"There is a certain place where dumbwaiters boom, doors slam, dishes crash; every window is a mother's mouth bidding the street shut up, go skate somewhere else, come home." - From The Loudest Voice by Grace Paley
Hilarious and colorful episodes in the lives of families - many depicted from a kid's-eye-view - are the theme for this compilation. Being part of a family is often trying, and stranger than any fiction, but never dull and always worth it in the end. Join these very different families as they face the shrinking of parents, the pre-emptive guilt of First Confession, the secret worlds of children, and more!
Shirley Jackson's Charles
Read by Lois Smith
Laurie's parents are dying to meet the most misbehaved boy in school.
Frank O'Connor's First Confession
Read by Malachy McCourt
A guilt-ridden Irish lad fears his first confession may be his last.
Toure's Solomon's Big Day: A Children's Story
Read by Daniel Alexander Jones
A little boy named Solomon escapes into the magical world of his paintings.
Grace Paley's The Loudest Voice
Read by Linda Lavin
This year's Christmas pageant stars a Jewish girl.
Diane Leslie's A Life of Crime
Read by Jill Eikenberry
Love and passion, Hollywood style, from a girl's-eye-view.
Etgar Keret's Pride and Joy
Read by Robert Sean Leonard
A young man struggles to save his shrinking parents.
Rick Moody's Boys
Read by B.D. Wong
The world of boys.
Selected Shorts is an award-winning, one-hour program featuring readings of classic and new short fiction, recorded live at New York's Symphony Space. One of the most popular series on the airwaves, this unique show is hosted by Isaiah Sheffer and produced for radio by Symphony Space and WNYC Radio.
"One of the Best Audiobooks of 2007" - AudioFile Magazine
"Both stories and readings tend to excellence." - AudioFile Magazine