Chesapeake

A Novel

By: James A. Michener

Narrated by: Larry McKeever

The central scene of Michener's historical novel is that section of Maryland's Eastern shore, hardly more than 10 miles square. To this point come the founders of families that will dominate the story.

©2013 James A. Michener (P)2015 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Another of James Michener's great mines of narrative, character and lore." ( The Wall Street Journal)
"[A] marvelous panorama of history seen in the lives of symbolic people of the ages…an emotionally and intellectually appealing book." ( The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
"Michener's most ambitious work of fiction in theme and scope." ( The Philadelphia Inquirer)
"Magnificently written…one of those rare novels that are enthusiastically passed from friend to friend." (Associated Press)

Great listening in the Michener style

Well written, Holds your interest. Michener is a great story teller. It is a great look into people's motives and how they are developed.

Michener again proves he is a Master Story Teller

Wonderful historical novel; description of slavery very painful and informative; much told from the viewpoint of racists, self-righteous bigots, people that twist what the Bible says, and James Michener gets it right. Many noble people.

Other listeners have complained about the pace of the narrator, but I love him. I often have to slow down the pace of other narrators to 75% so I can follow along. Larry McKeever very easy to follow.

Must Read

What made the experience of listening to Chesapeake the most enjoyable?

Well written and engaging the stories are captivating and the history weaved into the fictional stories and characters makes Chesapeake fascinating. If you are a history buff or in interested in the eastern shore of Maryland history Chesapeake is a must read or listen.

Who was your favorite character and why?

To many to list the Turlocks were a great antagonists. Matt Turlock was a great character

What does Larry McKeever bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He does a great job creating and and giving a persona to the characters in Chesapeake. I loved his portrayal of the Turlocks he brought them alive to me.

If you could take any character from Chesapeake out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Matt Turlock

Any additional comments?

This is an incredible story that made me laugh, cry, and even angered me but it is real, raw, and engaging. Thank you Mr. Michener for another amazing achievement God rest your soul.

I have lived in Maryland all my life my youth mostly outside Andrew Air Force Base. After high school my parents retired to Golden Beach in St Mary's county Maryland where we lived on the water and had an amazing time crabbing, fishing and enjoying the beauty of the Patuxent River that flowed in Chesapeake bay. I went to Towson University in Baltimore County and have have lived in Baltimore for 26 years. Being in Maryland all my life this book was very nostalgic for me.

I thought the narrator was a computer

How could the performance have been better?

Get a completely different narrator. It was like listening to the computer voice from the movie "wargames".

Unforgettable Story

You will find many pearls of wisdom tucked between the marsh grasses of the Chesapeake. The author paints a vivid picture of life along the great bay for several unforgettable families. I learned so many interesting facts about Quaker life the ecology of the region. The only part that was hard for me to make through was a chapter (early on) about British history. Otherwise a wonderful adventure!

chesse

I find all but the last 4-5 hours fascinating. the end of Michner books get dry in recent times. book well worth listening to.

A Great Fabric Woven; narration is a woeful miss

A fantastic epic that gives tremendous context to a lesser known incubator of the country we know today. The narration, however, is quite disappointing. Recorded 25 years ago as though for the visually impaired. Listen at 1.5X to get something resembling a normal meter. The story makes me want to go directly to the next Michener epic. But as an Audible user, I think I’ll look at some others first.

I did not realize that the book was mostly about hunting ducks and fishing for oysters and boat building.

the story was mostly about men and boats and hunting boat building. my expectation was that it would be mostly about the Chesapeake area people who live there and not focused on these men who hunted geese and fish for oysters and boat building.

the writing was excellent as always. Michener can really Spin A Yarn. the reading was excellent as well. and even though most of the book was not but I expected I listen to it and enjoyed it as well.

if I ever need to hunt for ducks or fish for oysters or build a boat his book taught me how to do it. those three subjects are not what I am interested in at all, however it was so well written and spoken and the characters so well fleshed out that I listened anyway. I did enjoy it but I would have liked to her her more about all the people and not all about fishing, hunting and boat building.

I highly recommend this book it's those are your interests. there were other things that the book talked about that were interesting as well.

Learned a lot

Would you listen to Chesapeake again? Why?

No, interesting story, but I want to move on to other Michener books.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Chesapeake?

There were so many, no one stands out. Maybe the history of shipbuilding. Many interesting facts in the book.

What three words best describe Larry McKeever’s performance?

Not too bad. You get used to it. When he was narrating as a Quaker, it worked perfectly.

Who was the most memorable character of Chesapeake and why?

Too many to name.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed the book and want to try others. I doubt if I would have the patience to sit down and read one, but with Audiobooks, it's pretty easy to listen to every word.

Another Awesome Michener Epic

Didn't want the epic to end. Again James Michener captured the essence of the Choptank and the Chesapeake Bay region in his story.