SELECTED SHORTS Tales of Betrayal

From the Selected Shorts Public Radio series, the six well-crafted tales anthologized here range from the hilarious to the deeply moving. The readings vary as well. Shohreh Aghdashloo hoarsely struggles through a Welsh story in a thick Iranian accent. Comedians Anne Meara and Jane Curtin give delightful interpretations of irony-rich efforts by John Cheever ("The Worm in the Apple") and Galina Vromen ("Sarah's Story"), respectively. BD Wong, of M. BUTTERFLY fame, is weeping by the end of R. Lapcharoensap's first-person account of "Draft Day" in Thailand. David Strathairn adeptly lays back John Biguenet's disturbing and thought-provoking "I Am Not a Jew," while John Shea does his usual lugubrious thing with the apparent "Devotion" between middle-aged siblings, as limned by Adam Haslett. A fine, albeit flawed, collection. Y.R. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/ MAY 08]