any other public ceremony.

Critics have compared her work to that of Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston, but J. California Cooper has a warm, witty style that’s definitely her own. Each of her short stories is a gem of downhome wisdom, polished with a bit of gossip, some heartbreak, and lots of humor.

Sam Theopolis entered the Woolman household like a clown with treasures up his sleeve. He kept the absent-minded Jessie from permanently checking out of reality, and he brought an inconceivable joy to Jessie's younger daughter and grandson. But just when the current of their lives seemed smooth and untroubled, tragedy struck like a squall. With eccentric characters reminiscent of Anne Tyler, Willard takes the reader on a quirky journey of the heart.

Un largo y ameno recorrido por México, de norte a sur, de este a oeste, en el que la escritora quiere mostrar algo más. Ahonda en las profundidades del país mientras se interna en el complejo y laberíntico mundo femenino: la historia de dos hermanas y su estrecha relación a pesar de la distancia; una se muda a otro continente, la otra se queda en México a conseguir dinero para hacer realidad su proyecto de abrir una casa de huéspedes frente al mar.

El dentista-convertido-en-autor mexicano Vadés debuta con seis curentos extradordinarios del horror, de emocieones eróticas y de fantasmas. Los vicios son los protagonistas aquí, esforzandose a la superficie de los caracteres que habitan.En el cuento titular, una pareja en um fín de semana trabajador en las montañas desubre un escondrijo macabro en su casa alquidalia; la avaricia causa que su relación se ágria. En dos otros cuentos,la codicia figura principalmente.

Joyce Carol Oates paints a haunting tapestry of American life in 22 short stories that take the listener from tempestuous inner cities to isolated rural backwaters. Obsession with loss, fear of betrayal, and sudden violence plague Oates’ characters as she examines the lives of the working poor and follies of the irresponsible rich with searing clarity. George Guidall’s and Barbara Caruso’s masterful performances make this rich collection of stories a must-listen.

Hallarás en este libro cuentos que inspiran, enseñan o divierten; los hay antiguos y modernos; a veces son anónimos, pero se divulgan en distintas partes del mundo ... Son historias y cuentos profundos que la autora necesita compartir con los demás porque avivan los sentimientos y llegan al alma; son historias con enseñanzas que nos hace reflexionar, que se guardan en el corazón. Todas tienen algo en común: son historias que parten del interior del ser humano.

A storyteller in the very best southern tradition, Lee Smith pens unexpected plots vibrant with luminous prose. Her powerful short stories in Me and My Baby View the Eclipse capture those extraordinary moments in everyday life when greatness and tragedy shimmer through the surface. This collection was chosen as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.

Beautifully simple and marvelously strong, the stories of Guy de Maupassant have enchanted generations around the world. One of the finest short story writers of all time, de Maupassant believed that the most heart-wrenching and powerful moments in life lay in the simple events of daily life, and he proved it by turning those moments into timeless stories.

From the streets of Danang, Vietnam, where a boy falls in with a young American missionary, to fishermen lost off the islands of Honduras, to the Canadian prairies, where a teenage boys infatuation reveals his naiveté and an aging rancher finds himself smitten, the short stories in Here the Dark explore the spaces between doubt and belief, evil and good, obscurity and light.

The magical tales in The Whispering Trees capture the essence of life, death, and coincidence in Northern Nigeria. Myth and reality intertwine in stories featuring political agitators, newly wedded widows, and the tormented whirlwind, Kyakkyawa. The two medicine men of Mazade battle against their egos, an epidemic, and an enigmatic witch. And who is Okhiwo, whose arrival is heralded by a pair of little white butterflies?

This richly imagined collage of interconnected stories follows Prosperous and Agu and the motley community of Nigerian expats who gather at their apartment each week. Their reality is one of dashed hopes, twisted love, and the pain of homesickness, even as they fight to make their way in this new world. Better Never than Late is a layered and affecting portrayal of the everyday absurdities and adversities of migrant life.

Nights of the Creaking Bed is full of colorful characters involved in affecting dramas.

These 18 stories range from magical realism to the Gothic and macabre. Whether describing a burg of one-legged miners, a bizarre brother/sister relationship, or salty seamen telling their favorite real-life horror tales, Eric McCormack disturbs and enchants.

Dori Sanders’ first novel, Clover, won her the coveted Lillian Smith Award, a Walt Disney movie option, and an appearance on NBC’s Sunday Today. Now her eagerly awaited second novel takes her readers to rural South Carolina again for a gentle and wise look at the lives of everyday people, black and white.

He talks smooth and kisses even better, but musician Sanjay Thomas can no longer live by his "hit it and quit it" motto. His past has caught up to him like an eighteen-wheeler with a massive payload—and it's not pretty. Sanjay never expects to fall head over heels in love with superstar author Celeste Francois. Now, fifteen years later, he's got to face the music with her—and explain the lie he committed so her career could flourish.