SELECTED SHORTS: THE WILLIAM HURT COLLECTION

The collections on offer by Selected Shorts are of a uniformly high quality, and this group is no exception—if anything, it's the icing on the cake. Award-winning authors Tobias Wolff (THIS BOY'S LIFE) and Richard Ford (INDEPENDENCE DAY) are both represented here with stories about the complexities of father-son relationships. Other stories are complemented by an interview with Hurt. My only complaint is the brevity of the interview—Hurt's style should be taught in graduate acting programs, as he throws himself into each reading with an abandon one usually gets only from stage actors. The reason you can't hear the audience? They're quiet enough to hear a pin drop—Hurt is that good. He breathes fire into these stories. M.T. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2009]