''The Moth Presents: All These Wonders. True Stories About Facing the Unknown'' is a 2017 collection of stories from the radio program ''

The Moth The Moth is a non-profit group based in New York City dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling. Founded in 1997, the organization presents a wide range of theme-based storytelling events across the United States and abroad, often featuring ...

'', edited by the show's artistic director

Catherine Burns Catherine Burns (September 25, 1945 – February 2, 2019) was an American actress of stage, film, radio and television. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in ''Last Summer'' (1969). Early ...

on the 20th anniversary of the show's 1997 founding. The 336-page collection of 45 stories was published by

Crown Archetype The Crown Publishing Group is a subsidiary of Penguin Random House that publishes across several fiction and non-fiction categories. Originally founded in 1933 as a remaindered books wholesaler called Outlet Book Company, the firm expanded into ...

. The title story, "All These Wonders", is by planetary scientist Cathy Olkin.

Reception

Reviewing the collection for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'',

Michiko Kakutani Michiko Kakutani (born January 9, 1955) is an American writer and retired literary critic, best known for reviewing books for ''The New York Times'' from 1983 to 2017. In that role, she won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 1998. Early life ...

said most of the stories, all initially told on the radio, "have translated seamlessly to the page ndpossess a remarkable emotional depth and sincerity. The stories vary greatly in tone and voice — by turns, raw, wry, rueful, comic, elliptical and confiding — but there is little sarcasm or snark. The emphasis is on communicating with the audience, with sharing an experience, a memory, a moment of grace." In the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'', Sarah Murdoch said, "Each makes the transition from stage to page without a stumble. A delight." In ''

Paste Magazine ''Paste'' is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan, and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publication fro ...

'', Jason Rhode's review was mixed, saying, "I give three-quarters of ''All These Wonders'' my highest praise, and the remaining quarter a curt dismissal." He particularly noted stories by Ishmael Beah and Kate Braestrup, and those centered on "ordinary people who have been through miraculous or terrible events. These are fragments of beauty." He also praised stories from "academics and people with interesting jobs who have insightful thoughts on the world" and "entertainment professionals who are practiced masters of their craft," but criticized the remaining quarter as "facile, self-deprecating bundles of humblebrag."

References

External links

''All These Wonders''
at

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House LLC is an Anglo-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, from the merger of Penguin Group and Random House. On April 2, 2020, Bertels ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:All These Wonders 2017 anthologies Essay anthologies Storytelling Radio in the United States Crown Publishing Group books