THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES 2002

These audio anthologies of the yearly collections of best American (U.S. and Canadian) short stories are always exciting, stimulating, and disappointing at the same time. These eight of 2002's twenty stories are unabridged and very well produced but omit some of the best selections from the book, notably E.L. Doctorow's haunting "A House on the Plains." Meanwhile a rambling dog like Carolyn Cooke's "The Sugar Tit," though read effectively by the author, is even harder to follow on audio. These are all fine stories, all expertly read, and three stories read by their authors are standouts--"Puppy," by Richard Ford; "The Heifer," by Melissa Hardy; and "Surrounded by Sleep," by Akhil Sharma. Each works an emotional transfiguration out of material that should make for dismal realism. Today's storytellers take their inspiration from "Rumpelstiltskin," spinning gold from straw. D.A.W. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB / MAR 03]