Wayfaring Stranger

By: James Lee Burke

Narrated by: Will Patton

Length: 13 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

2015 Audie Award Finalist for Thriller/Suspense

From "America’s best novelist" (The Denver Post): a sprawling thriller drenched with atmosphere and intrigue that takes a young boy from a chance encounter with Bonnie and Clyde to the trenches of World War II and the oil fields along the Texas-Louisiana coast.

It is 1934 and the Depression is bearing down when 16-year-old Weldon Avery Holland happens upon infamous criminals Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow after one of their notorious armed robberies. A confrontation with the outlaws ends as Weldon puts a bullet through the rear window of Clyde’s stolen automobile. Ten years later, Second Lieutenant Weldon Holland and his sergeant, Hershel Pine, escape certain death in the Battle of the Bulge and encounter a beautiful young woman named Rosita Lowenstein hiding in a deserted extermination camp. Eventually, Weldon and Rosita fall in love and marry and, with Hershel, return to Texas to seek their fortunes. There, they enter the domain of jackals known as the oil business. They meet Roy Wiseheart - a former Marine aviator haunted with guilt for deserting his squadron leader over the South Pacific and Roy’s wife, Clara, a vicious anti-Semite who is determined to make Weldon and Rosita’s life a nightmare. It will be the frontier justice upheld by Weldon’s grandfather, Texas lawman Hackberry Holland, and the legendary antics of Bonnie and Clyde that shape Weldon’s plans for saving his family from the evil forces that lurk in peacetime America and threaten to destroy them all.

©2014 James Lee Burke. All rights reserved. (P)2014 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

James Lee Burke has upped his game

The circles he opens and closes with such fluid suspense on the way to a masterful uber-climax makes you wonder how it is even possible to tell such a spellbinding tale. The fact that I listened to it in Taos New Mexico immediately after driving through West Texas from Louisiana (on the heels of “The Son” which I thought was so great and narrated by the same brilliant voice performer) made the entire experience of the last few days magical.

Outstanding Addition to the Holland/Texas Saga

The combination of Burke and Patton is without peer. Personally I favor his Hackberry Holland series. This tale involves a cousin of the infamous sherif of Rain Gods.

When I listen to Burke, his attention to landscape and remarkably eloquent descriptions of people, time and space, I find myself wondering if I am taking the natural beauty of my own surroundings for granted. I live in a beautiful city and state, but when I try to describe it, I find myself at a loss for words. Burke's words bring out the beauty and grace of places, and then delivers the impact from their desecration by industry.

I read where a single, significant event in her childhood helped Flannery OConnor develop her genius in writing. Burke uses such an event in the life of his hero, Weldon Holland at age 16 to help define his character with his run in with Bonnie and Clyde. It's brilliant.

This is great tale worth our time. Do not pass this one up.

A masterpiece from two masters - Burke & Patton

This is probably the most important book Burke has written to date. It is literature at its best. As much as I appreciate all his highly underrated work, this one far surpasses even Tin Roof Blow Down, which, was in my personal opinion, his best. Before that, Confederate Mist. This is not to say his other works do not pierce the psyche of his characters. They do. But this work is far different. More personal. It comes from his very soul. His treatment of the Hollands is even more complex than our old friend Dave. His theme of human fallibility, sin and redemption is profound.

Will Patton’s narration is, as usual, masterful. His voice flows seamlessly as he navigates the changing characters and moods. Excellent! Audie material, IMO.

In my three particular favorites, I sensed a unique connection between Burke and the characters. Wayfaring Stranger leaves the other two in the dusty roadside. This is not because of his obvious respect and love and admiration of the actual Weldon, but how Burke got into his head and heart more deeply than in any other work. He did his cousin Weldon and many other WWII hero soldiers (my dad included) proud. They are/were all heroes, as much as one of my friends, who at fifteen, led her mother out of Austria and Germany in 1939. We cannot imagine the dread she felt as she led her mother through a snow-laden forest from Cologne to the Belgian border. It took five attempts to make the escape.

My friend, thanks be to God, was never sent to a Camp, but she was molested by Nazi soldiers. I thought of her as we followed Rosita’s journey. Burke has always respected women in his books, and portrayed them elegantly. Within this work he continues with his female characters portrayed as strong and brave and intelligent.

Rosita is the best of the best, the bravest of the brave. She is brilliant and gutsy and beautiful. I have noticed, within the last three or four works women are represented stronger and stronger, and Burke has given them a more prominent role. This was also the most profound love story he has written to date.

I could go on and on and on. There’s no need. This is a masterpiece. If Burke never wrote another book, he could rest his reputation on this one. That statement does not, however, give him license to retire. I hunger for his next.

One of The Best Books I've Read in Years

Any additional comments?

I always grab every Burke book that comes out, knowing I won't be disappointed, but this one caught me by surprise. This turned out to be an incredible journey back in time to the 30's & 40's, to the dust-bowl era through WWII and the boom afterwards with characters that Burke brings to life reminiscent of Faulkner. And with Will Patton voicing the book, you don't just listen, you become emotionally involved. I won't forget this book.

Outstanding plot, complex characters

What did you love best about Wayfaring Stranger?

The far ranging historical drama covering the Depression, World War II and the post war bringing together fascinating characters from German concentration camps, oilmen and sinister capitalists from post-war Texas and Louisiana.

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

This is my first experience listening to Patton and I will certainly go back to him.

Any additional comments?

I'm certainly going to read more James Lee Burke novels.

Amazing & Intense

James Lee Burke is a favorite author for both listening and reading. I have listened to enough of his books that I now hear Will Patton's flawless performance as I follow the text in any physical or e-book that I hold.

Wayfaring Stranger is the best of his best. The time period is fascinating and frightening, and the tension would not let me stop listening. I hope Mr Burke is writing a follow-up on these characters -- at least the ones who survive this book. I would also like to we Wendell And Hackberry Holland in a story together.

Just WOW!

Burke is still at it ...

Any additional comments?

Even when not at his best (as here and lately), JLB still rocks! He's gotten a bit repetitive, but he still spins a hell of a yarn.

New to JL Burke

Any additional comments?

This was a terrific departure from what I usually listen to. This is going to sound rough, but I have been reading a lot of Stephen King lately, and this makes him look almost amateurish. They are different writers for sure, but I just loved this book and style. It's due in NO small part to the genius narration. I mean, genius.

Great even without Robichaux

Great story. Riveting characters. Scene and scenery with JLB totality.
Meretricious
Salacious
Evanescent

An all engrossing read.

Gripping and Authentic

Growing up, I knew several Texas Gentlemen of the same basic character as those portrayed so movingly in Wayfaring Stranger. Many with the same prejudices and sense of honor and honesty toward their own, and the same blindness to their many faults. A compelling drama