Woe to Live On (1987) - Daniel Woodrell

Written by Daniel Woodrell
Read by Ron Rash
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Publisher: Hachette Audio
Release date: January 16, 2013
Duration: 06:22:06

Set in the border states of Kansas and Missouri, Woe to Live On explores the nature of lawlessness and violence, friendship and loyalty, through the eyes of young recruit Jake Roedel. Where he and his fellow First Kansas Irregulars go, no one is safe, no one can be neutral. Roedel grows up fast, experiencing a brutal parody of war without standards or mercy. But as friends fall and families flee, he questions his loyalties and becomes an outsider even to those who have become outlaws.

“In the opening scene of this well-read tale of the Civil War on the Kansas/Missouri border, Jake Roedel describes the country scene poetically before he coldly shoots a teenage German immigrant in the back. The juxtaposition of lyrical descriptions and brutal violence shocks the listener from the beginning and sets the stage for Jake’s narrative of rough partisan warfare in which savagery is conventional. Near the story’s end, Jake participates in Quantrill’s massacre at Lawrence, KS, and finally disgusted with mayhem, begins to realize that life can hold more than killing. But can he even imagine a new life? Reader Bernard Setaro Clark does a terrific job with the voices–soft Southern country drawls for this group of Missouri guerrillas when in repose and harsh gutturals at moments of crisis. The 1987 book was the basis for Ang Lee’s 1999 film Ride with the Devil. VERDICT Recommended for all audio collections.”—PW