Two Deserts, Julie Brickman
Two Deserts, Julie Brickman
List: $16.95 | Sale: $11.87
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Two Deserts
Stories

Author: Julie Brickman

Narrator: Jeff Gurner, Hillary Huber, Holly Linneman, Carol Monda, Robert Petkoff, Alan Winter, various narrators

Unabridged: 6 hr 19 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Julie Brickman

Published: 04/04/2020


Synopsis

Deserts of sand and deserts of the heart, Middle Eastern deserts and American deserts, the story collection Two Deserts follows the circles of two unforgettable women across cultures and deserts. The Arabian circle includes a seventeen-year-old girl yearning for freedom and a Muslim mother plotting to rescue her son from a jihadist movement. The American circle includes a hooker who is training her daughter for the life, a priest in love, and a club of women whose husbands are dying.

About Julie Brickman

Author of the novel, What Birds Can Only Whisper, and the novella, The Galapagos Story, JULIE BRICKMAN has published her work in the North American Review, Louisville Review, Barcelona Review, failbetter.com, Persimmons Tree, San Diego Union Tribune, and other journals. The recipient of grants from the Canada Council, a writer-in-residence position at the Berton House in Dawson City, Yukon, and a Pushcart Prize nomination, Brickman teaches fiction in the MFA program of Spalding University’s School of Creative and Professional Writing in Louisville, Kentucky. She divides her time between Laguna Beach, California and New York City.

About Jeff Gurner

Jeff Gurner created the title role in the American premiere of A Prayer for Owen Meany at Playmakers Rep. He has appeared in productions on and off Broadway such as The Lion King, Five Course Love, The London Cuckolds, and Harrigan & Hart. His film and television credits include Law & Order: SVU, Third Watch, and Hey Joel!, an animated series for VHI.

About Hillary Huber

Hillary Huber is one of the most successful voice talents in Los Angeles. Recent books read for Blackstone Audio include Him, Her, Him Again, the End of Him by Patricia Marx, A Field of Darkness by Cornelia Read, and A Map of Glass by Jane Urquhart.

About Carol Monda

Carol Monda is an Earphones Award–winning narrator and accomplished voice-over artist. She is also an award-winning actor known for her work in Out of Season, After You Left, and The Gentlemen.

About Robert Petkoff

Robert Petkoff is an actor and audiobook narrator who has won a prestigious Audie Award and multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards and has been named an AudioFile Golden Voice. He has appeared on Chappelle’s Show, Law & Order, and Quantum Leap. His Broadway credits include Sir Robin in Spamalot, Perchik in Fiddler on the Roof, and Tateh in Ragtime.

About Alan Winter

Alan Winter is an audiobook narrator whose readings include Hard Work by Roy Williams and Sexual Intelligence by Marty Klein, among others.


Reviews

Goodreads review by V.G. on December 06, 2015

I found Two Deserts remarkably refreshing. Some stories are interconnected, while some are not, yet each explores a unique and thought-provoking facet of the human experience. Love, loss, lust, desire, sexual orientation, death, feminism, sexism, religion, adolescent egocentrism—you name it, Brickma......more

Goodreads review by J on February 04, 2016

I picked up the last copy of Two Deserts today at Laguna Beach books and devoured the first story before I’d even left the store. With blustery weather today, I have kept reading through several more of the stories and truly admire what Julie Brickman has done. Brickman's writing is intelligent and......more

Goodreads review by Teddy on November 14, 2013

This story collection demonstrates Brickman's skill as a writer and her compassion as a human. Characters are richly portrayed in settings made real by just the right amount of description. My favorite among all the pieces in this excellent collection is "Marriage Gear." So much is conveyed with so......more


Quotes

“This is brilliant work—bold, true-hearted, and beautiful. Brickman believes in the reality of the body, but the body illumined by an unflinching intellect and indomitable spirit.” Sena Jeter Naslund, New York Times bestselling author

“Julie Brickman’s collection Two Deserts has its darknesses, of course, but also the startling, timely, cultural breadth and luminous grace scene for scene that she’s known for.” Philip F. Deaver, Flannery O’Connor Award–winning author of Silent Retreats

“Brickman’s storytelling takes many forms—all of them exhibiting her mastery of character and place. You will be transported, as I was.” Susan Vreeland, New York Times bestselling author

“Written in beautifully descriptive prose, Two Deserts is a collection of fourteen short stories that reveal deep reflections on life made by various different characters. Reading through each story is a peaceful drift down a lazy river on a beautiful spring day. Finishing each one is a profound realization of a kindred human emotion.” The US Review of Books