Open (Lisa Moore)

Open by Lisa Moore
an unabridged audiobook collection of short fiction
Listening Time: Approx. 6.5 hours
10-digit ISBN: 0-9734223-86
13-digit ISBN: 978-0-9737586-5-8
Narrated by Lisa Moore, Holly Hogan and Mary Lewis.

Library Digital Download of this audio book available from Overdrive.com

Scotiabank Giller Prize - Shortlisted (2002) Winterset Award for Excellence in Newfoundland Writing - Shortlisted (2003)

If You're There narrated by the author
The Stylist narrated by Holly Hogan
Mouths, Open narrated by Mary Lewis
The Way the Light Is narrated by the author
Azalea narrated by Holly Hogan
Natural Parents narrated by Lisa Moore
Melody narrated by Holly Hogan
Craving narrated by Lisa Moore
Close Your Eyes narrated by Holly Hogan
Grace narrated by Mary Lewis

The soundscape, trombone and accordian recordings that preface the stories were recorded in a bicycle repair shop in Old Havana, Cuba with Greg Furlong playing bikes, horn and accordian.

Lisa Moore's Open makes you believe three things unequivocally: that St. John's is the centre of the universe, that these stories are about absolutely everything, that the only certainty in life comes from the accumulation of moments which refuse to be contained.  Love, mistakes, loss -- the fear of all of these, the joy of all of these. The interconnectedness of a bus ride in Nepal and a wedding on the shore of Quidi Vidi Lake; of the tension between a husband and wife when their infant cries before dawn (who will go to him?) and the husband's memory of an early, piercing love affair; of two friends, one who suffers early in life and the other midway through.

In Open Lisa Moore splices moments and images together so adroitly, so vividly, you'll swear you've lived them yourself. That there is a writer like Lisa Moore threading a live wire through everything she sees, showing it to us, warming us with it. These stories are a gathering in. An offering. They ache and bristle. They are shared riches. Open.

Audio Book Reviews:

From AudioFile Magazine:
This short story collection takes the listener to Moore's native Canada for glimpses at the extraordinary as found in everyday life. She shares scenes from marriages and friendships, putting the spotlight on pivotal moments when life truly happens. Following each tale are interesting musical and sound effects interludes, such as bells, trombones, and even sounds from a Havana bike shop. Each of the 10 stories is read by a single narrator, the best of whom is Mary Lewis. She brings gentle charm and subtle feeling to the collection's longest story, "Grace." Masterful at articulating dialogue without employing different voices, she lends appropriate emphasis to the serendipitous moments explored in the story. The stories are a great choice when listening time is limited. From Library Journal: This collection of ten unusual short stories, short-listed for the Giller Prize, peers into the lives of Newfoundlanders as they try to understand and manage their lives. Moore probes into her characters' psyches with a stream-of-consciousness style that reveals their inner experiences. Her sentences and images tumble out in a rapid-fire prose, imitating the flash of thoughts triggered by present experience. In "Melody," a 40-year old widow, now unhappily remarried, anticipates her college friend Melody's visit. While preparing, she reflects on her college years, her first husband's death, and the time she accompanied Melody to have an abortion. At times Moore's style hinders understanding as in "The Way the Light Is," where the images of a film script and the internal narrative come so fast and are so tightly interwoven that the thread is difficult to discern. "Grace," however, excels in its portrait of a marriage coming apart. The author reads three of the stories, while Holly Hogan and Mary Lewis read the others. All convey Moore's text with clarity and authenticity; recommended for large public libraries.

Praise for Lisa Moore

"An accomplished, polished collection. . . .Over and over Moore expands the universe, then shrinks it back to a beat of individual consciousness. . . . She has mastered the short story."
Quill and Quire (starred review)

"Dazzling . . . daring . . . [Moore] has a genius for nailing the physical world on the page. One image after another is a feat of seeing, of waking up the senses." Globe and Mail "The stories are full of nerve and verve. They brim with an irresistable mix of adrenaline, compassion and insight. They laugh and cry and rage. . . . Open is like this from start to finish: perceptive and wonderful."
National Post

"These are stories to lose yourself in, and maybe find yourself in, as well. [These are] stories that'll knock you flat."
Vancouver Sun

Open by Lisa Moore is another EarLit audiobook title from Rattling Books, Newfoundland publisher of Canadian unabridged audiobooks (aka audio books)for the world. Listen, a way to read more.