Driftless

De: David Rhodes

Narrado por: Lloyd James

Driftless is an unforgettable story of contemporary life in rural America. Words, Wisconsin, home to a few hundred people yet absent from state maps, comes richly to life by way of an extraordinary cast of characters.

Among them, a middle-aged couple guards the family farm from the mendacious schemes of their milk cooperative; a lifelong invalid finds herself crippled by her resentment of and her affection for her sister; a woman of conflicting impulses and pastor of the local Friends Church stumbles upon an enlightenment she never expected; a cantankerous retiree discovers a cougar living in his haymow, haunting him like a childhood memory; and a former drifter forever alters the ties that bind a community together.

At once intimate and funny, wise and generous, Driftless marks the triumphant return of a significant American writer.

©2008 David Rhodes (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"The best work of fiction to come out of the Midwest in many years." ( Chicago Tribune)
"Rhodes illuminates the wisdom acquired through hard work, the ancient covenant of farming, and the balm of kindness. Encompassing and incisive, comedic and profound, Driftless is a radiant novel of community and courage." ( Booklist)

Threads woven into a brilliant fabric

This was a story telling fit for a gathering with word choice and phrase creations that are extraordinary. The characters are real and their lives imaginable. Congratulations to all involved and thank you.

Tour de force of both writing and narration

I can't say enough for this book and how it spoke to me during this divided time in our nation. Set in rural WI, it gave me a close-up empathy and insight into characters with lives and experiences far from my own urban liberal bent. If there is a criticism of the novel, it's that the book is peopled with too many characters. Each one is introduced in a separate chapter at the beginning of the book and I had to take notes to keep them straight. Because of the large cast, Audible made the excellent decision to assign a different narrator for each main character. It brilliantly helped me distinguish the characters. Rhodes loves every one of his disparate characters and helps the reader if not love, at least understand them too.

Southern Accents?

The story is very good and I enjoyed that it did not develop as I anticipated. Beautiful geographic description if the area and the characters that reside in the Driftless region. But the attempt at various accents was very distracting; in particular southern.

Great character development

What made the experience of listening to Driftless the most enjoyable?

This was my first book on Audible. The ability to shift formats from sound to print in a seamless fashion will forever change my reading life.

What did you like best about this story?

David Rhodes is a master of description and character development. I really cared about these characters and wanted to follow their stories and experiences. He has a lively imagination putting characters in situations that I could not imagine and brings in humor.

A Quiet Masterpiece

This book is completely beautiful. Rhodes paints the driftless region of southwestern Wisconsin with a delicate hand that captures its beauty and its metaphysical power. Every character, whether it's a mysterious cougar, a cross old farmer, a fighting dog, or a brilliant woman in a wheelchair, is perfectly drawn and someone you'd like to know. The plot is at once pastoral and also suspenseful and driving forward - compelling, but with the volume turned down to a whisper, asking you to lean in.

Rhodes' personal story is equally compelling and an interesting harmony with this book.

HIGHLY recommended.

this feels like real people interacting in a past and a future

this feels like real people interacting in a past and a future in a past and a future in a past and a future

Rich character development

very good listen. David Rhodes has a talent for language that makes you want to pause and hear that passage again. This is a book that I'll save and listen to again.

Loved it

This delightfully written book captured rural life like no other I have read. The read was an eloquent look through the lives of a closely knit Wisconsin community. It addressed the plight of dairy farmers and the influences of corporate corruption through fictional well developed characters.

What made the book stand out among others was how a simple genuine experience of oneness illuminated and informed the life of one character and through her influenced the lives of many. The book was multifaceted, kept my attention and the reader was excellent.

Winnie and the circle of lives around her

I liked the way the book began and shows that even tho we didn’t know who July was in the beginning he became a wonderful,caring,honest and generous neighbor. I liked Cora for what she wanted out of the unfairmilk producers and how she was able to think about having another child, I liked Maxine. And however you say his name—Grimm—he lent humor to the novel without realizing it. The panther or cougar was an interesting side—not really sure of its purpose except like the injured characters in the story, the cub needed time away to heal.

Matchless!

This is one of the best listens I've encountered in a long time. For me the writing ranks among giants like "Cold Mountain" (Charles Frazier) and "East of the Mountains" (David Guterson). David Rhodes' command of the English language approaches the poetic, and his economy of expression is such that not one word is wasted on frivolous description or exaggerated emotion. I would normally subtract a star for this ending - I thought it just barely established the characters in kind of a stable oasis, and the narrative could have used just one or two more sentences. It seemed the writing stopped rather abruptly and could have used a few more words - just a few - to cushion the blow. But that opinion is hardly enough to detract from this work of elegant fiction. Can't wait to read it again, now that I know the characters better!