Short Story Sunday: Audiobook Review: The Pram by Joe Hill
The Pram
Series: Creature Feature short stories 1 of 6
Author: Joe Hill
Narrator: Robert Petkoff
Published: September 26, 2023
Audiobook: 1 hour 34 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Date Listened To: December 24, 2023
Jessica’s Rating: 3 stars
Short Story Description:
A husband’s obsessive desire for a child leads to an unexpected manifestation of his yearning in a nightmarish short story about fatherhood dreams by New York Times bestselling author Joe Hill.
Willy and Marianne’s farmhouse in Maine has acres of meadow and fresh air, and a lonesome bridle path in the forest along which Willy daydreams and ambles. When he’s loaned a decrepit old baby stroller to cart his groceries home, the rickety squeak of the wheels comforts him. So do the sweet coos of a baby Willy knows can’t be real. Can it? In this twisted thicket, wishes come true—with a price.
Joe Hill’s The Pram is part of Creature Feature, a collection of devilishly creepy stories that tingle the spine and twist the mind. They can be read or listened to in one petrifying sitting.
Jessica’s Review:
It seems strange to call part of this story refreshing but in a way it is: We have a couple who lost a bay due to miscarriage. Instead of the grief of the mother, the reader/listener experiences the grief of the father-to-be. This is hardly ever done in stories. In addition to the grief, we have a very creepy story with some gore to it.
This is a short story written by Joe Hill who is Stephen King’s son and mini-me! It was about a 90-minute listen and part of the Creature Feature short story collection from Amazon. This short story was narrated by Robert Petkoff who did a good job with his narration once I adjusted to his voice. I did have to start the story over as I had no idea what was going on, but that might have just been me.
We have a couple, Willy and Marianne, who have suffered a miscarriage and they move into a new town. There is a small country store that is about a mile from their home through a path where Willy buys their groceries from. One day he is loaned a pram to bring his groceries home in. Later on the pram takes on a life of its own.
The story just moves along well despite its short length. As the story continues it just gets creepier until it gets to the conclusion. Again it is gory! The creepiness goes long the lines of Rosemary’s baby: Just what is in the pram and what is going to happen next! The journey is far creepier than the ending, but that is creepy as well.
Overall this one was just average for me. I don’t know why I am really indifferent to it. It just wasn’t a story for me. Or it may be that Joe Hill isn’t for me. I tried to read a novel of his once and DNF’d it. I have loved his father’s work: I read Stephen King as a teenager and that must be where my love of thrillers/horror comes from. Those of us Gen X’ers who read him as teens are all messed up adults now! But we realize it and are fine with it!
Short Story Sunday: Audiobook Review: The Heart of a Mother by Julie Clark
The Heart of a Mother
Series: Obsession Collection #4
Author: Julie Clark
Narrator: Susan Dalian
Published: July 25, 2023
Audiobook: 1 hour 16 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Date Listened To: April 27, 2024
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Short Story Description:
A fateful decision from the past haunts a wealthy Californian. Desperate to make things right, she risks everything in this tense short story from New York Times bestselling author Julie Clark. Hillary Jean leads an enviable life. She has a loving husband, a beautiful home, caring friends, and meaningful work planning fundraisers. Yet she’s always felt incomplete. After a DNA website emails her a match, Hillary sets out to find the daughter she gave up twenty-five years ago. But her hunger to reconnect threatens to destroy the very thing she hopes to gain.
The Heart of a Mother is part of Obsession , a collection of compulsively readable short stories about people pushed to their extremes. So addictive you won’t be able to put them down—read or listen to each story in a single sitting.
Jessica’s Review:
Whoa! I’m not a mother but this short story gives you an idea of what a mother goes through when she puts a baby up for adoption. And how much it can affect her many years later.
You definitely experience a mother’s turmoil where she questions herself on what she should do. It shows a mother’s love above all else.
I knew the direction the story was going, but that did not stop me from ‘enjoying’ it. I would be interested in seeing what else Julie Clark writes. The narrator Susan Dalian did a great job with her portrayal. And do listen or read this in one sitting, I did!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
[Top]
Short Story Sunday: Trouble by Janelle Brown
Trouble
Series: We Could Be Heroes
Author: Janelle Brown
Narrator: January LaVoy
Published: February 7, 2023
Audiobook: 1 hour 7 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Date Listened To: March 1, 2023
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Short Story Description:
What does it take to be a good mother? A good neighbor? Straight answers are hard to find in this keenly observed short story by New York Times bestselling author Janelle Brown.
Polly’s fourth-grade daughter has been spending a lot of time with her classmate Sylvie—maybe too much. Sylvie’s clothes are a little…flashy…and her phone (a ten-year-old with a phone!) doesn’t seem to have any parental controls. It seems that Sylvie’s mother, with her vape pens and her too-high heels, may not be making good choices. As Polly tries to exert a positive influence, she discovers just how little anyone can tell about a family from the outside.
Janelle Brown’s Trouble is part of We Could Be Heroes, a darkly inquisitive collection of short stories that examines heroic intentions versus their real-life consequences. Read or listen to each in a single sitting.
Jessica’s Review:
Oh wow! I really enjoyed this short story. I was not sure where it was going to go, who to believe, and is this child to blame or a victim herself. I can’t say much more than that, and you don’t know the who, what, why, or how, until the very last line!
Trouble was my introduction to Brown, and since I enjoyed it I will be on the lookout for more by her!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK