Rich Tales in the Space of a Short Drive

There are times when a 30-hour audio tome is just too much, times when all you need is a terse little story to see you through a traffic snarl, or a witty, joyful tale to take you to the grocery store. If you want to wrap your thoughts around a story that lasts 30 minutes or less, check out the superb collection “Jewish Short Stories From the Old World to the New,” hosted by Leonard Nimoy. (KCRW-FM, Santa Monica; unabridged fiction by various writers; 12 cassettes or 18 CDs; 18 hours; $100; various readers. KCRW originally broadcast these stories as a series.)

This is a follow-up to “Jewish Short Stories from Eastern Europe and Beyond,” and is every bit as entertaining, intelligent and compelling. This intriguing collection spans from the end of the 19th century to recent times. The authors include Sholom Aleichem, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Isaac Babel, Philip Roth, Saul Bellow, E.L. Doctorow, Bernard Malamud and Ida Fink. The stories are based in the villages of Eastern Europe, modern-day New York City and a senior center in San Francisco; the subjects range from persecution in the Old World to mysticism in the New. Many of the stories are translated from the Yiddish.

These rich, colorful tales convey humor and irony, tenderness and pain, and have been matched carefully to readers who can express such sentiments. The cast includes Nimoy, Richard Dreyfuss, Adam Arkin, Theodore Bikel, Christina Pickles, Charlton Heston, Elliott Gould, JoBeth Williams and Carl Reiner. Reiner’s performance is amazing, while the one weak reader is William Shatner. His pacing has always been unusual, which gives him a distinctive voice. But this is not an advantage, because it’s like listening to a narration by Capt. Kirk.

As for the price: More expensive than most audio books, it is handsomely packaged in a heavy plastic case, not the usual flimsy cardboard, and these are stories you will want to hear again and again. They are well worth the money.

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“The World’s Shortest Stories” (Listen and Live Audio; unabridged fiction by various authors; two cassettes; two hours; $16.95; read by Frank Muller, Suzanne Toren, Kathy Garver) is a collection of dozens of tales amazing for their brevity: Not one is longer than 55 words. Some are humorous, others gory, a few are romantic. Most have a twist. Not all these teensy tales are effective, but most are worth hearing and a few are wonderful.

The readers bring much life to these concise yarns. Muller is as fabulous as ever. His rich, resonant voice infuses the stories with emotion. The women are nearly his match (though not quite). All three readers add accents that inject these imaginative bits of wordplay with energy and verve.

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More hit and miss is “The Mysterious West,” edited by Tony Hillerman (dh audio; six cassettes; nine hours; $29.99; various readers. The tales, by various authors, are unabridged, but the printed version of “The Mysterious West” includes eight additional stories.) Though this collection works more often than not, most of these stories are so lightweight that you probably will forget them almost as soon as the tape ends. Some are suspenseful, others creepy, but most are surprisingly short on atmosphere.

Though they are set in the West, they are not Westerns per se. J.A. Jance conjures up a bit of mysticism among the senior set in “Death of a Snowbird,” and Ed Gorman details a case of bad luck in “The Beast in the Woods.” A favorite is Susan Dunlap’s “Postage Due,” a humorous potshot at the post office.

Dh audio has not assembled an overly impressive cast of readers, but most are above average and a few stand out. Chuck Stransky slides easily into different voices and regional accents for Stuart M. Kaminsky’s “Blowout in Little Man Flats.” Barbara Rosenblat, always a vigorous reader, conveys Dunlap’s wry humor. Although she is, as ever, a bit over the top, she has a clear voice and a jaunty style.

Rochelle O’Gorman reviews audio books every other week. Next week: Margo Kaufman on mysteries.