The Homesman

A Novel

By: Glendon Swarthout

Narrated by: Candace Thaxton

Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

In pioneer Nebraska, a woman leads where no man will go.

Soon to be a major motion picture directed by Tommy Lee Jones, The Homesman is a devastating story of early pioneers in 1850s American West. It celebrates the ones we hear nothing of: the brave women whose hearts and minds were broken by a life of bitter hardship. A "homesman" must be found to escort a handful of them back East to a sanitarium. When none of the county’s men steps up, the job falls to Mary Bee Cuddy - ex-teacher, spinster, indomitable and resourceful. Brave as she is, Mary Bee knows she cannot succeed alone. The only companion she can find is the low-life claim jumper George Briggs. Thus begins a trek east, against the tide of colonization, against hardship, Indian attacks, ice storms, and loneliness - a timeless classic told in a series of tough, fast-paced adventures.

In an unprecedented sweep, Glendon Swarthout’s novel won both the Western Writers of America’s Spur Award and the Western Heritage Wrangler Award. A new afterword by the author’s son Miles Swarthout tells of his parents Glendon and Kathryn’s discovery of and research into the lives of the oft-forgotten frontier women who make The Homesman as moving and believable as it is unforgettable.

©2014 Glendon Swarthout (P)2013 Simon & Schuster

Adventure, Prose, History - Fantastic

This book not only describes the hardships of the pioneers traveling the American West but it also provides the reader an adventure of unparalleled surprises. I did not want this book to end. I grew to respect and enjoy the female protagonist, Mary, and did not want to let her go when the book ended. It was refreshing to read a book of the Western frontier showing more of the female and family perspectives. The male protagonist was full of surprises with a character that continued to evolve until the end. It is difficult to write a review that could capture the beauty of this book without "spoiling" the plot. In summary, I like historical fiction if the storyline is interesting and fast paced while keeping the reader immersed in history and this book's got it. I highly recommend this book, it's a wild ride packed with adventure and with beautiful prose allowing the reader to experience the rugged beauty and complexities of the situations presented. Whether you like historical fiction or not, this book is a fantastic story.

Good historical fiction

We live in Iowa and it was fun to read about the early days. It’s very well read with the narrator changing voices to fit the characters.

Great story but the end was a huge diappointment

I cant believe with all that great writing it ended with a whimper. Really left me borderline angry that I got involved in reading it. It's like have a rich dessert that you are willing to risk the calories on because it's such a work of art and all the layers bring bursts of flavor. Then suddenly you bite into something that nearly breaks a tooth. Then the rest of the dessert just melts into mush while you're still trying to figure out what happened.

good story

I liked the story, but not the narrator's style so much. Hokey, for lack of a better word.

An interesting history lesson..

Bought this book around the same time as "letters from a woman homesteader". Interesting to compare the women that flourished in the hardship and loneliness and those who needed a gentler world.
A sad book and cant say I warmed up to the hero.

Great story and narration.

I liked the book a lot but the ending feel a little flat for me, I wanted more but not sure if that was good or not.

Great until 3/4 of the way in..then it fell apart

What a great story with super characters. The story was moving along nicely, then the author totally changed the entire story line. Confused and disappointed.

Great performance Candace

Wonderful story except for the dirty trick pulled on unsuspecting listeners by the author! How could you?

Teleport to pioneer times. This is not little house on the prairie 

The atmosphere is a character in the story. These people led hard lives and you feel the strain. Every character feels real because of their flaws. Everyone one is broken and worn down by daily life.

Part of the Wild West you never hear about

This book is one of my favorites so far this year. The story shows the tremendous hardships women experienced when pioneering West. Some crumbled under the pressure. This is a story of what happened to some of them that could not endure and lost their minds. Something I never thought happening or found mentioned in other stories about the West. It really opened my eyes on just how difficult it was to be a woman in the West during that period of history. It is exciting, heartbreaking, and even humorous at times. I was engrossed from beginning to the end.

I read both the positive reviews along with the negative. Some of the negative reviews focused on the stories ending and almost stopped me from buying. When reading reviews I read the good and bad, not so bad, and ugly. Then balance them the best I can, considering my own taste. I decided to purchase this book with the expectation of a poor ending. I became so engrossed in the book by the end I forgot about the negative reviews. The ending had some unexpected surprises but was probably the way things actually would have happened. After thinking back I realized the author gave us a few clues about some of the events at the end. I was completely satisfied.

I found the narration slightly distracting. It was the "sing/song" type and the narrator tried to put more emotion into the reading than is necessary. I got past that by speeding it up, which I do not like to do. In this case it helped. I found this story so good I will go back at listen to this again later this year and try and leave it the on normal speed.