Download the Top 100 Audiobooks in Fiction, Historical Popular Titles

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Title: The Boy Who Said No

Subtitle: An Escape To Freedom

Author: Patti Sheehy

Narrator: Henry Leyva

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-04-13

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 31 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Love, loss, and courage

As a boy, Frank Mederos grandfather teaches him to fish, to navigate the seas, and to think for himself, much-needed skills under the new Castro regime. When Frank is drafted into the army, he is soon promoted to the Special Forces, where he is privy to top military secrets. But young Frank has no sympathy for Fidel. He thirsts for freedom and longs to join his girlfriend who has left Cuba for America.

Frank yearns to defect, but his timing couldnt be worse. After two unsuccessful escape attempts, he learns that the departure of the next available boat conflicts with upcoming military exercises. If Frank stays, he will miss the boat. If he doesnt, he will be the object of a massive manhunt.

Problems abound: How will Frank escape the army base without being seen? Where will he hide until the boat comes? How can he outwit his commanding officer? And how can he elude hundreds of soldiers ordered to bring him back dead or alive?

Franks true story, a tale of love, loss, and courage, will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

Members Reviews:

Masterful and riveting!

By myself I left you about when I was nine years old in 1969 and I barely remember anything. This book gave me a glimpse into the Cuba set an adult would have experienced. Give me new appreciation for the curds my parents had when they decided to leave Cuba with me, my sister and brother. I to end of living in mostly growing up in Union City New Jersey.Who knows? Maybe I inadvertently bumped into FRANKIE one day on Bergenline Avenue! I hope they make this into a movie!

Compelling, riveting story with fascinating Cuban perspective

As the USA opens our door to Cuba, I am delighted by this personal, uncensored insight into the heart of Cuba. I found Frank's warm, gripping story come to life with the lyrical descriptions of people, Cuban locales, and feelings, woven with an intelligent analysis. Recommend as a terrific, inspiring story for all ages and you learn about our Cuban neighbors from a true source too. Looking forward to reading Stalked!

Great history lesson

Any additional comments?

An inside first person look at life in Cuba after Fidel took over. The only issue I had was that the narration was talking like he was reading to a first grade class.

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Title: The Silver Falcon

Author: Katia Fox, Aubrey Botsford (translator)

Narrator: James Clamp

Format: Unabridged

Length: 15 hrs and 51 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-04-13

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 37 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Despite his mothers insistence, young William knows he is destined not to toil with a swordsmiths hammer in his hand, but rather to stride the open country with a falcon on his fist. And when he rescues a magnificent bird of prey belonging to King Henry himself, the boy finds in His Majestys favor a golden opportunity. Neither the stigma of a clubfoot nor the powerful influence of prophecy will keep him from fleeing the smoky smithy to run the open fields in the shadow of the skys winged masters.

But his journey will be a tumultuous one, marked in equal measure by triumph and torment. He will meet a lifelong friend and make a deadly enemy, be hunted through the wilderness and go hungry on city streets. And as he travels from the huts of the lowly to the castles of the highborn, growing from callow youth to experience-scarred manhood, he will fight - with honor for what is right and with fury against wrongs no man should suffer.

Members Reviews:

THE FACOLN SOARS

I found this story full of information about life in medieval. time period I don't know if it is totally historically accurate it follows the life of the main character set in about 1205 A.D.his talent with the training of Falcons brings him success, rising above his humble beginnings' I almost felt like a voyeur watching his progress,, his interaction with his family,his mothers is a blacksmith, unusual at that time period she is a craftsman sought out for her skill, ,the friendships he makes and keeps, the agony of losing his first love in a horrific murder, and his revenge upon the lord that stole the life if of this young woman brutally murdered , his child ripped from her womb this loss haunts him, he overcomes this when he realizes he can love again. he marries it brings him joy new passion, though.she is above his station part of the nobility they felt a connection and join their lives .with blessings from the king. I felt this story

a bit simplistic, but acceptable.

Would you try another book from Katia Fox and Aubrey Botsford (translator) and/or James Clamp?

yes.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Twist at the end was good. Some of the story seemed to drag a bit.

What three words best describe James Clamps voice?

a bit flat.

Did The Silver Falcon inspire you to do anything?

no.

Any additional comments?

Acceptable but not intellectually challenging book.

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Title: Wash

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Margaret Wrinkle

Narrator: Jeremy Arthur, Kevin Stillwell, Betty Hart, Christy Clark, Andrew Sweeney, DeMario Clarke

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-21-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 75 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

In this luminous debut, Margaret Wrinkle takes us on an unforgettable journey across continents and through time, from the burgeoning American South to West Africa and deep into the ancestral stories that reside in the soul. Wash introduces a remarkable new voice in American literature.

In early 1800s Tennessee, two men find themselves locked in an intimate power struggle. Richardson, a troubled Revolutionary War veteran, has spent his life fighting not only for his country but also for wealth and status. When the pressures of westward expansion and debt threaten to destroy everything hes built, he sets Washington, a young man he owns, to work as his breeding sire. Wash, the first member of his family to be born into slavery, struggles to hold onto his only solace: The spirituality inherited from his shamanic mother. As he navigates the treacherous currents of his position, despair and disease lead him to a potent healer named Pallas. Their tender love unfolds against this turbulent backdrop while she inspires him to forge a new understanding of his heritage and his place in it. Once Richardson and Wash find themselves at a crossroads, all three lives are pushed to the brink.

Critic Reviews:

A masterly literary workThis debut occasions celebration. Haunting, tender and superbly measured, Wash is both redemptive and affirming. (New York Times Book Review)

The voices of the past cannot speak for themselves and must rely on the artists of the future to honor them. Its a profound responsibility and one that Margaret Wrinkle meets in her brilliant novel, Wash. (The Wall Street Journal)

Books like William Styrons The Confessions of Nat Turner, Toni Morrisons Beloved, Edward P. Jones The Known World, and Russell Banks Cloudsplitter form a kind of Truth and Reconciliation Commission of their own. Add Margaret Wrinkles Wash to that illustrious company. (The Dallas Morning News)

Members Reviews:

Slavery's Subtle Horrors

Wash offers a wide-ranging view of slavery in the post-Revolutionary era, focusing on the experiences of Africans stolen by slave traders, first-generation American slaves, owners who try to do right by their slaves and others who are just plain mean. The author does a commendable job of getting into the heads of these characters. Some of the slave owners are almost (but never quite) sympathetic, because they are strong and have suffered and because they almost (but never quite) understand their slaves as fellow human beings. They seem unaware of their own cruelty. The "good" owners like Richardson are most difficult, because they are by definition not good and because the harm they unwittingly inflict on their slaves leeches into their own families and their entire societies.

The plot turns on Richardson's use of his slave Wash as a sire, impregnating women on the other plantations for a fee. Parallels are drawn between the breeding of Wash and Richardson's breeding of horses and hounds. The motivation is purely economic. Richardson has debts, and renting out Wash raises needed cash. Wrinkle treats this horror with subtlety, showing the damage wrought on the targeted women and, over the years, their families.

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Title: All That I Am

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Anna Funder

Narrator: Judy Bennett, Saul Reichlin

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-16-13

Publisher: HarperAudio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 12 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

When Hitler seizes power in 1933, a tight-knit group of friends and lovers suddenly become hunted outlaws overnight. Dora, liberated and fearless; her lover, the great playwright Ernst Toller; Ruth; and Ruth's journalist husband, Hans, find refuge in London. There, using secret contacts deep inside the Nazi regime, they take breathtaking risks to warn the world of Hitler's plans for war. But England is not the safe haven they think it will be, and a single, chilling act of betrayal will tear them apart....

Based on true events, All That I Am is testament to some of the earliest - now forgotten - heroes of the resistance to Hitler.

Members Reviews:

Did not keep this book

I tried to get interested in this story but just could not get connected top any of the characters. I live the WWII era and was disappointed that I could not get past the first 3 hours. I tried.

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Título: Los Miserables

Autor: Victor Hugo

Narrador: Adolfo Duncan, Rolando Aguero, Aldo Lumbía, Daniel Migani, Franco Patiño, Leticia Poul, Horacio Alara

Formato: Abridged

Duración: 2 hrs

Idioma: Español

Fecha de publicación: 04-01-13

Editor: Audiolibros Colección

Calificaciones: 4.5 de 5 de 2 votos

Categorías: Fiction, Historical

Resumen del editor:

Es una historia que gira en torno a la vida del ex presidiario Jean Valjean, quien, regenerado tras 19 años de presidio por robar pan para alimentarse, sigue cargando con su oscuro pasado. Obligado a llevar pasaporte amarillo que prueba su condición de ex presidiario es rechazado por la sociedad, hasta encontrarse con Monseñor Myriel, que le concede el perdón por haberle robado a cambio de que se comprometa a hacer el bien.

Desde entonces Jean Valjean decide dedicar su vida a la filantropía. Tras prosperar como propietario de una fabric ay alcalde, bajo el nombre de Madeleine, Valjean debe revelar su verdadera identidad para salvar a un hombre que ha sido condenado por ser confundido con el por su perseguidor, el oficial Javert, quien no cree que un hombre se redimiera de su pasado.

Please note: This audiobook is in Spanish.

Opiniones de los miembros:

The Definitive Translation of a Powerful Novel

I advise those perusing these reviews to take with a measure of salt the dogmatic pronunciations on the quality of Rose's translation. Provenance is important, and one should always "consider the source." (Yes, even with me.)

A number of interviews with Rose are available online, in which she discusses her work, and her work on this novel. The novel has a lengthy and detailed Translator's Preface, in which she discusses the novel, the translation process, and her approach to it. You also can find online some independent articles about this translation.

The great translator of Spanish language literature, Edith Grossman, said:

"I can't say what makes a book translatable, but I do think that all texts can be translated. The question of whether or not a work is "translatable" stems from a mistaken and widely held notion that a translation is really a one-for-one set of equivalences with the original--a straightforward lexical problem--when in fact it is a rewriting of the first text. Some, of course, are immensely difficult (they're usually just as difficult in the original) and challenge the translator's sensitivity to nuance, levels of meaning, and artistic impact in both languages. I see my work as translating meaning, not words."

Rose has spoken similarly about her work.

"I think the essential difference is that...and I'm not saying that translators always have to do this, there are reasons for departing a little bit further from a writer's text where it just won't work in English. I found on the contrary what really worked better in English was to follow Hugo much more closely than anyone else seems to have done. So I've actually followed his syntax as closely as possible, I've followed the rhythm of his sentences and I've actually broken it up the way he has and stuck more closely to what he says." -- Julie Rose, interview, 2009

She's translated more than thirty French works into English -- plays, poetry, novels, genre fiction. She worked on Les Miserables for three years. She has been awarded three international prizes for her translations.

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Title: The Kitchen House

Author: Kathleen Grissom

Narrator: Orlagh Cassidy, Bahni Turpin

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs

Language: English

Release date: 03-15-13

Publisher: Random House Audiobooks

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 14 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

A New York Times best seller and word-of-mouth phenomenon, this is perfect for book-groups and fans of The Help and The Postmistress.

"You must not become too friendly with them," she said. "They are not the same as us."

"How?" I asked. "How are they not the same?"

In 1791 when seven-year-old Irish orphan Lavinia is transported to Virginia to work in the kitchen of a wealthy plantation owner, she is absorbed into the life of the kitchen house and becomes part of the family of black slaves whose fates are tied to the plantation. But Lavinias skin will always set her apart, whether she wishes it or not. And as she grows older, she will be torn between the life that awaits her as a white woman and the people she knows as kin....

Members Reviews:

gripping!

The narrator voices were perfect for the story. characters were well developed, story was engrossing.

A must listen

Wow, just wow. I think this is hands down the best audiobook that I have listened to on Audible. I highly recommend this book.

The Kitchen House is set in the late 1700's/early 1800's in Virginia, and tells an enchanting tale of the complicated relationships and interactions between the slaves and their owners, with poor Lavinia, an orphaned white Irish girl, caught somewhere in between. Told from two points of view in alternating chapters, we hear from Lavinia and Belle (a slave) as their story unfolds. Taking us through from when Lavinia is brought to the plantation, her growing up among the slaves and her transition into being a 'white woman' as she becomes an adult. The first half of the story was interesting, but it was the second half that had me gripped.

Kathleen Grissom has written a treasure in this book. The story is both horrific and beautiful at the same time. Not shying away from the difficult sections, just puts the rest of the story into better perspective. The key theme of the book is the complexities of the relationships between Lavinia, the family and their slaves. The characters she develops are well rounded and you can't help keep listening to find out how things turn out.

The book is read by two narrators, one for Lavinia and one for Belle, and both do a fantastic job. Adding just the right sentiment to the words, and keeping the individual personality of the narrator at the time.

Excellent a real gem

This is my type of book, easy to follow, tear jerking great human story.

Loved the narration and could not wait to hear more and more.......

Any one recommend more like this?

A beautiful and moving story!

I couldn't stop listening to this compelling story brought to life, even more, by the wonderful narrators.

The story was about the lives of slaves, in the 18th Century, working for a wealthy plantation owner in Virginia and how they were treated. It was a roller coaster of emotions and at times made me tearful and ashamed of how white people treated their slaves. It was also full of hope and the importance of family pulling together no matter what life threw at them.

It was a touching story which made me care what happened to the characters and I was so engrossed in the story that time flew by.

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Title: Postcards from Nam

Author: Uyen Nicole Duong

Narrator: Leslie Bellair

Format: Unabridged

Length: 2 hrs and 36 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-10-12

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 12 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

For successful lawyer Mimi, 1980s Washington, DC, is a far cry from the war-torn Vietnam of her childhood. Time and sheer force of will have allowed Mimi to put those turbulent years behind her - that is, until the postcards begin to arrive. Postmarked from Thailand, each card is simply yet beautifully rendered in the hand of an artist identified only as "Nam". Mimi cant imagine who Nam might be, a prickly problem considering his brief notes make it clear he knows her quite well. Determined to unmask him, Mimi begins what will become a decade-long search for Nam.

Her quest eventually leads her back to her childhood home in a small alley in pre-communist Saigon. For there she was beloved by a boy who dreamed of one day being an artist, a boy whose path diverged tragically from Mimis when the Vietnam War ended, in 1975. Yet, as she digs deeper into Nams painful past, Mimi uncovers an inspiring story of courage, survival, and the indomitable strength of the human spirit.

Members Reviews:

Atrocities of Men

Written in a very careful almost "Naive" voice, the lives of two youth's escape from a falling Vietnam unfolds. A repeat again and again of how the innocent bare the brunt of waring men. One trail, although difficult, fares well. Lives the American dream. The other...

The reader still wants to know some details

Where does Postcards from Nam rank among all the audiobooks youve listened to so far?

Postcards ranks excellent among all audiobooks I've heard.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Postcards from Nam?

One of most memorable moments was when Mimi discovered details of what happened to Nam. The details revealed and the emotional intensity described from the characters describing those details impact the reader/listener.

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorites were the alley abode scenes where Nam discovered the piano and Mimi described the amazement in his eyes ... where Nam reassured Mimi in her distress.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. Actually did it in 2 long road trips. Great way to pass 200 miles.

Any additional comments?

Still unanswered questions: why was the $1,000 returned to Mimi? What was Nam doing in the night club to which Mimi traced him? What did Nam want Mimi and his brother to take from the postcards since he did not respond once Mimi found him? I understand that everything could not be found by Mimi, but it is not satisifying to not discover the gaps, from being found on the boat ... undestroyed because of his "beauty" ... to the nightclub ... no communication for 10 years and then a new postcard ... why? Interpretation is there, but humanity wants to know how he is surviving ... not just that he is alive.

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Title: In This Hospitable Land

Author: Lynmar Brock

Narrator: David Baker

Format: Unabridged

Length: 14 hrs and 36 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-04-12

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 32 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

When the Germans invade Belgium in 1940, chemistry professor André Sauverin fears the worst. His colleagues believe their social and political positions will protect them during the occupation, but André knows better. He has watched Hitlers rise to power and knows the Nazis will do anything to destroy their enemies. For the Sauverins are Jews, non-practicing, yes, but that wont matter to the Germans - or to the Belgians desperate to protect themselves by informing on their neighbors. And so André and his brother Alex take their parents, wives, and children and flee south.

But when France falls to the Nazis, the refugees are caught in a rural farming community where their only hope for survival is to blend in with the locals. Fortunately, the Sauverins have come to Huguenot country, settled by victims of religious persecution who risk their own lives to protect the Jewish refugees and defy the pro-Nazi government. And as the displaced family grows to love their new neighbors, André and Alex join forces with the French Resistance to help protect them.

Based on one familys harrowing true story of survival, In This Hospitable Land is an inspirational novel about courage and the search for home in the midst of chaos.

Members Reviews:

Great historical perspective

First let me say that this is a great listen! If you are interested in a story of ww2 France that shows the heroism of ordinary people, you will not go wrong! I went to amazon and looked up this book, and was delighted to see six pictures of the main characters and the places they lived, that was wonderful! This is not sophisticated writing and probably could have used a little more editing, but it is a solid heartfelt story of the author's wife's family's experiences. This book is also priced so reasonably for it's length, it is a great value, so I was quite impressed by the quality of the research. I would have loved a little more of what happened to everyone at the end, but that is because I really didn't want it to end, and didn't want to leave these people just yet. But I would have thought that, even if there had been more. Get this book! You will enjoy it!

LOVED IT! Not your ordinary WWII Jewish Experience

Would you listen to In This Hospitable Land again? Why?

Yes, and I intend to, because I usually get nuances that I missed the first time.

What other book might you compare In This Hospitable Land to and why?

I can't think of another book like this, because most stories of Jews during the war concern concentration camps, hiding in attics/basements or both for the duration, and this one is different. They were hardly comfortable, and they were most definitely in a form of hiding, but in a way not commonly heard about. I loved this perspective.

Have you listened to any of David Bakers other performances before? How does this one compare?

I am not an expert on any narrator, but I consider the highest compliment I can pay any reader is that I did not notice him or her. If you read to me in a way that brings me the story, not the storyteller - you have done a good thing. This was done well. I knew when men were speaking as opposed to women, but did not notice a strangeness that some give off when they try to "act" the part instead of just giving an appropriate "impression" of a character.

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Title: Young Philby

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Robert Littell

Narrator: John Lee

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-13-12

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 49 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

An elegant, twisty spy story by a true master of the craft.

Best-selling novelist Robert Littell employs all his considerable skills in telling the story of Kim Philby through the eyes of more than 20 true-life characters. As each layer is revealed, the question arises: Who really was this man?

When Kim Philby fled to Moscow in 1963, he became the most infamous double agent in history. A member of Britain's intelligence service since World War II, he had risen to become their chief officer in Washington, D.C. after the war. The exposure of other members of the group of double agents known as the Cambridge Five led to the revelation that he had been working for Russia for even longer than he had been part of MI6. Yet he escaped, and spent the last 25 years of his life in Moscow.

In Young Philby, Robert Littell tells the story of the spy's early years. In the words of his friends, lovers, and Soviet handlers, we see the development of a fascinating, flawed man who kept people guessing about his ideals and allegiances until the very end.

Members Reviews:

Maybe get this one in print

--especially if Lee is not among your favourite narrators It's got the ingredients of a good Littell history-spy puzzle, related in interviews and stories by Philby's acquaintances, colleagues and lovers, but I did not enjoy the listen.

I can usually lose myself in Littell's mixture of history and espionage, but I found the narration pulling me out of the story and accentuating the sometimes clumsily related historical background.

Littlell's dark humour becomes silly with the -- to my ears anyway -- goofy accents and poorly voiced women.

I like John Lee in small does, in the right listens. This wasn't one of them.

Listen carefully to the sample!

"Ahistorical" Espionage Fiction

It has been awhile since I've read Robert Littell. This wasn't one of his best novels (*** 1/2), but it was still fascinating. At its core, 'Young Philby' is an ahistorical, fictionalized telling of the early life and background of Kim Philby, the most famous of the Cambridge Five.

Littell's fictionalized account imagines the possibility that Philby was actually more than just a double agent. I would tell you more, but then I would have to kill you. Anyway, 'Young Philby' was well-written, well-developed, and nuanced enough to make Littell's argument credible.

Alternate History

Littell takes a handful of historical facts and rumors and fleshes them with characters and dialog that support his thesis: a completely different understanding of Kim Philby.

If you don't know much about our history's version of Philby, you should take the time to learn a bit, maybe through Wikipedia, before undertaking this novel. You really need to know what's different in this telling.

It's an interesting idea, this alternate Philby. Whether or not you'll be entertained by it depends a lot on how invested you are in the subject matter. There's certainly nothing in the telling of the tale that's compelling. There's no real passion or fire in any of the characters, no meaningful dialog, nothing at all entertaining except the explanation of Littell's theory of a different Philby.

Fans of Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther series will see that John Lee has exactly one style for rendering foreign intrigue.

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Title: Astray

Author: Emma Donoghue

Narrator: Khristine Hvam, James Langton, Robert Petkoff, Suzanne Toren, Dion Graham

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 31 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-30-12

Publisher: Hachette Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 85 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Audie Award Nominee, Short Stories/Collections, 2013

The fascinating characters that roam across the pages of Emma Donoghue's stories have all gone astray: they are emigrants, runaways, drifters, lovers old and new. They are gold miners and counterfeiters, attorneys and slaves. They cross other borders too: those of race, law, sex, and sanity. They travel for love or money, incognito or under duress.

With rich historical detail, the celebrated author of Room takes us from puritan Massachusetts to revolutionary New Jersey, antebellum Louisiana to the Toronto highway, lighting up four centuries of wanderings that have profound echoes in the present. Astray offers us a surprising and moving history for restless times.

Members Reviews:

CRAZY AS POPCORN ON A STOVE

TO THE IMPURE, ALL THINGS ARE IMPURE

Like most everyone else I listened to Room and loved it. Like I usually do I searched for another recording of Donoguhe, after listening to the CD. All books audible has by her have low ratings and not so good reviews. I have a promise to myself to not waste a credit on books with low ratings, so I ignored her for a time. Finally I took a chance on this collection of short stories. It is less then seven hours long and they are short stories, so my mental investment was not that long.

THE BRITISH ARE MORE SQUEAMISH ABOUT BEATING THEIR ANIMALS, THEN THEIR CHILDREN.

The very first story was Man and Boy. It was a story about an actual man in history and an actual elephant. I am an animal lover and this was a sort of love story between a man and an elephant. I also love historical fiction. This was a great story. All of these stories are based on something in history. Sometimes it was one line in a newspaper in which Emma draws a whole story. Sometimes it is a more in depth knowledge of the historical facts and sometimes it is totally made up, using the facts of the time, such as Snow Blind, which is about the Gold Rush. After each and every story you are told how she came up with the story, so you will know how much is fact and how much is fiction. At the end of the book is an Afterword, which explains the reason for the whole book and it's name Astray.

Emma also brings out some interesting events, which will surprise you. There are stories about gays, cross dressers, tough women, and one involving rape. In one story an adult woman does not find out till after her dad dies, that he was a woman. This is based on historical records. One story is about a man's struggle with his religion, sin and his own sexual desires. There are 14 stories and an afterword. I would give an A grade to four of the stories. I listen and read lots of short story collections and to have that many stories that I would rank that high is very rare. Several stories are average, but none of the stories are awful to listen to.