Jordan County

By: Shelby Foote

Narrated by: Tom Parker

Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

Before Shelby Foote undertook his epic history of the Civil War, he wrote this fictional chronicle, "a landscape in narrative", of Jordan County, Mississippi, a place where the traumas of slavery, war, and Reconstruction are as tangible as rock formations. The seven stories in Jordan County move backward in time, from 1950 to 1797, and through the lives of characters as diverse as a black horn player doomed by tuberculosis and convulsive jealousy, a tormented and ineffectual fin-de-siecle aristocrat, and a half-wild frontiersman who builds a plantation in Choctaw territory only to watch it burn at the close of the Civil War.

In prose of almost biblical gravity, and with a deep knowledge of the ways in which history shapes human lives, and sometimes warps them beyond repair, Foote gives us an ambitious, troubling work of fiction that builds on the traditions of William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor but that is resolutely unique.

©1954 Shelby Foote (P)2002 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Exquisite narration.... [Tom Parker] becomes the voices of the South and provides a strong accompaniment to Foote's fine prose." (AudioFile)

"Mr. Foote's writing is marvelously exact and positive. His attitude toward his people is respectful and human, as though he had thought about them a great deal and knew too much about them to take them for granted." (The New Yorker)

A story of Mississippi and family

Shelby Foote's dramatic telling of the story of life in Jordan County, Mississippi for a family from 1797 until 1953 is dramatic and inspiring. Full of character that leave you shaking your head. The performance of the narrator leads you into the mind of the author in this 1954 classic. I loved it Excellent

Another Foote Classic

A very good look at the south from one of her sons. Preformed very well.

Excellent

This is the first book I have read by Shelby Foote. I have been immersed in great books by black authors writing on slavery and beyond, so I wanted to balance that with another viewpoint, to round out my understanding. I was riveted by each story, and one in particular had me in tears. The writing was absolutely amazing. Through sadness and a sense of futility, the collection also flowed with great hope and beauty. A deep reflection on the human condition. I will now eagerly read everything I can get my hands on by this author. As for the narrator, it is indeed the excellent Grover Gardner under another name. Why, I don't know, but he is unmistakable. This audiobook deserves high praise.

Great listen

This is a very interesting book that has the historical feel, but is in reality fiction. The narrator is great, but I do not understand why he is called Tom Parker here, but as he reads many other books he goes by Grover Gardner. (He is a great narrator, but his voice is unmistakable!)

Southern Literature at its finest

Eclipsed by the massive a justly praised epic "Civil War" narrative, is this lesser known but equally impressive collection of short stories.
I knew Foote was a Literary man, but I had no idea how incredibly talented and compelling he was. His name should be listed among the great 20th century Southern writers. Compelling and well worth your time. If you like Faulkner, O'Conner, McCarthy, Chappell, and others greats of the 20th century Southern literary tradition, do yourself a favour and get to know Foote outside the confines of the "Civil War."

Interesting story

I had a hard time keeping up with what was going on. The story was disjointed and I found myself getting lost when it would all of a sudden move to a new group of people.

too scattered

not very entertaining...too jumbled up. I didn't know the first story ended and the next was about someone else.