The Country of the Pointed Firs

By: Sarah Orne Jewett

Narrated by: Flo Gibson

With humor and compassion we enter the world of a small seacoast village located in northern Maine, where courage and caring are beautifully exemplified.

Public Domain (P)2012 Audio Book Contractors, LLC

The real thing

This is one of my favorite books, which I’ve reread several times. A summer touchstone. It’s the most evocative portrait of coastal life in Maine I’ve ever come across, as well as a sensitive and nuanced account of village life, close friendship, and family ties. The reader captures the homey but lyical and even philosophical tone delightfully.

A Perfect Listen

Neither the book--I have read it many times--nor the recorded book could be improved upon.
This is a book of peace, of words polished as the sea polishes beach stones. Each character is described with love, deep sympathy and intricate understanding. And each character, like the town where the story takes place, has been worn and polished by a life lived, not in isolation, but in a community less touched by the hustle-bustle of civilization than is common. It is a book of stark sensuality (not sex) and deep, individual personality and spirituality. Another book about the "is-ness" of things. You will listen again and again and again.

Nice characters, great story line, fun read.

I enjoyed the characters, the story line and the flow of the book. it was a little slow starting but I found myself reading g one more chapter, until I finished the book and was wanting to read more.

A wonderful, under-read book

This book follows a woman over the course of a summer as she visits a small town on the coast of Maine. She gets to know the townspeople, occasionally becoming involved in their affairs. She observes the natural beauty around her, And she reflects on the local way of life, and just on life. Over the course of the summer, you feel her falling in love with the place and it's inhabitants, and you can't help but fall in love too.

Listening to this was refreshing for my soul. It left me longing, like the narrator, for the simple joys of small town life. Flo Gibson did a great job narrating, as usual. This is particularly impressive because she had to convincingly portray the odd accent and speech patterns of 19th century Maine (which, by the way, are one of the many joys of the book).

Highly recommended to anyone looking for a quiet, meditative, pleasant experience.