Audiobooks narrated by John Guerrasio

Golf Dreams & more: A BBC Radio Collection

"Selected stories & observations from the great American writer & Pulitzer Prize-winning author John Updike John Updike was one of the greatest American writers of his generation. In a career spanning half a century, he wrote over 50 books chronicling middle-class white America in the postwar years, and its changing attitudes to sex, divorce and religion. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including the National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award, and won the Pulitzer Prize twice, for two volumes of his classic ‘Rabbit’ quintet. Updike was an avid golfer for many years, and this collection opens with a selection of writings taken from his book, Golf Dreams, read by Updike himself. In five pieces, he discourses on the bliss and torment of the game, the pros and cons of caddies, an inadvertent outing to a miniature golf course and the Amazonian warriors participating in the US Women’s Open. These entertaining reflections are followed by six outstanding short stories, four of which are narrated by John Updike. ‘The Afterlife’, set in East Anglia in 1986, explores middle age and mortality; ‘Cruise’ centres around the relationship between an older man and his much younger lover; ‘Scenes from the 50s’ sees an elderly antique dealer recalling his youth and one life-changing night in 1959; and ‘New York Girl’ finds a married man escaping domesticity in the Big Apple in the 1960s. In ‘The Faint’, read by John Guerrasio, Freddy Python wonders whether to finish with his girlfriend, and in ‘Poker Night’, read by Kerry Shale, our unnamed protagonist refuses to let a cancer diagnosis interfere with the fortnightly poker game he’s been attending for 30 years. These stories are complemented by a fascinating documentary tracing Updike’s career from 1969, when he came to international recognition, to shortly before his death in 2009. Presented by Mark Lawson, From Midpoint to Endpoint: Talking with John Updike comprises interviews with the author, extracts from programmes such as With Great Pleasure and Arena and the writer’s readings of his own stories and memoirs – with topics including writing, sex, death, God, golf and American presidents from Hoover to Obama. Cast and credits Written by John Updike Golf Dreams Read by John Updike Produced by Duncan Minshull First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 2-6 Mar 1998 The Afterlife Read by John Updike Produced by Martin Jenkins First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 19 Dec 1992 Cruise Read by John Updike Produced by Martin Jenkins First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 26 Dec 1994 Scenes from the 50s Read by John Updike Produced by Martin Jenkins First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 28 Dec 1994 New York Girl Read by John Updike Produced by Martin Jenkins First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 28 Dec 1996 The Faint Read by John Guerrasio Produced by Viv Beeby First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 2 Dec 1993 Poker Night Read by Kerry Shale Produced by Matthew Walters First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 23 Aug 1989 From Midpoint to Endpoint: Talking with John Updike Presented by Mark Lawson Produced by Robyn Read First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 4 Apr 2009 Text copyright © John Updike 1979 (The Faint), 1984 (Poker Night), 1986 (The Afterlife), 1994 (Cruise, Scenes from the Fifties), 1996 (Golf Dreams, New York Girl) All rights reserved © 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd"

John Updike (Author), John Guerrasio, John Updike, Kerry Shale (Narrator)

Audiobook

A Leopard’s Kiss

"Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s novel The Leopard (Il Gattopardo) is one of the world’s most loved modern classics. A Leopard’s Kiss entwines the story of Tomasi di Lampedusa writing his famous novel with that of a young couple who say farewell to their Sicilian homeland to settle in far-off Australia. The novella moves from the mountains of an ancient Sicilian village to the ornate cafes and lounges of 1950s Palermo. And from the humid Queensland cane-fields in the north of Australia to a Catholic convent school in the south. This multi-voiced audio book of A Leopard’s Kiss sparkles from beginning to end."

Marisa Fazio (Author), Alexandra Fisher, Carolanne Lyme, Fabrizio Tullio, Garrick Hagon, John Guerrasio, Octavia De Clare, Rupert Farley, William Roberts (Narrator)

Audiobook

Atomic Tales: A BBC Radio 4 Sci-Fi drama

"Six sensational spoofs of classic 1950s American science fiction stories BBC Audio present six fantastic tales of twisted futures and times beyond tomorrow... Their Gaze Was Green - With the Earth under threat from Venusian terrorists, can clean-cut space heroes Jack and Chip thwart their evil, tentacled nemeses? And Mother Makes Millions - A dashing male stranger enters a dystopian world where human women have become infertile. Is he really humanity's saviour, or does he have a sinister agenda? I've Got Your Number - Cal Newton goes from hero to zero when his unique, numbered ID gets copied. Can he defeat his evil alter ego, Anti-Cal, and take back his life? Land of Plenty - In tomorrow's world, all human food is delivered in sealed mag-cans to the residents of Mars. But what if the tin-openers fail, and people are forced to eat deadly leftovers? Unstoppable! - When the interstellar Jupiter Express hurtles out of control towards Earth, it's up to ace galactic survey explorer Biff Morrow to save the day... Night of the Cicadas - A mad scientist has created a new breed of huge, mutant, people-eating bugs, intent on taking over the world. Could this be the end for humankind? Inspired by the pulp sci-fi of 'Fifties America, these perfectly pitched parodies are redolent of the atomic age - when the space race was at its height, Cold War paranoia was at fever pitch and the future seemed both thrilling and terrifying. They star John Guerrasio, Jeff Harding, Allison Warnyca, Lewis McLeod, Colin Stinton and Liza Ross. Production credits Written by Adam Tandy and Nat Sones Produced by Adam Bromley Starring John Guerrasio, Jeff Harding, Allison Warnyca, Lewis McLeod, Colin Stinton and Liza Ross First broadcast BBC Radio 7, 18 March 2006 (Land of Plenty), 31 July-4 August 2006 (Their Gaze Was Green, And Mother Makes Millions, I've Got Your Number, Unstoppable!, Night of the Cicadas) ©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd"

Adam Tandy, Nat Sones (Author), Colin Stinton, Full Cast, Jeff Harding, John Guerrasio, Liza Ross (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Jesus-Deal Collection, Episode 02: Episodes 01-04 (Audio Movie)

"In the sequel to 'The Jesus-Video', the video has caused for some changes and it is a blessing and a curse for Stephen Foxx and Judith Menez. Meanwhile, a man named Samuel Barron is trying something else entirely. He wants to recreate the time travel and sends back his son and three companions. They are to bring back Jesus Christ to the present time. If they can bring back the Son of God, will that fulfil the prophesized return of Jesus and more importantly, will it cause the Apocalypse? This collection contains all four episodes of the audio thriller mini-series 'The Jesus-Deal'. Episode 1: Keeper of the Legacy. Even after moving to the US, Stephen Foxx and Judith Menez are still pursued by their past and the existence of the Jesus video is both a blessing and a curse. Meanwhile, the orthodox ascetic Samuel Barron, one of the richest men alive, has his own agenda: After years of planning, Barron intends to send his son Michael and three companions back in time. 2000 years in the past, to be precise. Episode 2: Ex Machina. Michael Barron and his companions are sent back 2000 years with his father's secretly built time machine. However, their goal is more than just meeting Jesus of Nazareth. Samuel Barron wants them to bring Jesus Christ back to the present time to fulfil the prophesized return of the Son of God himself - all the while knowing that he'll start the Apocalypse on earth. Episode 3: The Last Supper. While Michael and his companions try to track down Jesus Christ, Judith's brother Yehoshuah is kidnapped by the Mossad. Stephen and Judith have to return to Israel and try to find him. But this isn't a simple kidnapping. All evidence suggests that someone is planning an assault on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem - a guaranteed start to a Third World War. The Apocalypse seems to be within reach ... Episode 4: New Beginnings. With the Mossad's help, Stephen and Judith find out more about the terror threat: a passenger aircraft loaded with explosive material is supposed to crash into the city. Meanwhile, Michael Barron and his companions reach their goal: they meet Jesus Christ personally. Will their plan of kidnapping the Son of God succeed? And can Stephen and the others still prevent the end of the world?"

Andreas Eschbach (Author), David Rintoul, John Guerrasio, Peter Marinker (Narrator)

Audiobook

Easy Rawlins Black Betty

"On the shady side of LA in 1961, African-American private eye Easy Rawlins can go places a white detective cannot. So when Saul Lynx needs a missing woman found, he hires Easy to do his dirty work. Elizabeth Eady - ‘Black Betty’ - is as dark as midnight and just as beautiful. An old acquaintance of Easy’s when he was a child back in Texas, she had been working for a rich white woman in Beverley Hills, but left her job with no forwarding address. Easy knows she always brings trouble in her wake, but he has a family to support and needs Lynx’s money. With Martin Luther King in the news and a new young president in the White House, it’s a time of hope for most black Americans. But as Easy tries to unravel a case that sends him in search of his own past, he finds only death under the stones he is paid to turn over... Starring Clarke Peters, John Guerrasio and Alibe Parsons and dramatised by Bonnie Greer, this was first broadcast as part of BBC Radio 4’s ‘American Noir’ season. Warning: contains strong language."

Walter Mosley (Author), Alibe Parsons, Clarke Peters, Full Cast, John Guerrasio (Narrator)

Audiobook

Audiobooks Narrated by John Guerrasio

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