Growing Things and Other Stories

By: Paul Tremblay

Narrated by: Sean Crisden, Graham Halstead, Cassandra Campbell, Sarah Naughton, Michael Crouch, Caitlin Kelly

Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

A chilling collection of psychological suspense and literary horror from the multiple award-winning author of the national best seller The Cabin at the End of the World and A Head Full of Ghosts.

A masterful anthology featuring 19 pieces of short fiction, Growing Things and Other Stories is an exciting glimpse into Paul Tremblay’s fantastically fertile imagination.

In “The Teacher”, a Bram Stoker Award nominee for best short story, a student is forced to watch a disturbing video that will haunt and torment her and her classmates’ lives. 

Four men rob a pawn shop at gunpoint only to vanish, one by one, as they speed away from the crime scene in “The Getaway”.

In “Swim Wants to Know If It’s as Bad as Swim Thinks”, a meth addict kidnaps her daughter from her estranged mother as their town is terrorized by a giant monster...or not.

Joining these haunting works are stories linked to Tremblay’s previous novels. The tour de force metafictional novella Notes from the Dog Walkers deconstructs horror and publishing, possibly bringing in a character from A Head Full of Ghosts, all while serving as a prequel to Disappearance at Devil’s Rock. “The Thirteenth Temple” follows another character from A Head Full of Ghosts - Merry, who has published a tell-all memoir written years after the events of the novel. And the title story, “Growing Things”, a shivery tale loosely shared between the sisters in A Head Full of Ghosts, is told here in full.

From global catastrophe to the demons inside our heads, Tremblay illuminates our primal fears and darkest dreams in startlingly original fiction that leaves us unmoored. As he lowers the sky and yanks the ground from beneath our feet, we are compelled to contemplate the darkness inside our own hearts and minds.

©2019 Paul Tremblay (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers

Paul Tremblay is totally nuts.

Or maybe it's me. Or just you.

Anyway, I enjoyed this experience so very much that I'm off to read the rest of his work.

Or maybe I already have......?

Take his recommendation from a true horror fan--don't hesitate to jump into this collection. Some of the stories are wide -eye wonderful, and the rest are just plain great, with perfect, skillful narration acoss the board.

And, the strangest thing of all? Paul Trembley has a day job.

Jay

Paul Tremblay Is Rocketing To The Top Of My List!

The first book I read by Mr. Tremblay was “A Head Full of Ghosts”. It was not exactly what I expected and that made it even better than I’d hoped. Paul Tremblay is an author to sit up and pay attention to. After finishing the aforementioned book, I did not hesitate to check out “Growing Things and Other Stories”. Each story is unique, original and very, very well done. This is just very good storytelling.

The writing is clever, top-shelf work and the narration is on point and superb. I highly recommend this collection of shorts by Mr. Tremblay and I now begin my search for more of his writing!

Good collection but not the best thing this autho

Paul Tremblay is an amazing novel writter...
Sadly his short stories aren't as good as his other works.
He seems to face some difficulties puting an impactful tale into a small package and resorts to his detailed prose style which is great in a novel but a real burden in a short story.

Hard to Follow

Very disappointing and boring. I found myself zoning out; the stories were far from enjoyable and there wasn't a frightening one in the bunch.

a great collection!

This collection of short stories is a gift to the dedicated Paul Tremblay reader. The stories are varied and interesting. Some of them connect to his past works in ways that feel like an obvious inside joke or a hint to a connected universe that only the most conscious reader will be rewarded with.

Some of these stories are quite horrifying. One in particular, a story called "The Teacher", felt downright dangerous.

To the new Tremblay reader, this is a solid set of stories. But to the ones who've read all his past works, well, you'll be giddy, sitting on the edge of your seat as you read "Notes from the Dog Walkers" and you jog your memory through the body of Tremblay lit for things you recognize.

Yes, this book is an absolute gift that I happily sipped slowly, often reading stories 2 or 3 times.

Most Brilliant Story: Notes From the Dog Walkers

Scariest Story: The Teacher

5/5 Stars

In the end, this goes down in history as one of my favorite Short Story collections of all time. If you haven't read Tremblay, I'd say start with "A Head Full of Ghosts" and then branch out. Read this last. If you've already read his other work, this is a no-brainer. One thing is for certain, if you like horror, you are missing out if you haven't read Tremblay!

Enjoy, friends! And don't forget to wash your hands or it will be Sassafras and Lullabies.

justin

so-so

Some of the stories were a little tedious to listen to, some were interesting, none were scary, but the narrators were good.

Very Frustrating

I hated this collection. I love Tremblay's novels. In particular, The Last Cabin. But his short fiction is just awful. The writing is good, of course, but each story, every single one, ends ambiguously. It's frustrating listening to the story and zoning out, getting immersed when, suddenly, that's it. That's all you get. I'm not adverse to open ended fiction climaxes. But these did not work for me. The stories felt like forced attempts at art. I felt like he was trying to channel JD Salinger, but failing miserably.

Don't Bother

If you like wonderful odd stories that make you think... Read Ted Chiang instead! Either _Exhalation_ or _Stories of Your life_

horror for people that only have missionary sex.

Quite boring of a listen. Most of the stories seem completely unfinished. I'm not talking about leave clues and let your imagination end the story kind of unfinished either.

Brilliant!

This was my first time experience of this author. I can say with confidence that my next purchase on Audible will be something else by Tremblay. "The Teacher" specifically is one of the best short stories I have ever come across- and I have read damn near a thousand.
Do yourself a favor and purchase this book.