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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
This might be with the fact that I read this as an audiobook, but I lowkey just don't remember much about this. It just felt kind of predictable.
William Kent Krueger's novella, The Levee, explores the true cost of survival during the historic 1927 Mississippi Flood. This natural disaster was one of the worst in US history. At 80 miles wide, it submerged 27,000 square miles of land and displaced nearly 640,000 people across from Illinois to Louisiana.
It is during this calamity that Krueger has set his novella. To save a family trapped by the rising water, four men in a rowboat battle the deluge: three are convicts coerced into service by the local prison; the fourth, their leader, is driven by concealed motives.
When they arrive at Ballymore, an ancestral home protected by a towering, circular levee, not everyone in the family is eager to be rescued. As the flood’s threat increases and time ticks away, the crew and the family must make critical decisions.
The Levee explores the human struggle against nature and how greed, cowardice, and courage motivate people to choose different paths. Although the short audiobook (3 hours 36 minutes) was entertaining, the story was just too short to develop the characters. I didn’t care what happened to them. I’ve listened to other books narrated by J.D. Jackson, and he isn’t one of my favorites.
Led Zeppelin fans might be interested in this little factoid—the band recorded the iconic song, “When the Levee Breaks” in 1971 about the 1927 Mississippi Flood. 3 stars.
It is during this calamity that Krueger has set his novella. To save a family trapped by the rising water, four men in a rowboat battle the deluge: three are convicts coerced into service by the local prison; the fourth, their leader, is driven by concealed motives.
When they arrive at Ballymore, an ancestral home protected by a towering, circular levee, not everyone in the family is eager to be rescued. As the flood’s threat increases and time ticks away, the crew and the family must make critical decisions.
The Levee explores the human struggle against nature and how greed, cowardice, and courage motivate people to choose different paths. Although the short audiobook (3 hours 36 minutes) was entertaining, the story was just too short to develop the characters. I didn’t care what happened to them. I’ve listened to other books narrated by J.D. Jackson, and he isn’t one of my favorites.
Led Zeppelin fans might be interested in this little factoid—the band recorded the iconic song, “When the Levee Breaks” in 1971 about the 1927 Mississippi Flood. 3 stars.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Probably 3.5…my mind kept wandering during it. Historical fiction about the largest flood in the US and one family’s fight to keep the levee from breaching and a little group that comes together including a couple of convicts as they try to decide whether to stay. The authors note that this was inspired by a Faulkner novella and that he had it in a drawer for many years was really interesting.
On Audible only. Timely with the Mississippi flooding.
I’ve loved all of WKK’s books. Not this one. It’s slow and boring.
This would be firmly at home as a novella to study in an American lit class. In the author’s notes, he said he’d started it as a reimagining of a Twain story, but he’s glad he let it go its own way. I’m glad too.
This book weaves the themes of man v msn, man v nature, morality and lack of morality in a story for the ages. A true classic.
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes