A Registry of My Passage upon the Earth

Stories

By: Daniel Mason

Narrated by: Michael Crouch, Susannah Jones, Jay Ben Markson, Lucy Rayner, Joel Richards, Gary Tiedemann

A Pulitzer Prize Finalist: This collection of moving short stories is “a treasure trove of lush scene setting in faraway times and places” (Alexis Burling, San Francisco Chronicle).

On a fateful flight, a balloonist makes a discovery that changes her life forever. A telegraph operator finds an unexpected companion in the middle of the Amazon. A doctor is beset by seizures, in which he is possessed by a second, perhaps better, version of himself. And in Regency London, a bare-knuckle fighter prepares to face his most fearsome opponent, while a young mother seeks a miraculous cure for her ailing son.

At times funny and irreverent, always moving and deeply urgent, these stories—among them a National Magazine Award and a Pushcart Prize winner—cap a fifteen-year project. From the Nile's depths to the highest reaches of the atmosphere, from volcano-racked islands to an asylum on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, these are tales of ecstasy, epiphany, and what the New York Times Magazine called the "struggle for survival . . . hand to hand, word to word," by "one of the finest prose stylists in American fiction."

A Library Journal Best Book of 2020

Critic reviews

“A collection of stories with themes of class division, the artist’s role in society and our need for love and belonging, reflecting a prowess with language and a mastery of the short form.”—2021 Pulitzer Prize Committee

"Unique and beguiling... Mason's first short story collection is a treasure trove of lush scene setting in faraway times and places, from the wilds of England to the Malay Archipelago... A perfect and fitting pick for these seemingly endless days when science, our understanding of reality and a faint longing for human connection are so irrevocably intertwined."—Alexis Burling, San Francisco Chronicle

"What I've found most remarkable about Mason's fiction is the quality of his revelations, his ability to unveil temperaments, habits, natures. His stories are mysteries, albeit not in the genre sense... In all of the stories, you can see Mason figuring out new strategies to get closer to the people he is writing about. Each is a portrait, each a deep dive into an individual's nature, each rooted in history."—Wyatt Mason, New York Times Magazine

"Mason conveys more in a short story than many authors manage in an entire novel."—Christian Science Monitor

“Mason is particularly strong at depicting the state of mind a character works himself into when struggling with fear, uncertainty or even impostor syndrome… the subjects and settings provide a pleasing unity. The grand pleasures of fiction are all here: rich, cushioning detail; vivid characters delivering decisive action; and a sense of escape into a larger world.”—John Self, The Guardian

“The characters in these robust short stories, set mostly in the nineteenth century, struggle as captains of their destinies.”—The New Yorker

"A wonderful set of period tales that offer a welcome transportive escape... conjuring a vivid world of scientific endeavor and human isolation in myriad settings."—Mariella Frostrup, BBC

"Daniel Mason is a masterful storyteller, and these stories---the attention to history and science and all that is unknown---are nothing short of brilliant. With exquisite, mesmerizing language, he transports us to places far beyond the realm of our realities and then lands us in ways wholly intimate and moving. A Registry Of My Passage Upon the Earth is a marvel and a journey not to be missed."—Jill McCorkle, New York Times bestselling author of Life After Life

"An enchanting cabinet of curiosities and wonders... Mason is one of our best historical novelists, creating panoramas of rich detail, propulsive plot, and artful character development... In his first story collection, he shows how quickly and completely he can immerse readers in a foreign place and time... Nine tales of human endurance, accomplishment, and epiphany told with style and brio."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Loved these stories

Incredibly skillful writer with a broad array of narratives. Yes indeed. If you liked Cloud Atlas I think you will enjoy these stories

Requires Knife to Open Package

I kept thinking that there was great potential in Mason's writing if only he were not so tightly bound in his own word salad as to suffocate some of the brilliance that hid at its foundation. In summation, he tried too hard and lost me in places. I prefer not to have to work at having to enjoy or appreciate something and these stories tugged in that direction.

Excellent

Unexpected, creative, and amazingly well written. The stories are more like a bit of time in another world.

Some amazing flights of imagination

This collection was wonderful in Mason’s ability to transport the Reader to Eras and Worlds so different from our own. I found the stories to be a little uneven, some tightly woven and successful, others not so much.

When they work they’re powerful, like the Pugilist, Alfred Wallace, the Line Agent and the Balloonist with her Winds and Waves. Others just seemed to meander toward some kind of conclusion.

All in all, though, listening to these stories was an excellent escape, not like murder mystery Airplane escapist fiction, but escape with a satisfying destination. Four Stars. ****

Beautifully written

I’m not sure what to think of this book... it was beautifully written... you could almost feel the breeze on you skin, smell the lush scenery he described, hear the sounds of the jungle, feel the tension in some of the settings. There were no real stories, just glimpses into places and lives, no real beginnings, middles, endings. Maybe that’s not a bad thing... more like a good meal without dessert I guess.