Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules
Written by Tobias Wolff, Akhil Sharma, Charles Baxter and
Narrated by Akhil Sharma, David Sedaris, Cherry Jones and
3.5/5
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About this audiobook
David Sedaris is an exceptional reader. Alone in his apartment, he reads stories aloud to the point he has them memorized. Sometimes he fantasizes that he wrote them. Sometimes, when they’re his very favorite stories, he’ll fantasize about reading them in front of an audience and taking credit for them. The audience in these fantasies always loves him and gives him the respect he deserves.
David Sedaris didn’t write the stories in Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules . But he did read them. And he liked them enough to hand pick them for this collection of short fiction. Featuring such notable writers as Lorrie Moore, Alice Munro, Joyce Carol Oates, Jean Thompson, and Tobias Wolff, Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules includes some of the most influential and talented short story writers, contemporary and classic.
Perfect for fans who suffer from Sedaris fever, Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules will tide them over and provide relief.
Tobias Wolff
Tobias Wolff was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and grew up in Washington State. He attended Oxford University and Stanford University, where he now teaches English and creative writing. He has received the Story Prize, both the Rea Award and PEN/Malamud Award for excellence in the short story, the Los Angeles Times Book Award, and the PEN/Faulkner Award.
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Reviews for Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules
271 ratings13 reviews
What our readers think
Readers find this title to be a lovely compilation of stories, read by amazing authors. The narrators are all amazing and each story is beautiful, keeping readers thinking about them at random times. Although the longest story at the end is not as good as the ones before, overall it is a treat to listen to such wonderful stories.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Amazing short stories read by amazing authors - personally the longest was at the end and the not as good as the ones before - which are great!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lovely compilation of stories! Took me to work and home all week
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5this audiobook is abridged. the print version is much larger.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It was quite a treat to listen to such wonderful stories. All the narrators were amazing. I can't pick a favorite story because each one is beautiful and have kept me thinking about them at random times.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ah well... I thought this was WRITTEN by David Sedaris and was all ready to chuckle along with my fave memoirist. Despite my initial disappointment, this collection is great! I enjoyed the stories and will be exploring each of the authors in more detail.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5short stories selected by David Sedaris.
I am pretty sure I didn't fall asleep during this audiobook, but there seemed to be only a handful of stories--maybe 5 or 6? Is there such a thing as an abridged audiobook of short stories?
They weren't as entertaining as Sedaris' own work, but as his favorites serve as a sort of window into his literary tastes. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I desperately want my own copy of this now. It is that good. David Sedaris, you have damn good taste in short stories. Although that isn't much of a surprise, is it?
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I love David Sedaris and I went to see him live... he recommended some books to read and then I found this collection he compiled. I am not a huge fan of short stories. I like them only if the story completes itself and isn't all about symbolism and themes. A few stories I loved and some I couldn't get into (... borderline hated). If you like short stories, David Sedaris is a great author with excellent taste and I am sure this compilation will not disappoint. If not, go into it realizing it's what it is... that's what got me through it. Thankfully there were a few stories to make the book worthwhile.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A friend gave me this, as we are both Sedaris fans. None of this is his work (save the introduction, which was on par with most of his better essays), but I decided to trust his judgment and try something new. As with most collections, the stories were of varying quality.Where the Door is Always Open and the Welcome Mat is Out by Patricia Highsmith, read by Cherry Jones: Mildred is rushing around frantically to prepare for her sister Edith’s visit. The reader was great, but the story itself was pretty boring. Maybe it was because I just wasn’t all that interested in the characters, or maybe because all the minutia felt excessively detailed.Bullet In the Brain by Tobias Wolff, read by Toby Wherry: A fascinating little vignette that stretches out an instant of time into a fully coherent narrative, and it ended at just the right spot too.Gryphon by Charles Baxter, read by David Sedaris: A new substitute teacher with crazy ideas. Sedaris did an excellent job, which is kind of surprising since he tends to narrate in a sort of monotone, but somehow he managed to get across everything with subtle changes in pitch and inflection. Probably my favorite of the batch.In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is Buried by Amy Hempel, read by Mary-Louise Parker: I’ll be perfectly honest here: I had a whole lot of trouble following this one. Maybe I was just distracted, but I have absolutely no idea what it was about.Cosmopolitan written and read by Akhil Sharma: A somewhat strange tale about an older Indian man attempting to have an affair with his American neighbor. Sharma probably should not have read his own story, as his cadence tended toward the droning, but I still very much enjoyed the story, and the ending made me smile.In all, not a bad collection. These are the sorts of stories we’d read in creative writing classes, which gave me weird flashbacks from time to time, but it was a nice break from the string of novels I’d been listening to lately.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5for a book edited by David Sedaris, not overly funny. Having said that, I think I have found a few new authors to read.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Readers should be aware that this is a collection of Sedaris's favorite essays, not his own work. That said, the pieces are generally excellent, and it is interesting to get a perspective on the more serious literary side of this remarkable comedic writer.Perhaps the best aspect of this book is that his popularity will encourage more people to discover the pleasures of short stories. All this great storytelling, and the proceeds of new sales go to charity!After reading these pieces, it's easy to see how Sedaris got his inspiration for his tightly constructed comedic essays. A great read.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5David Sedaris's introduction to this short story collection, which he edited, is a lovely ode to reading and taste, and the way a really good story can just flatten you. "I believed, and still do," he writes, "that stories can save you." The stories included here, he says, are the "Herculai"--the literary giants that make him feel like "a comparative midget, scratching around in their collective shadow." Among my favorites here were "Oh, Joseph, I'm So Tired," "Gryphon," "People Like That Are the Only People Here," and "Cosmopolitan." And--on top of a great read--when you buy this book you get to feel like a do-gooder, too; all proceeds from the sale go to 826NYC.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Some of the oddest short stories, ever!