The Tilted World

A Novel

By: Tom Franklin, Beth Ann Fennelly

Narrated by: Brian D'Arcy James

Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

Set against the backdrop of the historic flooding of the Mississippi River, The Tilted World is an extraordinary tale of murder and moonshine, sandbagging and saboteurs, and a man and a woman who find unexpected love, from Tom Franklin, the acclaimed author of the New York Times best-seller Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter, and award-winning poet Beth Ann Fennelly.

The year is 1927. As rains swell the Mississippi, the mighty river threatens to burst its banks and engulf everything in its path, including federal revenue agent Ted Ingersoll and his partner, Ham Johnson. Arriving in the tiny hamlet of Hobnob, Mississippi, to investigate the disappearance of two fellow agents who'd been on the trail of a local bootlegger, they are astonished to find a baby boy abandoned in the middle of a crime scene.

Ingersoll, an orphan raised by nuns, is determined to find the infant a home, and his search leads him to Dixie Clay Holliver. A strong woman married too young to a philandering charmer, Dixie Clay has lost a child to illness and is powerless to resist this second chance at motherhood. From the moment they meet, Ingersoll and Dixie Clay are drawn to each other. He has no idea that she's the best bootlegger in the county and may be connected to the agents' disappearance. And while he seems kind and gentle, Dixie Clay knows full well that he is an enemy who can never be trusted.

When Ingersoll learns that a saboteur might be among them, planning a catastrophe along the river that would wreak havoc in Hobnob, he knows that he and Dixie Clay will face challenges and choices that they will be fortunate to survive. Written with extraordinary insight and tenderness, The Tilted World is that rarest of creations, a story of seemingly ordinary people who find hope and deliverance where they least expect it - in each other.

©2013 Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly (P)2013 HarperCollins Publishers

Very enjoyable

Commendable. Well written, lively, interesting. Well narrated. Would recommends this book to anyone. Appreciate the research required to write this story.

The Flooded Revenuers

well written story about two revenues finding family amongst bootleg whiskey in a flood of the Mississippi.

A Gripping Historically Based Thriller

With much gumption, our heroine, Dixie Clay comes into her womanhood with infatuation, hard work, and loss. She endures with great strength and ingenuity, until one day she meets an unlikely ally, who begins her life anew. But...happiness does not come easily for Dixie and Teddy, who are close to being star crossed lovers.
This story is well written and keeps your attention throughout the reading. The narration is decent, but Dixie’s voice and the few other females were too squeaky. Still, Mr. James nails the accents and enhances the overall credibility and enjoyment of the story. Definitely worth the credit.

Everything you want from a novel

Drama, suspense, natural disaster, poetic language, and a great love story between a real hero and heroine. Did not want this story to end.

Engaging, redemptive, vivid

Starts out somewhat slow but develops into a great and descriptive story.
Held our attention all during a road trip.

Oh My Word, Oh My Word

I LOVED it.

I am about to say something that I have never written in a review. I am sad I only had 5 stars to give it.

The Tilted World is an epic novel set against the dynamic backdrop of The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. Being raised a Yankee, I have NEVER previously heard about this event in American History. Living in the day where tomorrow morning’s news shows will be on location at tonight’s disaster, it’s hard to imagine that there once was a time when no one showed up to such a catastrophic event especially in the light of long advanced warnings.

One of the other greatest books I read this year was Tom Franklin’s, Crooked Letter Crooked Letter. Finding that wonderful book was blind luck. I now have him dialed in, for in my opinion, as a writer he is close to perfection. Because of that, I did not read the synopsis given by the publisher before purchasing or starting this novel. Afterwards when I did, I felt fortunate that I was spared. The summary is too detailed and would take away from the suspense and surprise.

In Tilted World Franklin teams up with poet wife, Beth Ann Fennelly for their first combined book. What a melodious match it is. It’s magical. I am betting that she had a close relationship with the Dixie character for the words given her and the forest were so elegantly versed and imaginative. The mind numbing descriptive phrases throughout just give this work an added layer that I so appreciate. I was completely absorbed in this book throughout. The story is engulfing with lots of twists and turns. Normally I avoid multiple authors. This is a fine pairing.

Brian D’arcy James did a fabulous narration performance. He transported me to a different time and space. Yes, he has a few “text to speech” type issues with numbers towards the end that should have been caught in editing.

The only thing necessary to tell you about the story is that a great historical flood is about to come to small area of Mississippi. There are heroes as well has opportunists and antagonists. There’s romance, strife, endurance, conflict and a baby.

Seriously, do you really need more?

My Simple Short Review

What made the experience of listening to The Tilted World the most enjoyable?

The thing I enjoyed most about this book is that it makes you actually care about and even worry about the characters in the story. With this story the reader gets to gain some historical insight about the south in the year 1927.

Who was your favorite character and why?

All of them were memorable, but Ted Ingersoll was my kind of guy.

What about Brian D'Arcy James’s performance did you like?

Great narration and articulation, various voices.

Any additional comments?

If you want a good story, memorable characters, and a sense of history during prohibition and what can happen in a natural disaster, this is for you. I think this book would make a great movie. I'd love to see this story on the big screen.

She Loves Jesus and American Cheese

It was beautiful prose and dank country soul funk is one of my favorite genres. However I felt it played out a little Disney, with an incredibly predictable ending. Speaking of, have you noticed how google, amazon and Facebook have begun censoring searches, reviews and posts to G rated only. A feller has to do some deep research these days to find a decent piece like On Golden Blonde or Forrest Hump. Or so my online support network tells me. Almost all of my reviews are rejected by Amazon. But even the PG-13 versions seem to stir up a lot ire from the alt right so I must be doing something right.

Good read-story of an event similar to Katrina

So well written. A good story. The big Mississippi flood is not mentioned much in history but it was a major event leading to many changes in the South . A few things are repeated in history such as slow Federal help.

Worth the Read

A little slow in parts, but overall the story kept my interest and I enjoyed it.