American Masters: The Short Stories of Raymond Carver, John Cheever, and John Updike

What's unique about American Masters is that it's such a complete work of art. Not only are the stories well written and thought provoking, but the narrators are perfectly suited to their tasks. Each voice is like the bass note of a complex symphony--whenever your mind begins to wander, swimming within the tones of the various worlds composed, these voices call you back to the original structure of the story. Of course, the narration is various and unique, suitably matched to the writers: Raymond Carver deports himself with all his usual rawness of character and gritty realism through Peter Riegert's gruff but melodic intonations; John Cheever disguises the same with an air of refinement and quietly piqued nostalgia in the fine New England accent of Maria Tulcci; and John Updike holds them both down (through his own narration) with a funniness that is all too serious, or vice versa (you're never quite sure which). But the differences only highlight the fact that these literary giants all carry a certain bearing toward their work that is distinctly American. They all seem to find it rather like an animal of its own, like human nature itself. Taken like this--as variations on a theme--and mingled with the textures of the ancient art of storytelling, the collection becomes less a set of audiobooks and more a rare tapestry of American vantage points. Listen and discover these masters' works all over again. (Running time: 7.5 hours, 5 cassettes) --Courtenay Kehn