A Land Remembered

By: Patrick D. Smith

Narrated by: George Guidall

Length: 14 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's Summary

Patrick D. Smith here tells the story of three generations of the MacIveys, a Florida family who battle the hardships of the frontier to rise from a dirt-poor Cracker life to the wealth and standing of real estate tycoons. The story opens in 1858, when Tobias MacIvey arrives in the Florida wilderness to start a new life, and ends in 1968 with Solomon MacIvey, who realizes that the land has been exploited far beyond human need. Between is a sweeping story rich in Florida history.

A best-selling novel of Florida historical fiction, A Land Remembered was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and received the state’s highest literary award from the Florida Historical Society, the 1986 Tebeau Prize for the Most Outstanding Florida Historical novel.

©1984 Patrick D. Smith (P)2003 Recorded Books, LLC

Excellent historical tale

What made the experience of listening to A Land Remembered the most enjoyable?

The story was set in a place that I have read little about. The characters were well developed and the story moved along at a good pace. Of course, being narrated by George Guidall is a great asset to any story.!

What did you like best about this story?

I think the narration and the characters struggle to succeed made it a great story for me.

Which character – as performed by George Guidall – was your favorite?

They were all good. He doesn't try to overact. I love the fact he doesn't try to come up with ridiculous female voices. I don't believe good narrators should attempt doing the voices of their opposite sex by changing their voice too dramatically. The male narrators who do that all make the women sound like pathetic idiots; which ticks me off!!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Smile at times. Tear up a little at others. I don't require an extreme reaction to consider it a great book.

Great story, history and family all in one.

If you could sum up A Land Remembered in three words, what would they be?

Family, Frontier, Florida

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Land Remembered?

The passage of time, beginning in frontier Florida, takes you through three generations of a pioneering family is the wilds of Florida. It's a wonderful tale and especially poignant if you are from Florida as I am. I never had an image of what life would have been like in Florida as one of the first settlers to the area. This was a great novel!

What about George Guidall’s performance did you like?

Very lovely narration, easy to understand each of the characters different speaking styles.

Any additional comments?

Read it, you won't regret it!

Wonderful and evocative

This is an engrossing story that is written to bring visual images to mind. The listener learns much about the history and atmosphere of "Old Florida" while following a family chronicle.
Guidall is, as usual, and excellent narrator.
I was sorry when it ended.

Wonderful Book!

Where does A Land Remembered rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I have been listening to cd books for years and this is my first Audible experience. I love it.

What did you like best about this story?

This is a fabulous, true to life historical fiction book about Florida in the very early days. This author spent much time digging for facts and then weaving them into a great story.

Which character – as performed by George Guidall – was your favorite?

George Guidall is an excellent reader and his inflection is remarkable. We liked all the characters as he portrayed them.

Evocative of a Time and Place

This is a beautifully-written book that made me feel that I knew Florida before Disney and South Beach. This would be a great book to listen to as a family. It is filled with the joys, heartaches, and reminiscenses that are a part of many of our families' histories. My first 5-star book in some time.

They paved paradise . . .

Spanning 100 years of the fictional family MacIvey, in the style of Michener epics we are introduced to the history of Florida’s developmental heydays. The human characters are interesting and mostly appealing if a bit predictable, but it's the land itself that is the central character. The author ably communicates a love and respect for the wilderness that used to be, and his sadness and outrage at the greed that destroyed that paradise. A favorite passage occurs at a prairie watering hole by the light of a full moon, when a parade of wild creatures take turns and share the water without violence between predators and prey. An obvious metaphor, but memorably written. I did find myself breaking from the book to do some quick internet searches on some of the topics and events and to check out maps to augment the story.

Overall I liked the story as a somewhat lightweight historical fiction. George Guidall’s reading is not his best effort. While he does fine with the narrative portions, for some reason he seemed compelled to deliver most of the dialogue at a rapid fire pace, as if all conversations were frenetic and excited. Can’t quite give it 5 stars, but can give it a recommendation for those who enjoy an easy peek into a little known slice of regional history.

GREAT BOOK!

If you could sum up A Land Remembered in three words, what would they be?

Best Book Ever!

What about George Guidall’s performance did you like?

No other narrator would have done as great of job. His voice was perfect for the book.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this book so much that I listened to it twice. By listening to this book as one of my first audiobooks, it ruined my taste for other books. There will never be a book as good as this one for me. I live in south Florida and I felt as though I knew where he was talking about all the time. I wish they would make a movie of this book.

WOW

I could not stop listening to this audio book. It tells a story of a Cracker family just like my granddad and grandpa told me when I was a kid.

I didn't want this book to end!

What made the experience of listening to A Land Remembered the most enjoyable?

My 50 + years in Florida I've seen many changes some good but most not so good. The historic changes and sacrifices these families made to settle this land is very interesting.

Any additional comments?

One of the top ten books I've ever read or listened to -- well deserving of a pulitzer prize winner. This book is required reading in many school districts because of the historical aspects. The characters are also very well developed.

Great history; corny but wholesome story

As a transplant to Florida, I've long been familiar with the Railroad Baron narrative of Florida's post-Jacksonville development, which pretty much ignores the fact that non-native Americans were already migrating here long before Flagler and Plant (incentivized by government subsidies and competitive zeal) built their railways and snowbird resorts.

So I found this book to be a welcome and well-researched history of the early Florida settlers who populated the central and rural parts of Florida that most people outside of the state don't ever see. (With the exception of Disney World, of course, which would have been in development as this story ends in 1968).

It's also a nice depiction of American pioneer/frontier life in the mid-to-late 1800's, which we sometimes forget wasn't just a westward thing.

But if you're not particularly interested in Florida, Florida history, or pioneer/frontier fiction, there's not a lot of complexity to this story.

On the plus side, it's an excellent family PG listen--the characters are inspiring and morally admirable (unless they're totally despicable--there's no in-between in this novel). But that's also the downside--this is a classic man v. nature plot, and in this case nature turns out to be much more interesting and unpredictable than the man.

In fact, the MacIveys are dead-ringers for the denizens of Lake Wobegon (all of the women are strong, the men are good-looking, and the children are above average). The Seminole Indians are consistently wise and other-worldy, with a wonderful habit of appearing at really convenient times. And the depiction of the African-American Skittle feels somehow racist by modern standards as well, although it probably is more historically accurate than Tobias MacIvey's enlightened attitude towards him. (Isn't it amazing how every historical character created in modern popular fiction is always the ONE person in their community who bravely stands up against racial segregation?)

But the action and dialogue are compelling, and Smith definitely knows how to tell a story.

Paired with George Guidall's always-perfect narration, this is an enlightening and entertaining listen, especially if you're driving or walking in Florida.