Mudbound

By: Hillary Jordan

Narrated by: Ezra Knight, Kate Forbes, Joseph Collins, Tom Stechschulte, Peter Jay Fernandez, Brenda Pressley

Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

Hillary Jordan's mesmerizing debut novel won the Bellwether Prize for fiction. A powerful piece of Southern literature, Mudbound takes on prejudice in its myriad forms on a Mississippi Delta farm in 1946. City girl Laura McAllen attempts to raise her family despite questionable decisions made by her husband. Tensions continue to rise when her brother-in-law and the son of a family of sharecroppers both return from WWII as changed men bearing the scars of combat.

©2008 Hillary Jordan (P)2008 Recorded Books

Excellent Production

Superb narration by different voices, each with a perspective on the unfolding story. The story is dramatic and tense, infused with vivid and painful images. This book and the Blues would be the perfect audio mix for a road trip through the Delta.

The title, "Mudbound" says it all

I enjoyed listening to this book only because the perfomances were excellent and I had to get through it for my bookclub. Each actor brought their character to life.If I had to read it, I would have stopped after the first half. The story was not at all original and does not compare in my opinion to,The Help, which had characters that were flawed but likeable, had balance and a hopeful message. In Mudbound,the white characters were either horrible sadists, racists, or at best weakminded. The black characters were all passive, tortured or doomed to a life of misery with no way out. It was bleak and depressing. I guess the title should have been a hint where the story was going- listening I felt like I was sucked down into misery! I am sorry I wasted my time.

Cant wait for the movie

this story was good to listen to and I enjoyed the narration. cant wait for the movie

Very good story!

I enjoyed this book and all the stories in it. very true to the time it was written about.

One of the best books I have ever listened to.

Well read, just one of the best. If you need an example of an audio book this is the one.

Excellent read

This was so much better than I thought it would be.
The characters were very well developed without over doing it. I really liked the perspective from different players on the same issue. I did not expect several twists at the end (which were all great)

Good entry into fiction

I hope this is well reviewed in the literary magazines. Race is complicated in this country, and the more we are able to interrogate it the better. An historical view is perhaps the easiest. Well written, thoughtful and true.

Been a Long Time

It's been a very long time - maybe since I read (listened to) The Help - that a book has moved me in so many ways. Having said that, yes the book is based on the era and many of the atrocities as in The Help but in my opinion that's the only correlation (other than they're both fantastic books!)

This book made me cringe, made me hold my breath, made me smile, made me cry, made me physically sick to my stomach - yes, literally. It brought up the hurt and shame I feel towards the white (or any other race) men/women of this mindset - not just back then but in my day and time as well. I'm a middle aged white woman in the South and I will admit that even to this day I run into people that think nothing of using the "N" word to refer to a black person?? I can not comprehend it and I do not condone it for one second.

I highly recommend this book to one and all - but be prepared for the ugly truth of the matter; no it's not graphic at all - it's just the ugly truth of our not so distance past.....

Easy to listen to...perfectly cast narration.

Would you consider the audio edition of Mudbound to be better than the print version?

The audio version uses perfectly cast readers so it is easy to keep track of who's point of view you are listening to.

What other book might you compare Mudbound to and why?

The female lead character had a resolve and self awareness which remind's me of Winter's Bone.

Which scene was your favorite?

The opening scene stayed in my mind throughout the story. The author did a great job using it as an anchor to unfold her story.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I'm glad I took a break in listening because I needed to absorb the subtleties.

Any additional comments?

The director and narration enhanced the quality of this audiobook. None of the voices or pace was distracting from the writing.

Beautifully Written

Great character driven novel with well developed plot. I completely enjoyed this book of Historical Fiction. The narration for each character was well done. I was sad that it had to end. I look forward to listening to more books from this author.