The History of Sound: Stories

The History of Sound by Ben Shattuck is a short story collection. Originally published in 2024 by Viking, the collection contains 12 short stories set in New England. Each story is written from a distinct point of view, set in a distinct time, and follows a distinct character’s experience, but they all capture the richness of New England culture and history. In the title short story, “The History of Sound,” Lionel Worthing is forced to confront his past when he receives 25 phonograph cylinders in the mail. The surprising package reminds him of the time he spent in Maine with his late lover David decades prior. In the subsequent stories, characters are similarly compelled to examine their personal histories when they encounter historic paintings, read old journals, or discover lost artifacts. No matter how history reappears in their lives, Shattuck’s characters are compelled towards growth and change as a result. The collection explores themes including Art as a Form of Expression and Communication, The Ethics of Storytelling, The Universality of Love, Loss, and Longing, and The Clarifying Power of History.

This guide refers to the 2024 Viking hardcover edition of the collection.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of sexual content, bullying, physical abuse, emotional abuse, illness, substance use, addiction, antigay bias, mental illness, child abuse, and death.

Plot Summaries

The History of Sound contains 12 titled short stories that follow their own formal rules, independent of the others. Although they each operate as standalone works, the stories are also connected to one another. Each story has a companion piece, another story that picks up the same narrative threads or features the same cast of characters. 

In “The History of Sound,” Lionel Worthing, an elderly man, receives an unexpected piece of mail that reminds him of his past. Sent from a stranger in Maine, the package contains 25 phonograph cylinders that Lionel and his late lover David made decades prior. Just seeing the cylinders reminds Lionel of the love he and David shared. He meditates on their history together, particularly the summer they spent recording American folk songs in Maine. In the present, Lionel plays the cylinders and is overcome by emotion when he hears David’s voice again.

In “Edwin Chase of Nantucket,” Edwin Chase has been living on his family farm with his mother Laurel since his father Silas died the year before. He feels bored by life and longs for change. Then one day, Laurel’s childhood love Will Snowe and his wife Rivkah come for an unexpected visit. Over the following hours, Edwin realizes that his mother still longs for the life she never got with Will.

In “The Silver Clip,” the unnamed first-person narrator stays at his late grandmother’s house on Nantucket after finishing college. He spends his days struggling to paint until one day, he runs into an elderly museum curator named Mallory on the beach, and she invites him in for tea. Upstairs in her late husband’s painting studio, she begs the narrator to paint her. The narrator is uncomfortable but obliges. A few weeks later, he discovers that Mallory left him a painting of a songbird on his doorstep. He keeps it for many years.

In “Graft,” Hope is at the museum with her husband Henry when she encounters a child who resembles her son Eli. Years prior, Hope had a child with her former husband Sam, but just before Eli’s birth, she discovered that Sam already had another family. Ashamed and alone, Hope left Eli with her brother. She has never told Henry about these experiences but seeing the child in the museum makes her realize it’s time to tell Henry the truth.

In “Tundra Swan,” Mark starts stealing trees from the nursery where he works to get extra money for his son Ian’s rehab. One day, he and Ian get into a verbal altercation when Ian shoots a swan. Upset, Ian disappears from home, and Mark doesn’t hear from him for months. A defeated Mark ends up planting the stolen trees in a forest clearing.

In “August in the Forest,” August publishes his first short story in a well-known literary magazine but is terrified to tell his wife Elizabeth. One of the characters is based on her, and August fears she’ll be offended. He wonders how to tell her the truth, and if he might use their inevitable argument as inspiration for his next story.

In “The Journal of Thomas Thurber,” Thomas Thurber spends the winter on a logging venture in the rural New England woods. To cope with the hostile environment and gruff companions, Thomas spends his days keeping a journal. However, tension breaks out between him and another worker named Winslow when Thomas writes about the night Winslow killed their fellow companion James. To save himself from conviction, Winslow poisons Thomas and all the other men.

In “Radiolab: ‘Singularities,’” Anna Mott tells the Radiolab hosts about her encounter with the great auk. When she saw a photo of the allegedly extinct bird, she traveled to Newfoundland for answers. She never found another auk but searching for the bird led her to Mule Harbor, where she met her husband and still lives.

In “The Auk,” Will Hunt despairs when his business starts failing and his wife Nora’s memory wanes. Then one day, he retrieves a taxidermied auk from the attic, photographs it on his boat, and shows the photos to Nora. The photos thrill Nora, and she begs Will to hunt the auk with her. Will doesn’t tell Nora the auk isn’t real because he’s thrilled that Nora’s spirits have returned.

In “The Children of New Eden,” Caroline Thatcher, her husband Philip, and her sister Emma join Karl Dietzen’s congregation, the Children of New Eden. Convinced that they’ll ascend to heaven on an appointed date, the group flees their village and wanders into the wilderness. Caroline soon realizes that Karl isn’t who he seems to be and begs Philip for help. Philip disregards her pleas because he’s convinced they’ll all be in heaven soon.

In “Introduction to The Dietzens: Searching for Eternity in the North American Wilderness,” Cal Owens pens an introduction to his new book on Karl Dietzen and his congregants. He traces his interest in Dietzen back to a night he spent at a museum with his sister when he was 11 years old. At the museum, he encountered Dietzen’s Bible for the first time—a discovery that led him to his authorial fate.

In “Origin Stories,” Annie is sad and lonely in her marriage to Henry. Feeling purposeless, she spends her days cleaning out their ancient house in Maine. When she finds the former owner Belle’s valuables in the attic, she pays Belle a visit. Belle’s musings on life, love, age, and the passage of time make Annie realize that she needs more independence.