Westerns

The strength of this story is the sparse, unsentimental narrative, unadorned by adjectives, contrived dialogue, or flowery prose. It moves at a slow deliberate pace, not always in a linear direction, sometimes repeating scenes from different characters' points of view. In this way we come to understand the inner thoughts of each and see how they can be fully committed to each other without fully understanding each other. The first half of the book covers many years, switching back and forth between characters and locations, reviewed with little detail, almost as though someone was going through a box of old photographs and explaining what was happening when each was taken, patching together a lifetime of memories without really explaining the life. Remarkably, it is effective in developing the characters and getting to the second half of the book in which the normal routines of life in the orchard are disrupted when history rears its head and must be dealt with.

Mark Bramhall's reading makes this story remarkable. Because there is little dialogue, he does not have to create vastly different voices. But through subtle changes in tone, pacing and inflection each character does have individual voice. Talmadge in particular becomes palpably real through Bramhall's slow rough voice. This is an Audible book that is truly best listened to.