Deliverance

By: James Dickey

Narrated by: Will Patton

Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

Earphones Award Winner (AudioFile Magazine)

The smash-hit best seller that inspired the acclaimed 1972 film starring Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, and Ronny Cox is now available in unabridged audio for the very first time.

The setting is the Georgia wilderness, where the state's most remote white-water river awaits. In the thundering froth of that river, in its echoing stone canyons, four men on a canoe trip discover a freedom and exhilaration beyond compare. And then, in a moment of horror, the adventure turns into a struggle for survival as one man becomes a human hunter who is offered his own harrowing deliverance.

This classic tale is vividly read by movie and TV star and Audie Award-winning narrator Will Patton.

©1970 James Dickey (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

100 Best Novels ( The Modern Library)

All-Time 100 Novels ( Time)

"Will Patton's narration is nothing short of haunting. His Southern tone steadily declines from that of a man pondering all that is possible in the world to that of a shattered soul." ( AudioFile)

Try Muting a Movie

I haven't watched Deliverance in a very long time, but I decided to read the book. When I was a kid, I was never into Tom Sawyer, Hardy Boys, or other boyhood adventures. I found them to be too slow and too clean for my liking. At the time, I probably watch Rambo First Blood without my parents' supervision until the video tape broke. I was that kid that blew up his army men, played with matches and explore dark hidden paths, where little boys shouldn't go.

What makes these books and movies so great, such as Deliverance and Rambo, there is no language barriers to tell the story. The plot isn't too complex for someone to follow. Understanding the dialogue isn't important as watching the action in the movie. You can know what is going on just by watching the characters on the screen.

One of my memories of my grandma is, she used to love watching old western movies. My grandma barely spoke English, but the movies was straight forward enough for someone to understand without words. I cannot remembered if she watched Deliverance with me, but when First Blood was release on VHS, I can remember watching it over and over with her.

James Dickey wrote Deliverance to be simple and fast pace. It is not a complex story at all, but the simplicity of the plot and basic character development makes the movie and book a classic.

Next time, try muting a movie, such as most kung fu flicks from the 70's and you will be amaze at how much you understand the plot.

Better than the movie!

This is an oldie but a goodie. And so much better than the movie. The descriptive narration transports you to a place you really don't want to be. . . and tosses you into the raging river and into the heinous crimes -- man against man -- that transpire there. Difficult to listen to at times but even more difficult are the decisions made on the river. Morality questioned at its core.

Enthralling Listen

Any additional comments?

Deliverance is a fantastic audio book. The characters are well defined and interesting, the plot grabs you and keeps you glued. The performance of the narrator is spot on. This is a must listen classic.

Exceptional!

Once I started this book I couldn't put it down! The reader was perfect for this book and the writing was superb. Loved it.

grim but gripping

Would you listen to Deliverance again? Why?

No because its subject is not pleasant, and now I know what happened. I might watch the movie one day,

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

There is one shocking scene which defines the book. It left me with my mouth hanging open, thinking OMG!

Any additional comments?

This is not a story that is to be enjoyed because of its subject matter, yet I had to keep listening to the end, to find out what happened.
It is a good story and I recommend it... if you have a strong constitution

Wish I had listened to the book first

Good Listen! Will Patton sets the stage with His vivid explanations and descriptions of
the story.

Poetic and sadly true.

Will Patton is the most brillant of all the narrators I love in this amazing performance. Absolutely perfect! and I have listened to hundreds of audio books.

Great, classic, being-male story.

Intense and beautiful

This book is beautifully written and intense. Even though some of the story is quite brutal, there is beauty and tenderness here. One of my favorites.

The narration is the best I've ever heard. Will Patton is the perfect narrator for this book. I will definitely look for more of his work.

Will Patton nails it!

What did you love best about Deliverance?

enjoyed learning some of the backstory on the Movie, production, etc and James Dickey.......also - close tie between which was better - Book or Movie - usually one much preferred over the other.....

Have you listened to any of Will Patton’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Top 1-3 narrators in my experience with Audible. Alas Babylon also a great performance.

Fear of the other

What made the experience of listening to Deliverance the most enjoyable?

Like most people I saw the movie years ago, and never revisited it. After reading the reviews I decided to give the audio book a try. The story is gripping and engaging far darker and more disturbing in it's narration than it was on the screen. The story is very well written, with Mr. Dickey painting a picture with words, you can almost smell the water.
The only thing that detracts from this is the audio, either in the engineering or reading the southern draw of Will Patton turns in to a drawn out and popping S sound that soon becomes all you can hear.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

I appreciate the southern draw however the drawn out s became an issue and distraction