Alexander Chee has 4 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 4 narrators, with an average listener rating of 4.6★ across 7 ratings. The most-rated is Edinburgh.
Edinburgh
Summary
Twelve-year-old Fee is a shy Korean American boy and a newly named section leader of the first sopranos in his local boys' choir. But when Fee learns how the director treats his section leaders, he is so ashamed he says nothing of the abuse, not even when Peter, his best friend, is in line to be next. When the director is arrested, Fee tries to forgive himself for his silence. But when Peter takes his own life, Fee blames only himself. In the years that follow, he slowly builds a new life, teaching near his hometown. There he meets a young student who is the picture of Peter and is forced to confront the past he believed was gone. Told with "the force of a dream and the heft of a life," Edinburgh marked Chee "as a major talent whose career will bear watching" (Publishers Weekly). A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year. Winner of the Lambda Literary Award. Winner of a Michener-Copernicus Fellowship.
©2018 Alexander Chee (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
The Queen of the Night
Summary
From a ferociously talented writer, praised as "the fire, in my opinion. And the light" by Junot Diaz, comes a blazing portrait of one woman's rise from courtesan to world-renowned diva. Lilliet Berne is a sensation of the Paris Opera, a legendary soprano with every accolade except an original role, every singer's chance at immortality. When one is finally offered to her, she realizes with alarm that the libretto is based on a hidden piece of her past. Only four could have betrayed her: one is dead, one loves her, one wants to own her. And one, she hopes, never thinks of her at all. As she mines her memories for clues, she recalls her life as an orphan who left the American frontier for Europe and was swept up into the glitzy, gritty world of Second Empire Paris. To survive, she transformed herself from hippodrome rider to courtesan, from empress' maid to debut singer, all the while weaving a complicated web of romance, obligation, and political intrigue. Featuring a cast of characters drawn from history, The Queen of the Night follows Lilliet as she moves closer to the truth behind the mysterious opera and the role that could secure her reputation - or destroy her with the secrets it reveals.
©2016 Alexander Chee (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
How to Write an Autobiographical Novel
Summary
An essay collection exploring his education as a man, writer, and activist - and how we form our identities in life and in art. As a novelist, Alexander Chee has been described as "masterful" by Roxane Gay, "incendiary" by the New York Times, and "brilliant" by the Washington Post. With How to Write an Autobiographical Novel, his first collection of nonfiction, he is sure to secure his place as one of the finest essayists of his generation as well. How to Write an Autobiographical Novel is the author's manifesto on the entangling of life, literature, and politics, and how the lessons learned from a life spent reading and writing fiction have changed him. In these essays, he grows from student to teacher, reader to writer, and reckons with his identities as a son, a gay man, a Korean American, an artist, an activist, a lover, and a friend. He examines some of the most formative experiences of his life and the nation's history, including his father's death, the AIDS crisis, 9/11, the jobs that supported his writing - Tarot-reading, bookselling, cater-waiting for William F. Buckley - the writing of his first novel, Edinburgh, and the election of Donald Trump. By turns commanding, heartbreaking, and wry, How to Write an Autobiographical Novel asks questions about how we create ourselves in life and in art and how to fight when our dearest truths are under attack. A BookRiot Pick of Books to Read If You Love "Pose". An Entertainment Weekly Best Book of the Year (So Far). A Chicago Review of Books Pick of Best of the Year (So Far). A Buzzfeed Best Books of the Year (So Far). A Wired Magazine Pick of Must-Read Summer Titles. An Esquire Magazine Pick of Best Books of 2018 (So Far). A Christian Science Monitor selection of 2018's Most Anticipated Books. A Bustle Pick of Most Anticipated Books of 2018. A Bitch magazine pick of Most Anticipated Nonfiction for 2018. A Pop Sugar Pick of Most Anticipated Upcoming Books. A Paste Magazine Pick of Most Anticipated Books of 2018. A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2018.
©2018 Alexander Chee (P)2018 Blackstone Publishing
The Weddings
Summary
For Jack Cho, a fortysomething gay man, being able to marry someone he loves is so unfamiliar it’s terrifying. Then a wedding invitation from a college friend brings about a collision with those fears--and his own secret history. Jack and his new boyfriend, Caleb, are attending the wedding of Jack’s estranged straight friend Scott. No sooner do the guests start to mingle than questions arise about relationships, tradition, Jack’s feelings for the groom, and what’s at stake as he navigates daunting territory, both new and old. In this wry and surprising short story, award-winning author Alexander Chee extends an invitation to the party--and awakening--of a lifetime. Alexander Chee’s The Weddings is part of Inheritance, a collection of five stories about secrets, unspoken desires, and dangerous revelations between loved ones. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single sitting. By yourself, behind closed doors, or shared with someone you trust.
©2019 Alexander Chee (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.