ARE YOU LISTENING? FRIDAY: TRAIN DREAMS - A REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

WELCOME TO BOOKIN' WITH BINGO'S" 

ARE YOU LISTENING? DAY" 

I AM EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE TODAY'S

AUDIO BOOK CHOICE.....

GIVEAWAY ENDED
TRAIN DREAMS
A Novella

BY DENIS JOHNSON

READ BY WILL PATTON

ABOUT THE AUDIO BOOK:

“An ode to the vanished West that captures the splendor of the Rockies as much as the small human mysteries that pass through them, this svelte stand-alone has the virtue of being a gem in itself, and, for the uninitiated, a perfect introduction to Johnson.” Publishers Weekly, starred review

Suffused with the history and landscapes of the American West—its otherworldly flora and fauna, its rugged loggers and bridge builders—the new novella by Denis Johnson, the National Book Award-winning author of Tree of Smoke captures the disappearance of a distinctly American way of life.

As on Nobody Move and Jesus’ Son, Johnson’s words are narrated by Will Patton to great effect. Said Johnson, “Will is the premier performer of my words, and he makes Train Dreams feel like some kind of spiritual breakthrough.” Patton also commented, “When I first started narrating audiobooks people would ask me ‘what author would you most like to record?’ My answer was always ‘Denis Johnson’.” The end result of their collaboration is an epic in miniature, and one of Johnson’s most evocative and poignant fictions.

Robert Grainer is a day laborer in the American West at the start of the twentieth century—an ordinary man in extraordinary times. Buffeted by the loss of his family, Grainer struggles to make sense of this strange new world. As his story unfolds, we witness both his shocking personal defeats and the radical changes that transform America in his lifetime. “Denis Johnson and Will Patton may be the perfect author/narrator combination,” said Scott Sherrat, who directed Patton during his recording of Train Dreams. “The words feel reborn as Will lifts them off the page and delivers them like a virtuoso taking a solo. There are passages in Train Dreams that will haunt me forever and I am looking forward to it.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Denis Johnson is the author of six novels, three collections of poetry, and one book of reportage. His novel Tree of Smoke was the 2007 winner of the National Book Award and won the 2008 Audie Award for best Literary Fiction audiobook. He is the recipient of a Lannan Fellowship and a Whiting Writer’s Award, among many other honors for his work. He lives in Northern Idaho.

PRAISE FOR JOHNSON-PATTON'S WORK:

"Appropriately, Patton's reading is anything but warm and welcoming, but his delivery is so inescapably present that it draws listeners into the work and compels them to drop any preconceived notions about the protagonist and his life. The result is a memorable journey."  
–AudioFile, Earphones Award Winner on Jesus’ Son

"Will Patton's narration is so true to the mood, so evocative, that you'll feel like you've smoked a pack of Camels and swallowed a fifth of cheap vodka by the time it's all over." 
– BookPage on Nobody Move

"Patton's reading of Denis Johnson's noir novel Nobody Move is on my list of best audiobooks of 2009."  
–St. Petersburg Times on Nobody Move

"...A superb audio performance in a book that lingers on the edge of your consciousness." 
–The Winston-Salem Journal on Nobody Move

MY REVIEW:

Denis Johnson’s Audio Book, the novella TRAIN DREAMS, came as a delightful and shocking surprise to me. It is certainly not the genre I normally gravitate to. But as the deep resonance of Will Patton’s voice came forth with a story of early American history, I was taken in by the spell the words had on me. Just as I had taught students over the years to understand all that certain authors had seen in their life times, such as Laura Ingalls Wilder, I now was the student as I listened to the story of a railroad worker, Robert Granier. Following this railroad laborer whose story spans from the early 20th century across America just like the railroads did back in those days, one is led through Granier’s life, as our country grew. Born in 1886, but left as an orphan six year later when his entire family is wiped out by an influenza epidemic, Granier grows up to marry Gladys and have a daughter, Kate. Working timber and railroad, his life on the road brings tales of our country’s growth that parallel his life.

Denis Johnson writes from Granier’s point of view as he describes the grandeur as well as the danger of the Rockies through the tales that made up this character’s life. He reveals human frailty as well as life’s celebration. From his youth to his older years when Granier marvels at his world that now includes airplanes as well as cars, little nuggets of history are woven into this story. For instance, a favorite part of mine is when Granier just misses seeing a young Elvis Presley when his train stops in town to be fixed but still revels in hearing about it from the townsfolk. All of the things that are Robert Granier’s life story are written and read so eloquently that from the bits of humor to the dark and edgy violence that make up a human life, readers are left with an indelible impression. This impression is filled with life, a touch of mysticism, history, and a truly amazing few hours on these two, too brief Cd's.

   

GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO ESTHER AND THE GOOD

FOLKS AT MACMILLAN AUDIO BOOKS, I

HAVE TWO COPIES OF THIS AMAZING

AUDIO BOOK TO GIVE AWAY

 

--U.S. AND CANADIAN RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES, PLEASE
--INCLUDE EMAIL ADDRESS IN COMMENT
--ALL ENTRIES/COMMENTS MUST BE
SEPARATE IN ORDER TO COUNT
AS MORE THAN ONE ENTRY

HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: READ ABOUT THE AUDIO BOOK ABOVE AND COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FOUND INTERESTING ABOUT TRAIN DREAMS THAT WOULD MAKE YOU WANT TO WIN THIS AUDIO BOOK

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND LEAVE A LINK I CAN FOLLOW IN THE ENTRY 

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ABOUT WHAT YOU HEAR WHEN YOU LISTEN TO AN EXCERPT FROM THIS AUDIO BOOK AT THE MACMILLAN AUDIO BOOK WEBSITE HERE

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE WAY YOU FOLLOW MY BLOG. IF YOU FOLLOW MORE THAN ONE WAY, YOU CAN COMMENT SEPARATELY AND EACH WILL COUNT AS AN ENTRY

 

GIVEAWAY ENDS AT
6 PM, EST, SEPTEMBER 5

GOOD LUCK!