The Audio Collection: Fables and Selected Stories - James Thurber

Category: Adults, Classic, Humor, Literature
Language: English
Keywords: Short Stories

Written by James Thurber
Read by Keith Olbermann
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Publisher: HarperAudio
Release date: June 7, 2011
Duration: 03:02:11

In analyzing humorist James Thurber’s writing as “clean, economical, vivid, full of crashes and thuds,” Keith Olbermann unwittingly describes his own style as a narrator. He employs a rapid-fire, forceful tone that quickly grabs his listeners and carries them on a romp through these rollicking classics. Olbermann’s ability to modulate tone and tempo to convincingly portray Thurber’s colorful characters displays considerable acting talent and delivers the humor in these timeless tales. His clear voice with its hint of a barely repressed chuckle effectively brings the listener in on the jokes. The entire collection is enjoyable, but the presentation of “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” is a standout. Olbermann successfully realizes his desire to create a work to honor both his own father, architect Theodore Olbermann, and James Thurber. M.O.B. (c) AudioFile

And yes, he is that Olbermann.

“There’s No Place Like Home”
“The Bear who let it alone”
“The Greatest Man in the World”
“The Night the Ghost Got In”
I Went to Sulivant
“The Unicorn in the Garden”
“How to Relax while Broadcasting”
“The Tortoise and the Hare”
“A Box to Hide In”
“The Owl Who was God”
“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”
“If Grant had been drinking at Appomattox”
“The Moth and the Star”
“The Dog That Bit People”
“The Topaz Cufflinks Mystery”
“The Little Girl and the Wolf”
“The Macbeth Murder Mystery”, 1937
The Rabbits Who Caused All the Trouble”
“The Night the Bed Fell”
“Sex Ex Machina”
“The Scotty Who Knew Too Much”
“The Car We Had to Push”
“The Peaceful Mongoose”
“A Ride with Olympy” – from another collection

Thurber mot only wrote the stories, he illustrated them. Many of them were the ideas for movies. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” was filmed twice. Once with 1950’s comedian Danny Kaye.