The Epic of Gilgamesh, trans. by John Harris

Source: Epic of Gilgamesh podcast (iTunes, Podbay)

Length: About 4.5 hours
Reader: John Harris

The book: The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the oldest pieces of literature ever discovered. The epic poem is a loosely joined series of stories about Gilgamesh, a Mesopotamian king, and Enkidu, a savage man sent by the gods to distract Gilgamesh from his kingly excesses. Along the way, Gilgamesh and Enkidu become friends (or more than friends? There is a possible homosexual relationship, depending on how you interpret the words). Written before the Bible, the poem also includes the earliest account of the Great Flood story, known more familiarly as the Noah story.

I found this book to be a fascinating look at what life was like in the ancient world. From a literary standpoint, I was amazed to see Gilgamesh, the protagonist and a king, portrayed as a bad person that needed intervention from the gods. Long before the modern times, people were looking at the ruler as both a source of trouble and inspiration. As a story, however, the Epic of Gilgamesh can be tough reading (or listening). The writers of the time did not have the same sense of pacing that we have today, plus there are sections missing or partially damaged, leaving out some of parts of the story. Read it to find a different world, not to be entertained by plot and character development.

NOTE: This story contains explicit sexual and violent content. It is not recommended for children.

Rating: 7 /10

The reader: John Harris reads his own prose translation from Sumarian. He includes notes on the text, explaining both the state of the source text and the meaning or relevance of the story. His reading itself is a bit dry and academic, with the pacing a bit on the slow side of my preferences. I listened to the iTunes version, which includes some music between sections, so when I sped up his speech, the music became distorted. At normal speeds, though, the music helps lend some drama to the story and the recording itself of both music and text is clear and clean.

Purchase a text copy of The Epic of Gilgameshat Amazon

"The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains" by Neil Gaiman

Source: Starship Sofa (mp3)
Length: 54 min (starts at 12 min in of a 1.5 hr episode)
Reader: Richie Smith

The story: I was a bit disappointed by this story.  Neil Gaiman is one of my favorite authors. His works, from the Sandman comics, to American Gods, to The Graveyard Book, are filled with mind-blowing ideas and a personality that is both grotesquely horrific and charmingly idealistic. When I heard that he had a story on StarShip Sofa AND the story had won the Locus Poll Award for Best Novellette, I had high expectations.

Those expectations were not met, but this is still a good story. It starts out simply: A man, small in stature, has lost a daughter. He seeks a guide to take him to the Misty Isle where there is legendary treasure in a cave. Along the way, secrets about both the man and his guide come to the surface, leading to a much more dangerous journey than it would first appear to be. The journey format seems to drag the story out longer than it should to an ending which is predicable, but satisfying. This is one of Gaiman's less memorable stories, but is a Gaiman  story and that's quality enough.

Rating: 7 /10

The reader: Richie Smith is a superb reader for this story. He has a clear voice that's easily understood. There's not much emotion in his voice, but that may be because this story is rather understated. The recording is well produced. Besides the main story, the podcast contains some additional commentary on science fiction and a old radio play. Tony, the host of Starship Sofa, has put together an excellent podcast. If it's not on your weekly listening list already, it should be.

"The Wine Breath" by John McGahern

Source: The New Yorker Fiction Podcast (mp3)
Length: 39 minutes
Reader: Yiyun Li

The story: Each year, The Reading Life hosts Irish Short Story week during the week of Saint Patrick's Day. Last year, I listened to stories from two familiar Irish writers, "The Dead" by James Joyce and "My Oedipus Complex" by Frank O'Connor. This year, I'm branching out to an Irish writer I had never encountered before, John McGahern.

This story is a quiet, wistful reflection on the paths a life can take as it travels toward the inevitable death. These types of stories with almost no plot don't usually appeal to me. However, McGahern keeps the story interesting by opening new insights into the life of his main character, a priest, as the narrative jumps from the present to the priest's memories. The absence of any clear plot reinforces the seeming aimlessness of the priest's life, yet the fact that there is a plot, hidden beneath flashbacks and descriptions, hints that we can impose a meaning on our lives whether or not any true meaning exists.

Rating: 8 /10

The reader: Li has a noticeable Chinese accent which can make it difficult to understand individual words. Since I routinely speak with native Chinese speakers on a daily basis, I did not find the accent distracting, but others may dislike this reading. Avoiding this story for the accent alone would be unfortunate, since it's a quite good story and Li otherwise does a decent job of reading it. The conversation with fiction editor Deborah Treisman opened up new ideas for me about the story and inspired me to listen to it a second time.


(photo by bripod via flickr. Creative Commons Attribution, Non-Commercial)

"The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst

Source: Miette's Bedtime Story Podcast (mp3)
Length: 39 minutes
Reader: Miette

The story: When I first read this short story in early high school, it was presented as sort of an "Introduction to Symbolism" text. I don't know how at the time I thought the symbolism obtuse, when reading it again it seems so explicitly stated. Having just read and enjoyed Moby Dick, it's interesting to see how far I've come in my lifetime as a reader.

The story itself is presented as a childhood memory. Hurst contrasts the idyllic nostalgia of the relationship between him and his little brother Doodle with the darker undertones of the story. These causally mentioned themes - the desire to kill Doodle as a baby, the cruelty that grows out of the narrator's pride, and the background of the carnage of World War I - combine with other more subtle, morbid clues to make a story that's worth rereading.

Rating: 8 / 10

The reader: Miette is a charming reader. She's by no means perfect - her reading at two seperate times is hilariously interrupted by a tweeting bird and a chiming tone - but this, and her embarrassed "Sorry" just adds to the charm. She reads slowly, but with meaningful inflection. I find her accent lovely, but some people may have trouble understanding a few words. As the title of the podcast suggests, this is not a professional reading, but the kind of intimate storytelling you would expect at your bedside.

The Wondersmith by Fitz-James O'Brien

Source: Maria Lectrix (Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 )
Length: 1 hr, 32 min
Reader: Maureen O'Brien

The story: On a back street of 19th century New York stands an odd shop labeled simply "Wondersmith." No one is quite sure what is sold there, though beautiful toy figures are arranged in the shop window. Deep within the Wondersmith store, a secret meeting is held shortly before Christmas to devise a plan to use children's gifts to advance a nefarious plot.

"The Wondersmith" is the type of racist and formulaic tale that sold lurid dime novels in the mid 1800s. The villains are evil gypsies intent on murdering Christian children. The heroine is perfect and noble as she is beautiful. Yet, despite these tropes, the story is exciting and chilling. It's easy to see why such stories sold so well to a public in search of Christmas entertainment.

Rating: 7 / 10

The reader: As the host of the Maria Lectrix podcast, Maureen O'Brien has years of experience in telling stories. Her podcast is focused on Catholic religion, but she also reads stories and books only tangentially related to religion. The archive features large number of stories, novels and religious nonfiction. All this experience shows in her reading of this story. She has a warm, expressive voice that she modulates for the different characters. She slightly alters the text of the story to replace a misused word, but otherwise the story is complete and unabridged.

photo by geekygirlnyc via flickr. Creative Commons attribution, non-commercial, no derivatives. 

"The Interior Castle" by Jean Stafford

Source: Miette's bedtime podcast (mp3)
Length: 1 hour, 1 minute
Reader: Miette

The story: In 1938, Stafford was seriously injured in a car accident, an experience which led her to write "The Interior Castle." In the story, Pansy Vanneman is bedridden in the hospital, with a host of injuries and an upcoming reconstructive surgery on her nose. Stafford's description of the pain Pansy experiences both before and during the surgery are some of the most disturbing passages I've ever read.

What's more striking, though, is not the physical pain but the emotional pain. The surgery becomes a violation of Pansy's body as the surgeon probes deeper and causes more pain. The picture of modern medicine is that of impersonal doctors with a veneer of bedside manner, but who see patients as a problem to be solved. This is a story, along with Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Illyich (reviewed previously) that all doctors and medical students should read.

Rating: 8 /10

The reader: Miette has a lovely velvet voice. She has an accent that I just love, with beautiful round vowels. Her phrasing is a bit unconventional at times and she repeats a line at least once, but these imperfections serve to make her reading less professional and more personal. Her reading starts with a little personal anecdote about round food which I initially mistook for the story. The recording cuts off with about 10 minutes to go. None of the story is lost, but there's a considerable bit of silence at the end.

"Rashomon" by Ryunosuke Akutagawa

Source: peopleTalk (mp3)
Length: 16 min
Reader: Sadao Ueda

The story: If you've heard of this story before, it's probably from the excellent 1950 film of the same name directed by Akira Kurosawa. The movie, however, takes most of its plot from another story by this same author. So, if you've already seen the film, you're not losing anything by reading this classic Japanese story as well.

The setting is the decaying Rashomon gate in Kyoto during a economic depression. A laid-off servant shelters under the gate, trying to decide whether to live an honest life and probably starve or turn to a life of crime in order to survive. As I listened, I couldn't help but think about people in modern society thrust into the same situation. This story would be a great starting place for a discussion on the validity or invalidity of the concept of moral relativity and its application.

Rating: 8 /10

The reader: Ueda is a professional actor who really knows how to use his voice for storytelling. He builds the excitement of the story to the climax through his use of pacing and rhythm. Ueda has a Japanese accent that is not so strong as to interfere with the understanding of the story, but lends some authenticity to the telling. Apart from some muddy sound and confusing language effects in the introduction, this is a well-recorded piece.

(photo of Nanzen-ji Gate, Kyoto by rdvark via flickr. Creative Commons attribution, non-commercial license)

"The Friends of Hector Jouvet" by James Powell

Source: SFFaudio podcast (mp3)
Length: 34 minutes
Reader: J. J. Campanella

The story: When a Canadian tourist named Brown climbs to a cliff overlooking a European mini-nation, he notices an old man following him. Confronting the old man, Brown learns about the city and the old man himself. Through this conversation, the hidden agendas of both Brown and the old man peel back layer by layer until they realize a new secret that neither of them know on his own.

In this efficient little piece, Powell puts an interesting twist on the classic mystery story. All the action takes place within a conversation, but the characters are so interesting that my attention was gripped through the ending. Jouvet's character, with its French speech patterns and diffident manner, reminds me of Agatha Christie's Poirot. This is an enjoyable story full of humor and misdirection that packs several "Aha!" moments into a short time.

Rating: 8 / 10

The reader: Campanella is a familiar voice at Free Listens, having read stories ranging from Ted Chiang's time-travelling novellette "The Merchant and the Alchemist Gate" to P.G. Wodehouse's hilarious Jeeves in the Morning. Campanella's greatest strength is his ability to do interesting and personality-filled voices for different characters. Here, he performs the French accent of Jouvet to perfection. The recording is excellent both in narrator quality and freedom from technical errors.

"The Swimmer" by John Cheever

Source: The New Yorker Fiction Podcast (mp3)
Length: 43 minutes
Reader: Anne Enright

The story: One lazy summer day, Ned Merril decides to swim across the county by way of swimming pools. His bizarre Odyssey starts out fine with the first few swimming pools, but as he goes along, he dives into less appealing pools. Odd reminders of the past (or present?) pop up and his final few laps are a struggle to return to his home.

As Enright and Treisman point out, this story has a similar feel to the better episodes of The Twilight Zone. Everything starts out normal, so when the plot takes a turn to the strange, our minds try to work for an explanation. I think this desperate effort to explain is why the story has become so widely-discussed in English literature classes. Ned's journey is a microcosm of a life, with many of the most important events happening while our heads are underwater and no way to understand our situation when we come up for air.

The reader: From the first sentence of the story, Anne Enright's sense of humor comes through. As the story goes on, her writer's understanding of the flow and intricacies of the piece bring the depth of the story to light through her narration. Her discussions with New Yorker fiction editor Deborah Treisman before and after her reading are entertaining and enlightening. The podcast is nicely produced and recorded well.

(photo by mr. rollers via flickr. Creative Commons Attribution, No derivatives  Noncommercial license.)

"The Tale of Peter Rabbit" by Beatrix Potter

Source: Denver Public Library Podcast (mp3)
Length: 6 min, 40 sec
Reader: Miss Lydia

The story: I'll admit it. Now that I'm older, I identify more with Mr. McGregor than with Peter Rabbit. My backyard garden has been assaulted by rabbits and chipmunks, most of whom eat only a few bites of a nice red tomato, then leave the rest of it mashed and ruined. I've tried fences, nets, and spraying with chili pepper infused water, but to no avail. I guess I'll have to start chasing them around with a rake.

For younger, non-gardening listeners, though, "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" has all the wonderful details that have made it a classic of bedtime stories. The description of Peter sneaking into the garden has all the suspense of being where you're not supposed to go as a child. When Mr. McGregor inevitably shows up to chase Peter, there's enough danger to be exciting, but not so much that it's scary. Every child should know this story by heart.

Rating: 8 / 10

The reader: Miss Lydia has the gift of storytelling, and here she has great material to work with. She modulates her volume, pitch and pace to keep up with the changes in situations in which Peter finds himself.  Lydia has a pleasing middle American voice that lends its warmth to Potter's words. This is the perfect recording to play for short trips in the car or while following along with the book's illustrations.

"Justice Delayed" by Decoder Ring Theatre

Source: Decoder Ring Theatre (mp3)
Length: 25 minutes
Reader: Full cast

The story: Decoder Ring Theatre produces a modern take on old-time-style radio with their great superhero serial The Red Panda and their private detective series Black Jack Justice. The short radio plays are backed by music and sound effects in a way that draws listeners into the stories. They feature exciting plots, snappy dialogue and usually nothing more objectional than comic-book violence and mild innuendo.

This story, one from the first season, has a plot that was to my mind predictable, but enjoyable nonetheless. The main joy in listening to these stories is from the banter between Jack Justice and his business partner, Trixie Dixon, Girl Detective. These witty insults and sly flirtations recall the better writing from the Golden Age of pulp detective writing and writers like Rex Stout, Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. Though the characters are not fully developed here, as the series goes along, they become deeper and more interesting. With forty-two episodes over six seasons, there's plenty of time to get to know these characters and hours of entertaining listening.

Rating: 8 / 10

The readers: Christopher Mott, as Jack, is perfect in his role as a hard-boiled detective. He's got a no-nonsense declamatory style with the right doses of hard-boiled and human. As Trixie, Andrea Lyons is sassy and smart. She's got a Chicago-ish accent, though the exact name of the city where the action takes place is never mentioned. The other characters are well-acted, particularly Detective Nick Sabin, who becomes a recurring character in the series. The music adds to drama and fits in well, giving the right amount of atmosphere without overdoing it. The sound effects likewise are professionally done and make the production a polished product.

"Eight Miles" by Sean McMullen

Source: StarShipSofa (mp3)
Length: 1 hr, 3 min (total episode is 1 hr, 47 min)
Reader: Simon Hildebrandt

The story: Like this week's audiobook review, this story harkens back to the 19th century, when balloons and steam engines were the cutting edge of technology. The "Eight Miles" in the title refers not to Eminem's movie, but the unheard-of distance into the air that a client wishes a balloonist to take him. Accompanying the two will be the client's unusual guest, Angelica.

You may have heard of the speculative fiction subgenre of Steampunk, or perhaps seen movies or comic books based on the genre. Steampunk combines science fiction with alternate history set in the Victorian Era, as in the works of H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, and Edgar Rice Burroughs. "Eight Miles" is nominated for a 2011 Hugo Award in the "Best Novellette" category, so it makes for a great introduction to Steampunk.

Rating: 7 / 10


The reader: Simon Hildebrant has a marvelous voice for narration. He performs English and French accents with great skill. StarShipSofa's podcast is envisioned as an audio magazine, usually with multiple short articles and fiction leading up to the main fiction for the episode. The whole Hugo-Award winning podcast is hosted by the cheerful Scottish host Tony C. Smith. For this episode, the main fiction, "Eight Mile" starts at 43 minutes, following a few author interviews and an article on romance and speculative fiction author Ella Scrymsour.

"The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell

Source: SFFaudio Podcast (mp3)
Length: 54 minutes
Reader: William Coon

The story: On his way to a hunting trip in Brazil, Sanger Rainsford falls off his boat near the mysterious Ship Trap Island. As a hunter, Rainsford is well-trained in survival. Not to give too much of the plot away, but he'll have to use every trick he's learned in hunting when he meets the wealthy General Zaroff at the island's lone residence.

Alternately titled as "The Hounds of Zaroff", this story appears in hundreds of literature textbooks as an example of Man vs. Man conflict. Besides the obvious appeal of the exciting plot, the story is interesting for the way Connell both contridicts and supports Zardoff's "might makes right" philosophy. The initial reaction and selective application of this philosophy by Rainsford is what separates man from beast, but still allows us to survive in a often dangerous world.

Rating: 9 / 10

The reader: From his amateur work at Librivox to his present status as a professional narrator, William Coon has always produced great readings. Here, he applies his feel for narration to bring out the excitement in an already gripping story. Coon's skill with characterization shows in the voices he adopts for the cold, foreign Zaroff and the heroic Rainsford. According to SFFaudio, this recording is the only free unabridged recording of the story, though it has been adapted countless times for radio plays and movies.

"My Oedipus Complex" by Frank O'Connor

Source: The Guardian Short Story podcast (mp3)
Length: 35 min
Reader: Helen Dunmore

The story: Happy Saint Patrick's Day! As part of my participation in Irish Short Stories Week, I'm reviewing what is probably Frank O'Connor's most famous story. This story is partially based on O'Connor's own life growing up in Cork, Ireland as an only child with an alcoholic father and a mother who he idolized.

The story is narrated by a young boy, who having lived with only his mother for years, now has a competitor for his mother's affection. His father has returned home after serving in the army for the duration of Word War I, much to his son's disappointment. The childish perspective gives rise to delicious ironies such as the boy, on being displaced from the center of his mother's world, stating that he had never known anyone as self-centered as his father. O'Connor's masterful use of the point-of-view is what keeps this story from becoming overtly sentimental and makes it instead so charming.

Rating: 8 / 10

The reader: Helen Dunmore, an accomplished author herself, reads this story wonderfully. She mimics a child's voice from confident selfishness to petulant whine without slipping into the kiddie pitfalls of playing a child's part. She's helped by the great rhythms of the text, which echoes the patter of a precocious child. This, for me, is a great pleasure of listening to a work of literature: that the sounds of the words and sentences open up new perspectives on the work that wouldn't be gained by silently reading the text itself.

(photo from the George Eastman House Collection via flickr. No copyright restrictions.)

"Another End of The Empire" by Tim Pratt

Source: Podcastle (mp3)
Length: 35 minutes
Reader: Cheyenne Wright

The story: An evil emperor receives a prophesy that a child from a remote village will be his downfall. This situation, with minor alterations, could be the opening to any number of fantasy epics, including Harry Potter or The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Unlike Voldemort, however, the tyrant Mogrash has apparently read the Evil Overlord List and is able to apply his genre savvy to try to avoid making the prophesy come true by doing exactly the opposite of what all of his predecessors had done.

Tim Pratt pulls off this story by not only having a funny premise, but by also paying attention to the details. Little things like the skulls of pixies decorating the hair of the evil emperor give the story a realistic depth that makes the world seem more fully formed. The characters are parodies of stock fantasy tropes, and the plot runs along in a predictable direction, but this is a fun, enjoyable story that made me smile.

Rating: 7/10

The reader: Wright has smooth, deep baritone that enhances the telling of the story. His voices, especially the gravelly badguy voice for Mogrash, add a layer of humor to the words on the page. There's something about the incongruity of a deep scary voice whining like a child that makes me laugh. Podcastle is in the Escape Pod family of podcasts and shares their high production values.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Source: Ancient Faith Radio (part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 )
Length: Approx. 4.5 hours
Reader: Dr. Chrissi Hart

The book: One of the classics of children's fantasy literature, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was my favorite book as a child. I loved (and still love) the feel of the world of Narnia as a place both magically impossible and plausable, filled with characters that could never exist, but are true enough to be real. I must have read it a dozen times from second grade up to my adult years. Every time I read it, I gain a new perspective on the book. The same book that is a mind-blowing adventure story for a child is also a profound Christian allegory for an adult.

I have some non-Christian friends who think that slipping an extended metaphor for Jesus Christ's death and resurrection into a children's story is some sort of sneaky trick Lewis uses to brainwash children into becoming Christians. However, I think the presence of the allegory is part of the appeal of the story, even if I didn't recognize it as a child. Great fanasty literature puts the reader in a world that has a history and largeness that exceeds even what is shown in the book. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Lewis's imaginary world works on prophesies and rules that have the feel of existing beyond the scope of the book to eternity. What better way to lend a sense of mythic grandeur to a novel than to base it upon the most powerful and deep story in Western culture?

Rating: 10/10

The reader: I'm absolutely amazed that Ancient Faith was able to get permission from HarperCollins and the Lewis estate to podcast this novel. Hart has a pleasing British accent and the confidence of someone who is comfortable in front of a microphone. She makes a couple of repetition errors, but is otherwise flawless. The recording quality is very good, as is befitting such a professionally produced podcast. The other books in The Chronicles of Narnia series are also available for free through the same website, so head on over to collect all seven books.

(Entered in the Book Review Wednesday contest at Cym Lowell. Follow the link for reviews of other books by various bloggers)

"26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss" by Kij Johnson

Source: Starship Sofa (mp3)
Length: 30 minutes
Reader: Diane Severson

The story: It took me a long time and a lot of searching to find my place in the world. I'm not sure I've "found myself" yet, but I feel much more comfortable in who I am and what I do for a living and for fun.

Finding a place in the world is what this short story is all about. Kij Johnson incorporates a travelling magic act that involves disappearing monkeys into a sweet romance about a woman letting go of her insecurities. It's way less corny than it sounds, mainly due to the sense of mystery surrounding the magic act. This is a great story to introduce literary fiction fans to modern speculative fiction.

Rating: 8 /10

Reader: Tony at Starship Sofa has built one of the best science fiction and fantasy podcasts in the English language. His narrators are usually top-notch and Severson is no exception. She has a lovely soprano voice, as is fitting for a professional musician, and she uses it well as the voice of the protagonist of the story. If you're not listening to Starship Sofa on a weekly basis, you're really missing some great fiction.

(Photo credit: Creative Commons Non-Commercial, Share Alike, by Courtenay via flickr)

Twelve Byzantine Rulers by Lars Brownworth

Source: 12byzantinerulers.com
Length: 5.5 hours, plus sidenotes
Reader: Lars Brownworth

The book: I initially was divided over whether to include this podcast as an audiobook or not. I usually only review individual episodes of a podcasts, but for this I felt it met my criteria of an audiobook for three reasons: 1) limitation of scope 2) consistancy of authorship 3) book-level quality. Unlike many podcasts, this one is limited in both the number of episodes and the scope of its subject: the lives and accomplishments of a select few emperors of the Byzantine Empire. Secondly, this is more like a book because of Brownworth's consistent viewpoint, unlike many podcasts which feature a different guest or author each episode. Lastly, Brownsworth delivers his information in the format of a well-written history, rather than the conversation, variety show, or audio magazine formats that many podcasts use.

The format works well, especially since Brownsworth is a remarkable storyteller. He has the ability to connect the events of the Byzantine Empire into a gripping narrative. The emperors and their contemporaries are introduced as complex people, some with heroic qualities, but all with some flaws. Told in this way, the little remembered eastern remenant of the Rome becomes a Tolkeinesque epic of how one nation stood against the Muslim empires long enough to allow Western Europe to become strong.

Rating: 8 /10

The reader: Brownsworth has a way with words that takes me back to some of the best courses I had in college. His speech is never dry, instead he varies his voice to share the enthusiasm he has for history.  The sound recording is a little bit noisy, but not bad. The main thread of the book is presented in individual chapters, with additional audio sidebars that can be downloaded seperately.

"The Dinner Party" by Joshua Ferris

Source: New Yorker Fiction Podcast (mp3)
Length: 46 minutes
Reader: Monica Ali

The story: The unnamed protagonist and his wife are preparing for a dinner party where the guests will be the wife's best friend and her husband.  The protagonist isn't shy about his dislike for his wife's friends and makes some crude jokes about them. The wife good-naturedly joins in; she knows he'll put up with them on her behalf.

What starts out as this outrageously funny slice-of-life scene develops into a darker and deeper story, which is difficult to talk about without giving away spoilers.  Ferris, best known for his novel And Then We Came to the End, delivers a complex main character who is likable but also distasteful. His story delves into the multiple faces we present to the world and how our everyday masks can hide our true feelings.

Rating: 8/10

The reader: Ali, author of Brick Lane, has a beautiful British accent with a melodious voice. She starts confidently inside the character of the protagonist, changing her vocal tone as the tone of the story alters. Her reading brings out the wonderful turns of phrase that Ferris provides. The discussion between Ali and New Yorker fiction editor Deborah Treisman is enlightening and entertaining. This podcast is one to add to your list: in some episodes it falls flat, but from time to time produces really great stories like this one.

(image from Kevin Dooley. Creative Commons attribution license.)

“Rogue’s Gallery” by Robert Barnard

Source: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine (mp3)

Length: 26 minutes

Reader: Robert Barnard

The story:  Robert Barnard has become a successful author in the mystery world, but like The Secret Adversary for Agatha Christie, this story is a bit of a departure from the genre for which he is best known.  After Prince Paulo loses much of his fortune in modern-day Italy, he (with the suggestion of his butler) opens his family’s art collection to viewing to raise money. To draw in the tourists, however, the Prince needs to show the one painting that the family has kept hidden for years: a portrait by Van Dyke.

This story is closer to the light horror genre than a whodunit.  Though there isn’t a great deal of suspense in the plot, Barnard keeps the listener engaged through his use of dry British humor and an intriguing backstory for the painting.  It’s not really a masterpiece, but the story delivers the entertainment it promises.

Rating: 6/10

The reader: Barnard’s reading of this piece reminds me of Alfred Hitchcock’s introductions for the old “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” TV series.  He has the same deadpan wit as Hitchcock and the same tendency for ghoulish understatement.  Bernard’s cultured English accent and the inclusion of a classical piano piece during the breaks in the story sonically compliment the subject matter of intrigue in the art world. 

Painting by Velaquez. "Portrait of Pope Innocent X"