One Mississippi

By: Mark Childress

Narrated by: Jeff Woodman

Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's Summary

Yankee transplant Daniel Musgrove can't seem to fit in at his Mississippi high school. When he meets fellow outsider Tim Cousins, things look up. But then the two boys' battles with a local bully escalate into a violent act that rocks the town.

©2006 Mark Childress; (P)2007 Recorded Books

A great listen, if not great literature

Mark Childress has written one exceptional novel (Tender) and several good reads of varying quality. One Mississippi works well for me as a great listen, an almost ideal audiobook if you find appealing an easy-to-absorb, engaging, sometimes comic, sometimes tragic, often over-the-top coming of age story. It features a cast of lively characters, some rendered with depth and striking originality, and all aided by a narrator whose diverse voices become more winning and convincing as the story unfolds.
The story has some unusual and original conceits and flourishes, but overall I enjoyed the entertainment too much to question the unevenness and improbabilities that may bother other listeners. The climatic scene, I'm sure, will be rightly criticized as derivative, out of place in a story set in early 1970s Mississippi, unbelievable and maybe a cheap shot. I still did not want the story to end, and loved the parting image of a sky blue Pinto rocketing down the highway into the Mississippi night.

11 of 12 people found this review helpful

Dragged on and on

I purchased this because of the reviews, but I thought it dragged on and on. I finished it, but kept checking my iPod to see how much more time was left. I'm really surprised by all the great reviews. It was just an average story in which the author took way too much time discussing characters and their issues - all of which meant nothing in the end.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

5 Stars

This book was one of the best books I have had the pleasure of listening to in a while. The narrator did an excellent job of the southern accent. There is nothing worse than a botched southern accent in an audiobook. It is easy to listen to and hard to turn off. I was sad when it was over. Like I lost a friend... :)

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

Different kind of book for me

This book was quite interesting as I don't usually read books written for teens. Jeff Woodman is my favorite narrator and I find any book that he narrates wonderful. Once again he brought me into the story by making me able to visualize each character and watch their part of the book unfold

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

good book, excellent narrator

This was a good audible-- the narrator was wonderful. Started out very light and brought back memories as the era of the book was the same as my high school years. Well done characters. The end was not what I was expecting and the themes were different from what I expected but the book was very well done.

5 of 7 people found this review helpful

There isn`t enough starts for this one!

One Mississippi is for sure one of funniest books of all time, period. It is a fast moving book and very easy to listen to. The narrator Jeff Woodman really does a great job impersonating all the different characters of the story. I really felt in love with the drama of the principal character, Daniel Musgrove and had to keep listen to it many times after the first run because this is one of those books that we wish will never end. This is the ultimate teen tragic comedy of the seventies. Really worth listening at this one. As for me all I can say is that I can`t stop listen to it over and over.

5 of 8 people found this review helpful

Great writing, wonderful narration!

I think I've found another favorite narrator. The narrator's voice makes this book go from really good to great!

The plot summary given can't really express what the book is about - there are too many twists and turns to fully describe it. I found myself surprised by some of the happenings and was pleased at not being able to predict the outcome.

3 of 5 people found this review helpful

Excellent, but . . .

"One Mississippi" is a very, very good story that's masterfully enacted by Jeff Woodman (my newest favorite narrator). I'm just warning prospective listeners that it's a story for adults, not "kids," though that's the way it's "introduced" at the beginning and ending of both parts 1 and 2. Here's what I mean ..... Imagine every life situation about which parents may wish to instruct their "kids" after they're, say, 15-16 years old--and it's in this book, including among others a step-by-step description of a 17-year-old losing his virginity. Then imagine a story in which characters you've come to care about are killed violently. Adults can appreciate the over-arching morals of the story cleverly told, but kids might be psychologically traumatized by the details. Anyway, I'm an adult and I enjoyed it very much.

4 of 7 people found this review helpful

Entertaining but also a moving story

The first 30 minutes I didn’t know if I could handle the accents, they were put on a bit thick. But then it settled in and then they weren’t so over the top. I was a Mississippi native so the accents used are very true to that region of the south and it did sound like ‘home’ .
The story was very good and included a lot of the way things were in that time in he South. It is told from the perspective of a ‘Yankee’ high schooler whose family is transferred to the area for the dads job. There is all the usual high school drama with bullies pressures of friends, and the like while also really developing all the little nuances of high school life with first love, jealousies, and even just the small details of where they are living that make you feel really connected to the whole story. Underneath is a real coming of age story building up to the heart wrenching conclusion. It is an excellent story that was extremely well executed by the narrator.

I didn't see that coming!

I thought I was reading something a little more YA. Definitely not 😳. If I'd known more about the subject matter, I never would have listened to this book. However, it was so intriguing once I was far enough in, that I had to finish it. Very well written and the narration was maybe the best yet!

Tragic

Race is a dominant theme in this story but it is secondary to the theme of friendship and in the end love. it's difficult to say anything more without giving too much away. I found the by then inevitable denouement quite upsetting, but was glad to have read it and am glad to recommend it and this good performance.