Fiction audiobooks page 155

Selected Short Stories
At the time of his death at the age of 28, Stephen Crane had become an important figure in American literature. He was nearly forgotten, however, until two decades later when critics revived interest in his life and work. Stylistically, Crane's writing is characterized by vivid intensity, distinctive dialects, and irony. Common themes involve fear, spiritual crises and social isolation. Although recognized primarily for The Red Badge of Courage, which has become an American classic, Crane is also known for short stories such as "The Open Boat", "The Blue Hotel", "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky", and The Monster. His writing made a deep impression on 20th century writers, most prominent amo...
Dictionnaire des idées reçues

Le « Dictionnaire des idées reçues » : recueil d’exemples de l’intelligence humaine qui se dépasse elle-même. Les temps changent ; ce genre d’intelligence, non. Flaubert nous fait des clins d’œil depuis sa tombe – et ceci durera certainement jusqu’à la fin des temps…
(Par Didier)

Rain
Rain charts the moral disintegration of a missionary attempting to convert a Pacific island prostitute named Sadie Thompson. (Introduction by an excerpt from Wikipedia)
Über die Weiber

In diesem vielzitierten Essay aus dem Jahre 1851 ist Schopenhauers generell herablassende Einstellung zu Frauen zusammengefaßt. Frauen, laut Schopenhauer, sind Wesen zweiter Klasse mit weniger Vernunft als Maenner, und sind biologisch zu List und Intrige getrieben… Schopenhauers dominante Mutter Johanna, eine bekannte Schriftstellerin, wird oft als Ursache für die Frauenfeindlichkeit ihres Sohns genannt.
(Zusammenfassung von Gesine)

Salammbô
After completing the famous Mme Bovary, Flaubert put all his efforts into researching the Punic Wars and completed the lesser known Salammbô. In this volume, Flaubert describes in detail the Mercenary Revolt and the fight of the Mercenaries against the all-powerful Carthage, the theft of the magical Zaimph and the love and hate between the Carthaginian princess Salammbô and the fiercest leader of the Mercenaries, Matho.

Flowers from the Garden of Saint Francis for Every Day of the Year
Here is a collection of 365 short spiritual reflections and moral admonitions of Saint Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) and other notable Franciscans. One might conclude that, while some of these admonitions are applicable to almost anyone, others seem too rigorous, or at least inappropriate for certain vocations or stations in life. This may be explained by recalling that these words of advice and spiritual direction were directed primarily to friars and cloistered nuns. Thus, we detect in these words a great concern for the development of profound personal humility, meekness, celibate chastity, and sorrow for sin. Moreover, some of the admonitions exhort the friars and nuns to obey, in acc...
The Coming of the Fairies
After a number of deaths in his close family, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle turned to spiritualism in hope of finding proof of the afterlife. Being open in this way, he wanted to believe that spirits and other supernatural being including fairies were real. Because of this he believed the photographs of fairies taken by the Cottingley girls were proof of the existence of such beings. In this book he presents his stance on the issue. Eventually it was proven that the photographs were indeed a hoax.
Celtic Folk and Fairy Tales

Celtic Fairy Tales is a collection of 25 folk and fairy stories collected from Ireland and Scotland. At what I imagine is the Frontispiece, or the dedication page, is the phrase: “SAY THIS Three times, with your eyes shut ‘Mothuighim boladh an Éireannaigh bhinn bhreugaigh faoi m’fhóidín dúthaigh.’And you will see/What you will see_” A loose translation of this Gaelic phrase is “I sense the smell of a sweet, enchanting Irishman around my dear homeplace.”

Cupid in Africa
Bertram Greene, brilliant student, aesthete, intellectual and shy, decides to make his military father proud of him at last and joins the colonial Indian Army Reserve as a second Lieutenant at the start of Great War. Feeling a complete fish out of water, he is dispatched to India without any training whatsoever, and is expected to take charge of a company of native soldiers. He is then posted to East Africa to join the British fighting force there, and finds out what real soldiering means. This amusing, and at times harrowing tale gives a comprehensive description of the life and conditions of a soldier in the tropics, obviously written by someone who has experienced them. The author, P. ...
Tour of Dr. Syntax in Search of the Picturesque

“To bury these, to christen those,
And marry such fond folks who chose
To change the tenor of their life
And risk the matrimonial strife.”

This was the humdrum life of Dr. Syntax before he set out on his bizarre and hilarious adventures, presented here in the form of satirical poem in 26 cantos. It’s a lot of fun!