Smoking Mountain

A Novella

By: William Graham

Narrated by: Michael Piotrasch

Length: 1 hr and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

In this moving and inspirational fictional letter from a father to his young daughter, critically acclaimed poet, novelist, and travel writer William Graham tells the story of Brooks Montana, a successful author who suffers great loss but who is also inspired to leave behind a legacy for the world. Montana moves to the Patagonian Andes where he finds love and a new direction in his life as a conservationist and environmentalist.

©2015 William Graham (P)2015 William Graham

Great idea!

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed the way this book was written as a letter from a father to his little daughter, telling her about his life, his convictions, etc. even before she was born, so she would really know him. It even gave me the idea of writing about my life for my children! The narrator was a little monotone, but I got used to it.I received this audio-book free for an honest review by the author, narrator, or publisher. If you found this review helpful would you please take a moment to click yes below, thanks

I didn't connect with it.

Would you try another book from William Graham and/or Michael Piotrasch?

I have read four other books from the same author previously. I like his easy writing style. So, I would definitely try another book from him.

What could William Graham have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

I'm not really sure what could've been done differently in this book to make me enjoy it. Maybe if I was a father myself, then I would be able to relate to the emotions in this book and connect with it. But being a single guy, I didn't quite feel it.

Any additional comments?

I received this audiobook for free from the author / narrator / publisher in exchange for an unbiased review.

Insightful Listen

Both the author and narrator were new to me with this audiobook. I found the story to be interesting and insightful, but outside my typical listening genres (romance & mystery). I found part of the book to be very educational, and part of it quite believable. Since this is so out of my preferred genres, I did not rate it higher as I was not blown away with the story or have adequate comparisons. I was glad I listened to the book, and thought the author and narrator did a good job with the imagery. My review is not a synopsis of the book, but rather my opinion of it. I was voluntarily provided with this review copy audiobook by the author, publisher, and/or narrator.

Wow... just wow!

I love the way this has been written, reading it as a letter written from father to daughter made it very intimate. I felt like I was pulled into the story, as though it could have been written to me.

To say I loved it would be an understatement

The narration really helped with the sense of intimacy, it felt like I as listening to the fathers mental voice as he wrote the letter. It was calm and yet emotive, smooth but anticipatory.

This book was supplied free by the author/narrator/publisher and I voluntarily wrote this honest review.

If you found this review helpful would you please take a moment to click yes below, thanks

An Environmentalists Dream– Not Mine

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This book is framed in the context of letters from Brooks Montana to his daughter.. He wants a written history of their family as well as any oral history that may be passed on after he is gone.

Brooks Montana and his wife Liz create an alternative lifestyle in Vermont. Brooks becomes a multimillionaire, as an author. Liz becomes a fanatical environmentalist (to Brooks great satisfaction) recycling everything, including the urine of their family to fertilize their neighbors hay fields.

Over and over Brooks touts their idealist gestures of environmental worship, right down to feeling guilty for making an obscene amount of money as an author/movie maker.

This wasn't really my cup of tea, but those who enjoyed the topic of environmentalism should enjoy it, in my opinion.

Michael Piotrasch gave an above average performance. I am awarding him 3.5 strong stars.

While I did not really care for the subject matter of Smoking Mountain nearly as much as Atacama: a Pablo Nelson Mystery, Graham presents a strong piece worthy of 4.0 stars.

*I received this book for my unbiased review.

If you found my review helpful, would you please take a moment and select "yes" below? I also invite you to follow me here on audible. Thanks for taking the time!

Short but not so sweet!

What did you like best about Smoking Mountain? What did you like least?

I liked the fact that the story flowed well and I felt myself getting emotionally involved with it, specially the deaths of Mr. Brook's wife and brother. I also like how the entire novel is his monologue in the form of a letter he is writing to his baby daughter. However, I felt that the story lacked substance and the environmental aspect was not emphasized enough to leave a strong impression on me. I enjoyed the bits about his love for the land and I could see myself there but I needed more to truly feel his passion for it.

Would you ever listen to anything by William Graham again?

I enjoyed the easy style of writing and might give another book a try, if it were popular.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Michael Piotrasch?

Yes, I enjoyed his narrative tremendously as he gave life to the character of Mr. Brooks and I would be very interested in listening to another book by him.

Was Smoking Mountain worth the listening time?

The fact that it is a novella (therefore short) was this book's boon and bane. If it had been any longer, there would have probably been more space for discussing environmental aspects and really making that link with the story of these generations living off the land. However, if the author would not have gone down that road and had simply expanded the descriptions of Brooks' life and so on, then it would have made me score the book even lower.

Any additional comments?

I was given this free copy from Audiobook Boom in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.