• My World - and Welcome to It

  • By: James Thurber
  • Narrated by: John Cullum
  • Length: 4 hrs and 33 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (90 ratings)

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My World - and Welcome to It  By  cover art

My World - and Welcome to It

By: James Thurber
Narrated by: John Cullum
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Publisher's summary

James Thurber is a masterful writer, humorist, and creator of enduring characters: Walter Mitty and the Lemming, included herein, have a permanent place in our culture. These 22 complete stories from Part I of My World (first published in 1942) reveal the full range of Thurber's genius, from his fanciful analysis of Shakespeare's Macbeth to his playful rendition of marital conflict and ultimately, his serious consideration of murders unsolved. His final memorial tribute to his dog fits the spirit of a light life, well-lived.

©1970 Helen Thurber and Rosemary A. Thurber (P)2010 BBC Audio

What listeners say about My World - and Welcome to It

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Thurber's World - Not a Bad Place

I'm old as dirt, and James Thurber is before even my time! So, expect this to be dated; but also expect it to contain gems! Witty and literary humorists such as Thurber have gone out of fashion, but, if you enjoy Mark Twain and "The Prairie Home Companion", you should give this a try. There is no funnier 'essay' than "The Macbeth Murder Mystery" - it alone is worth the download!

John Cullum has a low-key delivery that suits this material well. Not all of these short pieces will be to everyone's taste, and allowances must be made for Thurber's times, but there is reason to feel welcome in his world.

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7 people found this helpful

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America's Beloved Humorist Read by GREAT Narrator!

Those who love James Thurber need no introduction, but I hope more people will discover (or re-discover) his delightful short stories -- and this collection comes to life with an exceptional narrator, the actor John Cullum, who can do every accent under the sun. I wish Audible would offer a wider selection of Thurber's stories, like The Night the Bed Fell and The Catbird Seat, narrated by Cullen. (Unlike Keith Olbermann, who shouts, Cullum gives nuance and depth to each reading.)

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When it's good it's very very good, but...

... When it's not it's just "Meh". James Thurber was a quirky, often misanthropic raconteur. At his best (Walter Mitty, Fables) he was brilliant. But this collection is too uneven to recommend, unless you get it for free (Audible Plus) as I did. His pieces on sailing terminology and motor vehicle licensing are just plain tedious, and his clumsy "humor" based on his Black maid's malapropisms is painful.

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Love Thurber? This is a good one.

I only gave one star off for John Cullum’s use of a gentle Southern accent a couple of times for the firmly Midwestern Thurber. Otherwise, he’s a wonderful narrator who had me laughing out loud, especially at the Macbeth Murder Mystery.

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Love Thurber

Thurber is, as always, a delight. Narrator did a great job. I was amazed to find stories in this book from Thurber I had never seen before. Glad I ran across this book.

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Great piece of work.

Not stories exactly. More like descriptions of imagined characters, but hilariously funny and smart.
Cullum’s narration is pitch perfect whether the voice is New York sophisticate or backwoods rustic.
I thought it was simply perfect.

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Amazingly good and a very good reader.

Each of these 20 or so stories is wonderful except maybe three that are a bit gloomy or dated. The baseball story is absolutely killer.

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Not Turner's best

Thurber 's Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Carnival were really inspired. In this collection of vignettes, some of them are cute but many are dated, corny, or go on too long for the humor they contain.

Also just to inform: Thurber died in 1961, and some anecdotes use terms "darkie, negro" which might surprise modern kids. No disrespect is meant; it was appropriate for the time period.

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it was great

I loved the easy on the ear craziness that Mr Thurber wrote. I hoped to get more

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