false 213347 11 Listening to Lawrence Luckinbill read Annie Dillard's historical novel <I>The Living</I> takes a little getting used to. The very first sentence reveals a pronounced and distracting lisp, but don't let that dissuade you from continuing. Luckinbill's voice also exhibits a simple honesty, a gruffness that is perfectly suited to the steely pioneer spirit of Dillard's story. Surprisingly quickly, the vocal idiosyncrasy fades away, leaving only the emotional resonance of Luckenbill's obviously heartfelt connection to this powerful tale. <p> Dillard's finely crafted prose and Luckinbill's sincere voice carry you back to the early days of American expansion, into the truly Wild West and the stone-hard life these settlers would be forced to endure. "She had cried out to God all day and maybe all night, too, that he would lend her strength to bear affliction and go on. She was not aware that underneath she prayed another prayer as if to a power above God, or at least to his better nature, that he was finished with the worst of it." Of course, God isn't finished, and neither are these brave souls. Dillard opens their world slowly, stretching the horizon generation by generation, tethering the fate of one small family to that of the struggling town that they are helping to build and, ultimately, to the inexorable rise of the emerging nation. (Running time: six hours, four cassettes) <I>--George Laney</I> 2643035 1992 The Living: A Novel total:547|5:147|4:211|3:132|2:40|1:17| 547 2072 793 92 3 2 false false Wed Sep 17 16:11:03 -0700 2008 Sat Dec 20 16:17:07 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Mon Aug 27 09:48:28 -0700 2007 Mon Aug 27 09:50:29 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1991 Sat Nov 03 22:15:21 -0700 2007 Sat Nov 03 22:20:50 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 1 false false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun May 27 08:32:50 -0700 2007 Tue May 29 16:27:02 -0700 2007 more...]]> 0 0 false false Thu Nov 20 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 12 02:23:39 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 12 02:28:02 -0800 2008 more...]]> 1 1 false false Sun Apr 06 23:18:50 -0700 2008 Sun Apr 06 23:05:09 -0700 2008 Sun Apr 06 23:07:00 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 13 22:02:09 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 04 22:18:35 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Sun Mar 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Feb 02 18:55:50 -0800 2009 Sun Mar 15 20:00:41 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Aug 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 14 16:36:44 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 26 10:31:57 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 20 12:11:50 -0700 2008 Fri Dec 26 09:39:49 -0800 2008
This really is a masterpiece. Each chapter is a l...more...]]> 0 0 false false Tue Sep 11 18:46:28 -0700 2007 Tue Sep 11 18:46:28 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 1 false false Sat Apr 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 24 19:13:23 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 11 11:25:11 -0700 2009
There's some lovely, lovely prose here and awesome, detailed characters. Worthwhile read, but a struggle for me to finish. The first part of the book, detailing...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Dec 22 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Nov 21 14:35:53 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 22 15:23:36 -0800 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Mon Jan 21 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 29 00:08:30 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 29 00:11:30 -0800 2008 I do not think it is her best work. Though, it is her only work of fiction that...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Apr 12 17:36:49 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 04 06:25:15 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 12 17:36:49 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Apr 08 06:17:08 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 08 06:19:53 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 12 16:03:07 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 12 16:07:22 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2002 Tue Dec 02 19:23:25 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 02 19:23:25 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Mar 14 18:31:35 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 14 18:36:15 -0700 2009 I would love to see this novel dramatized on TV or in a film.]]> 1 0 false false Wed Mar 18 12:18:04 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 18 12:20:10 -0700 2009