Literary Fiction Audiobooks | Literature

The Martian Child: A Novel about a Single Father Adopting a Son

"Gerrold, a science fiction writer from California, adopts a son who has been classified as 'unadoptable' due to his violent emotional outbursts resulting from abuse. Another side-effect of his turbulent early years is that he believes himself to be a Martian. Gerrold begins the long, involving work of trying to earn the acceptance of Dennis, a hyperactive eight-year-old who desperately wants a father's love, but is so insecure he feels he must be an alien. Gerrold's recounting of the first two years with Dennis ends with the climax of Dennis running away and waiting in a city park at night for the flying saucers to come and reclaim him. Funny, endearing, and at times, heartbreaking, this is a beautifully written testament to fatherhood. This book is semiautobiographical. Gerrold did adopt a son, but he heard about a boy who thought he was a Martian from another adoptive father."

David Gerrold (Author), Scott Brick (Narrator)

Audiobook

Mildred Pierce

"Mildred Pierce had gorgeous legs, a way with a skillet, and a bone-deep core of toughness. She used those attributes to survive a divorce and poverty and to claw her way out of the lower middle class. But Mildred also had two weaknesses: a yen for shiftless men and an unreasoning devotion to a monstrous daughter. Out of these elements, Cain creates a novel of acute social observation and devastating emotional violence, with a heroine whose ambitions and sufferings are never less than recognizable."

James M. Cain (Author), Christine Williams (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Life before Her Eyes

"Diana stands before the mirror, preening with her best friend, Maureen. Suddenly, a classmate enters holding a gun, and seventeen-year-old Diana sees her life dance before her eyes. In a moment, the future she was just imagining is sealed by a horrific decision she is forced to make. The novel takes us through Diana's uncertain steps into womanhood-her awkward, heated forays into sex; her fresh, fragile construction of an identity; and her equally tenuous steps as an adult, protecting her beloved daughter and holding onto her successful husband. Laura Kasischke has crafted a story of consciousness that encompasses the truth of a teenager's world and the profound transformation of that world at midlife. Resonant and deeply stirring, this novel finds piercing beauty in the midst of a nightmare that echoes like a dirge beneath each new spring."

Laura Kasischke (Author), Carrington Macduffie (Narrator)

Audiobook

A Private Hotel for Gentle Ladies: A novel

"It is 1900 in a small, prosperous Massachusetts town. Charlotte Heath, a lively, independent redhead of humble beginnings, is married to the scion of the powerful Heath family. When, on her first outing after a long illness, she spies her husband, Hays, bending to kiss another woman in the village square, impulsive Charlotte heads her horses straight out of town. Unsure where to go but certain that she wants to leave both Hays and the stifling, if luxurious, life of the Heath household behind, Charlotte makes her way to Boston and checks in at “The Beechmont: A Private Hotel for Gentle Ladies,” where she makes another startling discovery: the classy Beechmont is a rather unique institution, where handsome porters make discreet, late-night visits to its all-female clientele. Charlotte finds herself surrounded by a cast of characters that will delight the reader as she settles into life at this reverse brothel: Harry Alcorn, the hotel’s dashing and prescient proprietor; Miss Berenice Singleton, the bohemian painter who holds a kind of salon in her rooms; the scowling cook, Mrs. Petty, who once worked for the Heaths and is determined that Charlotte not stay on at the Beechmont; the charming and handsome “porter” Arthur, who both gives pleasure and makes trouble; and the venerable lady doctor Lily Heath, her husband’s aunt, whom Charlotte is amazed to find among the hotel’s regulars. In the midst of a dizzying sexual enlightenment, Charlotte must puzzle out why she really left Hays and why he seems to have left her first. Her task is to determine whether she can forgive him and to discover where, if anywhere, she truly belongs–an adventure that takes her farther afield than she could ever have imagined. Ellen Cooney has given us a remarkable portrait of a historical moment and an irresistible protagonist. Fresh, high-spirited, and wonderfully seductive in the telling, A Private Hotel for Gentle Ladies carries the reader along on a woman’s unforgettable journey to self-enlightenment."

Ellen Cooney (Author), Cassandra Campbell (Narrator)

Audiobook

Prodigal Summer

"National Bestseller “A blend of breathtaking artistry, encyclopedic knowledge of the natural world. . . and ardent commitment to the supremacy of nature.” — San Francisco Chronicle In this beautiful novel, Barbara Kingsolver, acclaimed author of The Poisonwood Bible and the Pulitzer-Prize winning Demon Copperhead, and recipient of the National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguish Contribution to American Letters, weaves together three stories of human love within a larger tapestry of lives inhabiting the forested mountains and struggling small farms of southern Appalachia. Over the course of one humid summer, as the urge to procreate overtakes the lush countryside, this novel's intriguing protagonists—a reclusive wildlife biologist, a young farmer's wife marooned far from home, and a pair of elderly, feuding neighbors—face disparate predicaments but find connections to one another and to the flora and fauna with whom they necessarily share a place. Their discoveries are embedded inside countless intimate lessons of biology, the realities of small farming, and the final, urgent truth that humans are only one piece of life on earth. Prodigal Summer is a hymn to wildness that celebrates the prodigal spirit of human nature, and of nature itself."

Barbara Kingsolver (Author), Barbara Kingsolver (Narrator)

Audiobook

Their Eyes Were Watching God

"“A deeply soulful novel that comprehends love and cruelty, and separates the big people from the small of heart, without ever losing sympathy for those unfortunates who don’t know how to live properly.” —Zadie Smith One of the most important and enduring books of the twentieth century, Their Eyes Were Watching God brings to life a Southern love story with the wit and pathos found only in the writing of Zora Neale Hurston. Out of print for almost thirty years—due largely to initial audiences’ rejection of its strong black female protagonist—Hurston’s classic has since its 1978 reissue become perhaps the most widely read and highly acclaimed novel in the canon of African-American literature. The audio is performed by the legendary Ruby Dee."

Zora Neale Hurston (Author), Ruby Dee (Narrator)

Audiobook

Stolen White Elephant

"While many elements of civilized culture provided much comic fodder for Mark Twain, detectives occupied a portion of his observations and writing for a time. The story of the Stolen White Elephant, though entirely preposterous, is rumored to be modeled after real life efforts of an actual police department who misplaced the body of a deceased victim. This audio story will leave you laughing out loud."

Mark Twain (Author), Michael Scott (Narrator)

Audiobook

Saving Fish from Drowning

"San Francisco art patron Bibi Chen has planned a journey of the senses along the famed Burma Road for eleven lucky friends. But after her mysterious death, Bibi watches aghast from her ghostly perch as the travelers veer off her itinerary and embark on a trail paved with cultural gaffes and tribal curses, Buddhist illusions and romantic desires. On Christmas morning, the tourists cruise across a misty lake and disappear. With picaresque characters and mesmerizing imagery, Saving Fish from Drowning gives us a voice as idiosyncratic, sharp, and affectionate as the mothers of The Joy Luck Club. Bibi is the observant eye of human nature—the witness of good intentions and bad outcomes, of desperate souls and those who wish to save them. In the end, Tan takes her readers to that place in their own heart where hope is found."

Amy Tan (Author), Amy Tan (Narrator)

Audiobook

Maybe a Miracle: A Novel

"In this disarming debut, Brian Strause has written a vastly entertaining novel about an American family transfixed by a series of mysterious events. From a comfortable suburb of Columbus, Ohio, emerges a story of rebellion, faith and hope, bridging the cultural gap between those who believe in miracles and those who wish they could.Monroe Anderson–as quiet on the outside as he is sardonic and alive on the inside–has spent most of his eighteen years trying to fly beneath the radar. If he can remain invisible, he believes, his sadistic older brother, a rising golf star, might not torment him, his workaholic father, a renowned litigator, might not notice him long enough to be disappointed, and his mother might not have to struggle so hard to find a hopeful word. The only people who glimpse the real Monroe are his girlfriend, Emily, and his eleven-year-old sister, Annika. On the night of his senior prom, Monroe finds Annika floating facedown in the family pool. He dives in and rescues her, but not quickly enough to prevent her from slipping into a coma. As the family copes with this crisis, Monroe’s mother turns to religion, his father turns to liquor, and Monroe himself must decide what’s worth believing in, what’s worth fighting for, and, finally, who he wants to be.By turns humorous and heartbreaking, personal and sweeping, familiar and extraordinary, Brian Strause’s mesmerizing novel takes readers on an unforgettable emotional journey into America’s heartland."

Brian Strause (Author), Jesse Berns (Narrator)

Audiobook

[German] - Da Shakespeare auf Bairisch

"Die Erzählungen des Zyklus 'Da Shakespeare auf Bairisch' verweisen mit hintergründigem Humor und kabarettistischem Augenzwinkern darauf, dass die wahre Quelle von Shakespeares weltbekannten Dramen in Leben und Tradition jenes eigensinnigen Volkes am Nordrand der Alpen, inmitten in der 'Föhnzone', zu finden ist. So gelingt es Prinz Hamlet, auch Hamlodi genannt, mit Unterstützung der Wandetruppe eines bairischen Volkstheaters den schnöden Mord an seinem königlichen Vater zu enträtseln. Der tragische Lebensabend des reichen Lura-Bauern, der sich nach vehementem Erbstreit mit seinen Töchtern vergrätzt auf die Wettersteinalm zurückzog, bilden den Ursprung für Shakespeares Tragödie 'König Lear'. Und das herzhaft komödiantische Liebes-und Verwirrspiel um die eigensinnige Schmölzer Kath und ihre jüngere Schwester Babett entschlüsselt sich bei aller hintersinnig alpenländischen 'Fensterlromantik' letztlich klar als Vorlage zu Shakespeares Weltkomödie 'Der Widerspensitgen Zähmung'."

Curt Werner, Oscar Schmidt (Author), Christoph Süß, Conny Glogger, Peter Weiß (Narrator)

Audiobook

[German] - Stückwerk: Kurzhörspiele und Szenen

"Mein kleines Pianino (Musik), Zwei Schwestern, Xaver Spöttl beim Zahnarzt, Duplizität, Faschingsdienstag, Ein richtiger Clown (Musik), Nächtliche Episode, Junge Liebe, Hypochonder, Mit 1 ½ Augen (Musik), Schwarz, wie die Natur mich schuf, Fehleinschätzung, Fremder Bereich, Triebe, Flirt mit mir (Musik), Traumszene, Dramatiker, Serenade für Streichquartett, Nach Italien, Mein Piano (Musik), Unterm Hollerbusch, Fremdarbeiter-Story, Befragung , Die Entdeckung, Brandenburger Tor (Musik), Ferien, Alte Bekannte, Nach einem Theaterbesuch, Muichstraßn-Dialog, Nach der Lesung, Sterndl im Kaffee (Musik), Spezialisten, Ein echter Münchner, Ein Tag im Leben einer Taxifahrerin, Hallo, Mr. Einstein, Dialog im Alter, Song für Berlin (Musik), Einladung, Wies'n Erinnerung, Unterschiede, Ruheraum der Toten, Dreiquartl-Philosophie, Weihnachtsabend, Belauschte Stadt (Musik),"

Werner Schlierf (Author), Anne Marie Sprotte, Dieter Von Diringshofen, Ingrid Weber-Czech, Werner Schlierf, Wiggerl Niedermeier (Narrator)

Audiobook

[German] - Franz 'Zwetschi' Marischka liest: 100 Jahre Entertainment!: Lustiges & Trauriges - nein,

"Normalerweise bezeichnet man einen Menschen wie FRANZ MARISCHKA als Sonntagskind, obwohl er am Dienstag, den 2. Juli 1918 in Wien das Licht der Welt erblickte. 'Kunststück' könnte ein Neider sagen, wenn man in eine solche Familie hineingeboren wird: Der Vater, Hubert Marischka, ein Operetten-Star, der Großvater, Victor Leon, ein berühmter Librettist und der Taufpate, der zu dieser Zeit erfolgreichste Komponist, Franz Lehar. Dass er in die Film- und Theaterwelt eintaucht, ist durch seine Familie vorherbestimmt, und sein größtes Ziel hat er erreicht: seine Mitmenschen zum Lachen zu bringen. Das ist ihm sowohl als Drehbuchautor wie auch als Regisseur hervorragend gelungen. Von sich selbst meint er, dass er in seiner Zeit vielleicht nicht der Beste, aber mit Abstand der Erfolgreichste war. Franz 'Zwetschi' Marischka spannt mit seinen Geschichten und Anekdoten über fast hundert Jahre Zeitgeschichte einen Bogen der leichten Muse. In seiner frechen, manchmal frivolen, oft auch nachdenklichen, aber immer spannend-informativen Revue des vergangenen Jahrhunderts haben von den Namhaften und Großen ihrer Zeit viele ihren Auftritt."

Franz Marischka (Author), Franz Marischka (Narrator)

Audiobook

Literary Fiction Audiobooks in Literature