Ava's Man

By: Rick Bragg

Narrated by: Rick Bragg

Length: 5 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • With the same emotional generosity and effortlessly compelling storytelling that made All Over But the Shoutin’ a beloved bestseller, Rick Bragg continues his personal history of the Deep South.

This time he’s writing about his grandfather Charlie Bundrum, a man who died before Bragg was born but left an indelible imprint on the people who loved him. Drawing on their memories, Bragg reconstructs the life of an unlettered roofer who kept food on his family’s table through the worst of the Great Depression; a moonshiner who drank exactly one pint for every gallon he sold; an unregenerate brawler, who could sit for hours with a baby in the crook of his arm.

In telling Charlie’s story, Bragg conjures up the backwoods hamlets of Georgia and Alabama in the years when the roads were still dirt and real men never cussed in front of ladies. A masterly family chronicle and a human portrait so vivid you can smell the cornbread and whiskey, Ava’s Man is unforgettable.

©2001 by Rick Bragg (P)2001 Random House Inc., Random House AudioBooks, a Division of Random House Inc.

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Winner, Best Narration by Author or Authors

"Grab[s] you from the first sentence....[and] stays with you long after you put it down....It is hard to think of a writer who reminds us more forcefully and wonderfully of what people and families are all about.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Earthy, mischievous, yet gorgeous. . . . [Bragg’s] tales . . . would not be out of place if they were told around a campfire.” —San Francisco Chronicle

“As toothsome as a catfish supper. [Bragg] is every bit the equal of . . . Harper Lee and Truman Capote.” —People

Ava's Man is one of my Top 5

Rick Bragg is in my list of Top 5 favorite authors and this book (Ava's Man) is on my list of Top 5 All-time Favorite Books. I love to get lost in the time, the story, and the language. He writes about people I know. They may not share the same names and the geography is just a shade different, but I KNOW and love these people. I am a southern girl down to my marrow. I love our history, our traditions, our stories, our food, and our people. At the end of this book, I am left with the feeling that Mr. Bragg has taken my heart, cracked it like an egg, and poured it out on the page.

Worth a Fight with My Wife

I'm 43 years old, about to turn 44. I've read (or listened to) a thousand books I'd bet, over the years. Hell I've even written a few myself. Most of that broad collection of fiction and non, still sits on a bookshelf that takes up one entire wall in my bedroom, even the ones I got as a kid. My wife asks me why I won't move them to my office or the music room, so she can use that wall in the bedroom for other things. I tell her, this is the one and only place in our house that I'm gonna ask you to let me have just the way I want it. I love books like they were family. If I didn't think you'd tell anybody, I'd probably confide in you that I love some of my books more than some of my family. On that shelf of books, there's one whose cover and pages are more worn than all the rest, because it's been more loved, more held, more admired for its mastery and timeless, dark beauty, despite the inexperience and the brief, homebound life of the frail, young woman who wrote it, so many years ago. I can't even believe I'm saying this. But after all these years, and with no small amount of trepidatious yet not regrettable consideration, I must move "Wuthering Heights" down a small notch in my heart, to second place, for the best book I've ever read...now that I must make room at the top for "Ava's Man." Thank you, Mr. Bragg. You are a rare gem, as was your grandfather before you, as is this tremendous book that will outlive you. My hat is off to you, sir.

I was heartbroken when the book was over.

This is the 1st of the author's books that I've "read". At the conclusion, I'm left wanting to hear more stories of times forgotten. The descriptive context and fluid use of adjectives makes it easy to to imagine every scene and every character that he introduces us to. I wish he wrote about my own southern family and somehow almost feel like he did.

Beautiful stories, beautiful storytelling.

Alongside Jon Krakauer, Rick Bragg is one of my favorite storytellers. These are beautiful stories and exceptional storytelling. It made me think of my own ancestors and their stories, I cried.

Love all Mr Bragg's books

Rick Bragg is the best. Glad he is the narrator, wouldn't be the same if he weren't.

So Enjoyable!

As with all of Rick Braggs books that I have listened to, this one is just as wonderful! Words alone can't describe the pure joy I get from listening to his books.
Rick Bragg has a clear and pleasant voice with a southern drawl.
I highly recommend this book.

Beautiful!

I recommend this book to everyone. Ava’s man, Charlie, reminds me bittersweetly of my own grandfather. We called him Papa. He too, came from a time in which taking care of your family was the highest priority. Men like him were not frivolous with their time, their belongings, their family’s love. Rick Bragg’s stories of growing up in the South and of his family make me homesick for the food my grandma cooked and for a time when life was simpler even though it was harder.

A great story

Listening to his family’s life story brings back so many forgotten memories of mine
Thanks
Rick Bragg

An honest view of an American family

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Rick Bragg, telling this story about his family, particularly his grandfather, is honest, gritty, heartwarming, humorous... but mainly 'real.'

What did you like best about this story?

Bragg's ability to build characters that we can all relate to and have all had as family members ourselves is remarkable.

Which character – as performed by Rick Bragg – was your favorite?

Charlie; he is both a hero and a scoundrel. But Ava too has her moments on center stage---particularly when she visits her baby daughter's grave after many decades have past since her child's death. Bragg's sensitivity to her feelings and the reaction of those who were with her is remarkable.

Wonderful!

I fell in love with Ava and her man! And their family. I think anyone that comes from a large family with a lot of aunts, uncles and tons of cousins can relate to at least some of these people. I was blessed to have a father a lot like Charlie. He worked hard to provide for the 7 of us kids. He was honest, kind and deeply loved. Mom was the same. You can’t be lazy and raise that many kids!
I think I could listen to Rick Bragg talk about anything for hours! His voice was perfect for telling his story. I will listen to this book again in a year or two and enjoy it just as much!