Shadow Country

A New Rendering of the Watson Legend

By: Peter Matthiessen

Narrated by: Anthony Heald

Length: 40 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

National Book Award, Fiction, 2008

Inspired by a near-mythic event on the wild Florida frontier at the turn of the 20th century, Shadow Country re-imagines the legend of the inspired Everglades sugar planter and notorious outlaw E. J. Watson, who drives himself relentlessly toward his own violent end at the hands of neighbors who mostly admired him, in a killing that obsessed his favorite son.

Shadow Country transverses strange landscapes inhabited by Americans of every provenance and color, including the black and Indian inheritors of archaic racism that "still casts its shadow over the nation."

©2008 Peter Matthiessen (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"[G]ripping, shocking, and brilliantly told....as powerful a reading experience as nearly any in our literature." ( New York Review of Books)
"Magnificent and capacious....the book took my sleeve and like the ancient mariner would not let go....a breathtaking saga." ( Los Angeles Times)
"[Watson] comes across as nothing short of iconic....it's difficult to find another figure in American literature so thoroughly and convincingly portrayed." ( Publishers Weekly)

Amazing story, amazing narration

I'm actually kind of shocked this novel isn't rated higher. I drive a little over 1K miles a week, so staying awake is a struggle when I leave early in the morning. But as soon as I found this book that struggle evaporated, as the narration is stellar, and the world Matthiessen describes is fascinating. This is a pretty long novel as you can tell by the hours, but that's fine by me, I look for length in books. But for some people who lack patience maybe this book isn't for them just for that alone. But overall, if you're a voracious reader (and listener) I wholly recommend Shadow Country.

Outstanding narration

This is the second book I’ve heard read by this narrator. He is outstanding - always held my attention.

Excellent narration of a well-written book

This narrator did a wonderful job capturing the different characters in his reading. And this book is simply astonishing in its depth and breadth of storytelling. It can be a little hard though keeping track of all the different characters in the book when listening to it — might be easier to track when seen in writing — but I thoroughly enjoyed it and plan to listen to it again now that I have a better grasp of all the people. I think it’s a book where you could learn something new with each reading/listen.

A great American Novel

(I have read this book and have read the Watson Trilogy multiple times, but I have just now found this exciting audio program.)

This is a great book!

The Watson Trilogy is superb and this "retelling" is excellent.

There is so much here: the ecological history of a rich frontier wilderness; a disturbing depiction, which is palpable, of the psychological and physical brutality of turn-of-the-century racism in the deep south; and the strangely affecting tragedy of an ambitious and determined man who murdered too often and sometimes too easily trying to mark his way through the wild lands into the modern era.

There's real beauty here, too. It is cast with humor and poetry, and it is a tale told through manifold voices recalling Watson in the Ten Thousand Islands, then via his son investigating the history to find peace of mind, and finally, the intense first-person narration of Watson himself.

This is Matthiessen's masterwork. And that an artist of his caliber has rewritten an already superb trilogy (taking nine years to do so!), bringing the story back into the tight focus he intended in the first place, and for it to be this exceptional novel, places it securely on the shelf of great American Fiction--alongside Twain, Faulkner and Morrison (in my canon!). <i>Shadow Country</i> is a triumphant accomplishment! Bravo, Mr. Matthiessen!

The audio narrator of this novel seems quite capable and I look forward to revisiting this complex, enriching, and entertaining novel audibly!

"A Sense of Place"

A magificent production. One of the most significant and thoroughly American novels of the last half-century coupled with a brilliant, sensitive narrator to create what is actually a new medium, one that does far more than any of the new, more expensive, gadgets . They are only a more convenient way of obtaining the subject matter; They do not change it. This is the perfect answer to the Nobel committe charge of "provincialism."

Story of an evil man

I've listened to 4 of 5 sections of this audio book. Peter Matthisen is a gifted writer and the narrator does an excellent job. The thing is, the main character is such an evil, despicable character that I can't find the energy to care enough to finish the book. What I will do is go listen to the last chapter and not put myself through the rest.

Tedious

I rarely wish a book to end. This one I did. it is essentially the same story told three different times from three+ different perspectives. A clever telling, but not a compelling story. I kept hoping for some redeeming feature to come across in the retellings, but frankly, with each long perspective the main character becomes less and less likeable until the end of the book you are actually rooting for the bad guys (in a figurative sense).

The narrative meanders, changes perspectives, changes time, filled with unnecessary details and characters and takes way, way too long to tell a long story.

I want to be able to recommend the book. I was looking for an historical drama set in post-civil war Florida. And this is that; but it didn't capture my imagination. As I said at the top of this review, rarely have I been so glad that a book was over.

A Masterpiece

Having read the book, which is one of the best books I have ever read, I wanted to find out if it would be as good listening to it. I was not disappointed. The reader is excellent as is the story read aloud. This is the work of a true wordsmith that everyone should know.

Hard to hear

A very dramatic performance but that made half unintelligible and useless.

Story is an amazing work of art and a great history of southern Florida.

This is the worst book EVER!

OMG! I was looking forward to listening to this book driving back and forth to work but after the first two hours I had NO clue what was going on. I thought maybe if I started over it would be easier to understand but I got to the same spot again and decided I really couldn't listen any longer. Avoid this book like the plague!