The Secrets of a Fire King, Kim Edwards
The Secrets of a Fire King, Kim Edwards
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The Secrets of a Fire King
Stories

Author: Kim Edwards

Narrator: Bernadette Dunne

Unabridged: 10 hr 42 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 05/31/2007

Synopsis

The first story collection from the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Memory Keeper's Daughter

With The Memory Keeper's Daughter, Kim Edwards touched hearts across the nation. In this, her first collection of stories-now with three new stories added-she explores the lives of those who exist on the fringes of society: a fire-eater, an American and his Korean war bride, Madame Curie's maid, and others. Though their tales vary dramatically, each comes up against the barriers of place and circumstance in the most universal of experiences: the quest to discover and understand the elusive mysteries of love. Transporting readers to exotic locations, this beautiful collection reinforces Edwards's presence as an extraordinarily gifted writer.

About The Author

Kim Edwards is the author of a short story collection, The Secrets of a Fire King, which was an alternate for the 1998 PEN/Hemingway Award, and has won both a Whiting Award and the Nelson Algren Award. A graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, she currently teaches writing at the University of Kentucky.Bernadette Dunne has been narrating for Books on Tape since 1997. She has been twice nominated for The Audie Award and has won six Golden Earphones awards. She studied at the Royal National Theatre in London and The Studio Theatre in Washington, DC. She has appeared at The Kennedy Center, The Washington Shakespeare Company, and Woolly Mammoth in Washington, DC. As a playwright, her work has been produced in New York, Seattle, and Washington, DC. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Xian on August 11, 2012

There are books that have substance, and there are books that are pure style. Not that there's anything wrong with style: see this short piece about Joyce and the "New-Agey claptrap" Paulo Coelho churns out. But, it is exceedingly difficult to write a readable book that is pure style with, at the hea......more

Goodreads review by Bhargavi on January 18, 2012

A beautifully written book! Kim is a master at weaving strange ,unsettling tales alive with emotions.Most of the protagonists are women. The first few stories seemed similar, with common themes of death, redemption and loneliness. But as I read on , I felt that that stories kept getting better and b......more

Goodreads review by Jennifer on April 26, 2016

2.5 While this isn't the highest rating, this book was hard to rate, because it is a collection of short stories. My two favorites were "The Way it Felt to be Falling" and "The Story of my Life" I really loved Kim Edward's writing style, so I am excited to read more of her books in the future. The rat......more

Goodreads review by Joan on September 23, 2011

This is one of the best short story collections I have ever read. Many thanks to Teresa for her excellent review.......more

Quotes

"Impeccable, a treasure . . . Edwards's brilliance is evident in the way she constructs a story."
-Chicago Tribune

"Stunning . . . [Edwards's] sinuous prose and endless empathy work their spell. . . . Radiant, original, and passionate, these are memorable stories."
-Andrea Barrett, author of Ship Fever

"The Secrets of a Fire King gives eloquence to an astonishing range of discoveries and leaves the reader entranced."
-The New York Times Book Review

"Beautifully focused ... [Edwards's] tales read like the work of a wise traveler who returns home with uncommon souvenirs from other lands."
-Publishers Weekly

"Striking ... powerful."
-The Boston Globe

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