Are We There Yet

Starred review from February 25, 2008
According to these well-chosen stories, a “wondrous woman” is foxy, resilient, stubborn and a bit magical. In David Haynes's “Taking Miss Kezee to the Polls,” the title character is a fiery octogenarian with a flaming red wig to match. Michael Genet delivers Miss Kezee's sassy proclamations with aplomb and brilliantly renders the bewilderment and compassion of the good-hearted young man who has been delegated to chauffeur her around town. In Kim Edward's “The Story of My Life,” Holly Hunter is pitch-perfect as the spunky teenage daughter of an antiabortion activist, reclaiming her right to individual choices. Two of the stories involve a touch of magical realism. In Allan Gurganis's “It Had Wings,” a frail widow takes full advantage of an angel who falls into her yard. Marian Seldes performs the woman's narrative slowly and carefully as surely such a woman would address us. In contrast, Kathleen Chalfant takes us slowly but sensuously through a “humble bank clerk's lust for “The Red Fox Coat” she covets until she becomes one with it. This touching and hilarious collection of well-crafted tales is beautifully rendered by its performers.

July 15, 2008
Many of us have fond memories of listening to stories read aloud when we were children. Perhaps that accounts for the continuing popularity of the National Public Radio (NPR) hit series "Selected Shorts," which features classic and new fiction read by accomplished actors of stage, screen, and television. (These stories are performed by David Rakoff, Joanna Gleason, Andrea Marcovicci, and others.) In the new addition to the series, "Are We There Yet?", the seven tales are linked by the common theme of travel. This eclectic collection includes James Thurber's "A Ride with Olympy," the hilarious account of miscommunication between a Russian and an American out for a drive in France. In a more serious vein, Martha Gellhorn's "Miami-New York" tells of a rich painter and a sailor on leave sitting next to each other during a late evening flight. In Eudora Welty's touching story of loneliness, "No Place for You My Love," a man and woman meet at a party in New Orleans and take a drive, hoping for love.

"Wondrous Women" showcases six pieces about women, ranging from the 16-year-old daughter of an antiabortion activist in Kim Edwards's "The Story of My Life" to the woman of 80 who discovers a wounded angel in her backyard in Allan Gurganus's "It Had Wings." One of the most intriguing stories, "The Red Fox Fur Coat" by Teolinda Gersão, concerns a bank clerk who escapes her lowly status by taking on the characteristics of a fox after she buys a much desired fur coat. Despite the variety of ages and social situations, all the tales feature strong women who assert themselves, despite the circumstances. Not only do the stories in both collections represent excellent examples of short fiction, but the audio version provides an added dimension. Award-winning actors Holly Hunter, Kathleen Chalfant, Harold Gould, and Marian Seldes enhance the experience, breathing life into the characters to make listening a joy. Recommended for large public libraries. [Kim Edwards is the author of the long-entrenched "New York Times" best seller "The Memory Keeper's Daughter". Both books are available as downloadable audio from Audible.com.Ed.]Nancy R. Ives, SUNY at Geneseo

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 31, 2008
Like life itself, these stories are more about the journey than the destination. Trains, planes and automobiles form the loose thematic center. Gellhorn's “Miami–New York,” read by Joanna Gleason, is a 50-minute tale of two strangers who find temporary intimacy on a long flight. Gleason brings out all the subtle interchanges between an army captain and a lonely wife. David Rakoff also does an admirable job with Thurber's “A Ride with Olympy,” which pairs two motorists with dubious driving and linguistic skills. But like an old car, the story is slow to reach full speed, and Rakoff's mouth-smacking noises are distracting. Sonia Manzano shows a wonderful talent for dialogue as she performs Edward P. Jones's touching story about a lonely single mother seeking companionship on “An Orange Line Train to Ballston.” In Dorothy Thomas's “The Getaway,” Mia Dillon captures the Midwestern accents of a woman and her ornery son. While the stories are a mixed bag, enough of them are good enough to be worth the ride.

Starred review from May 3, 2010
Recorded live at Peter Norton Symphony Space in New York City and on tour around the U.S., this collection features works from a wide swath of genres and masters of the genre including Eudora Welty and Edgar Allan Poe and such inspired writer-reader pairings as John Cheever and Malachy McCourt. David Strathairn’s tone and pacing produce a standout rendition of Donald Barthelme’s “Game”; Christine Baranski delivers a chilling performance of the Joyce Carol Oates classic “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” and Jerry Stiller’s hammy rendition of John Sayles’s “At the Anarchists’ Convention” brings down the house and is worth the price of the collection alone.