Classic Irish Short Stories, Volume 1

By: James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, Seamus O'Kelly, more

Narrated by: Charlton Griffin

The Irish have always had a knack for telling wonderful stories, and their fantastic ability has been recognized from early Gaelic times. For centuries, stories of all kinds have been offered to friends and strangers alike as a form of entertainment and communication. Today in Ireland, the short story is revered even above the novel. Hearing these magnificent stories, we become aware of more than just the humor and travail of a small island. In some magical, mysterious fashion, as we listen, we all become Irish in a grand, tragi-comedy of life, and these stories show us what makes the human being the special creature he is.

Volume I includes "Homesickness" and "Julia Cahill's Curse" by George Moore; "Innocence" by Sean O'Faolain; "The Fairy Goose" by Liam O'Flaherty; "The Sphinx without a Secret" by Oscar Wilde; "Adventures of a Strolling Player" by Oliver Goldsmith; "The Weaver's Grave" by Seamus O'Kelly; "My Oedipus Complex" by Frank O'Connor; "The Boarding House" by James Joyce; and "The Leaping Trout" by David Hogan.

©2003 Audio Connoisseur (P)2003 Audio Connoisseur

Critic reviews

"Charlton Griffin reads all of the stories and effectively voices different characters; there are times you would swear there are several readers." (AudioBooksToday.com)
"An enjoyable collection....The combination of reader, sound effects, and music makes for a classy production and another strong addition to the Audio Connoisseur catalog." (AudioFile)

An excellent audio book!

I have rented and purchased many audio books from many different sources over the years. This is one of my all time favorites. The writing is captivating; the narration is elegant; and the music and sound effects actually add to the production (unlike most sloppy attempts to which I've been subjected).

This is a book I will listen to many times.

Very nice indeed

Anyone who is bored with these stories obviously needs to stay away from classic literature. These are some of the best Irish short stores ever written. In particular, the Joyce and O'Connor works were extremely entertaining. All of the pieces in this collection are superbly written. The narration is perfectly matched to the stories, as is the music and sound effects.

Fantastic

Glorious short stories so wonderful , deep and rich felling. You will absolute enjoy these classics !

Excellent collection and narration

I've read/listened to nearly 400 short stories over the last 3 months (making up for lost time in this genre) and a couple of these were among the very best, in particular "The Weaver's Grave" by Seamus O'Kelly (really more of a novella than a short) and; "My Oedipus Complex" by Frank O'Connor. Griffin's narration is top notch, delivered with a reasonable approximation of an Irish accent, and he is one of the rare male narrators that can deliver a woman's voice. I just wish there was a second and third volume, would love to have an audible edition of Oxford Book of Irish Short Stories, where you can find more.

Loved

Really great story telling. This was my first ever audio book experience and I was completely enthralled. The reader did a great job of differentiating between character voices. Added sound effects enhanced the experience and did not at all detract. Music was appropriate and well done. Great experience!

Snnoooze!

I thought this might be a good introduction to Irish writers. Well, if Irish writers are dull and boring, I guess it is. I simply could not get into the stories. One is about an innkeeper who gets her daughter married off to a guest; one that was sort of cute involved a father whose son was getting ready to go to his first confession -- and the father's memories of the first time he confessed to something bad; another story was about a man who goes back to Ireland to get his health back, promises to marry a local girl and then heads back to the States; and the last one is about trying to find a grave in an old graveyard. Perhaps these are really wonderful works and I am just not able to get them. But I really do like short stories; and I had hoped for so much more from these. On the positive side, the narrator did a good job.

Depressing and repetitive

I did not enjoy this short book. The stories are repetitive and depressing with one or two exceptions. The theme is that the villagers are quaint but not especially bright, prone to superstition and oppression by the church. All of this is historically accurate, especially the part about the oppression of the Roman Catholic church whose egregious oppression, especially as regards the poor and the women of Ireland is now well documented. However, these stories neither charmed not entertained.