Hard Rain Falling

By: Don Carpenter

Narrated by: Elijah Alexander

Length: 11 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Don Carpenter's Hard Rain Falling is a tough-as-nails account of being down and out, but never down for good - a Dostoyevskian tale of crime, punishment, and the pursuit of an ever-elusive redemption.

The novel follows the adventures of Jack Levitt, an orphaned teenager living off his wits in the fleabag hotels and seedy pool halls of Portland, Oregon. Jack befriends Billy Lancing, a young black runaway and pool hustler extraordinaire. A heist gone wrong gets Jack sent to reform school, from which he emerges embittered by abuse and solitary connement.

In the meantime Billy has joined the middle class - married, fathered a son, acquired a business and a mistress. But neither Jack nor Billy can escape their troubled pasts, and they will meet again in San Quentin before their strange double drama comes to a violent and revelatory end.

©2009 Don Carpenter (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A powerful, uncompromising book, realistically written, brutal in the raw intensity of its action...highly recommended." (Library Journal)

"Don Carpenter is a particular favorite of mine. His first novel, Hard Rain Falling, might be my candidate for the other best prison novel in American literature." (Jonathan Lethem)

“Hard Rain Falling is a unique read; violent, tender, inexorable, and melancholic; a beat-era book of disaffected young men devoid of On the Road euphoria but more poignant and gripping for its fatalistic grounding. The small lives contained herein are indelible.” (Richard Price)

The

For every good day, there will be a bad day. However, every bad day comes with a good one.

Incredible

This pulled at my heart in a very strange and unexpected way. Beautifully soaked in the human experience.

Worth the listen

The Audible version of Hard Rain Falling by Don Carpenter is a powerful experience, especially for anyone looking for an honest and gripping story. This novel, originally published in 1966, takes readers into the lives of people living on the edge of society in 1950s America. Carpenter’s storytelling isn’t romanticized or overly polished; instead, it dives deep into the raw and often brutal realities its characters face. Listening to this audiobook feels like peeling back layers of human nature, exposing vulnerabilities, flaws, and moments of surprising compassion.

One of the standout aspects of the Audible version is the narrator’s voice. The narrator perfectly captures the book’s gritty, reflective tone, adding a roughness that enhances Carpenter’s writing. You can hear each line's tension, despair, and resilience, pulling you further into the story. The voice fits Carpenter's world—a place filled with drifters, prisoners, and people fighting to get by. The narration makes it easy to visualize every scene, adding depth to each character’s struggle and keeping the listener engaged.

At its core, Hard Rain Falling is a story about survival, friendship, and the search for identity in a hostile world. The main character, Jack Levitt, is unforgettable—a product of the system, a man shaped by his experiences but also defiant in the face of them. College students might find Jack’s journey especially thought-provoking as he navigates the complexities of freedom, choice, and consequence. Carpenter doesn’t give easy answers, and that’s part of what makes this audiobook so compelling.

If you’re looking for a thought-provoking, emotionally intense audiobook that is unafraid to confront difficult truths, Hard Rain Falling is worth adding to your list. Its story stays with you, reminding listeners of the resilience of the human spirit, even in the toughest of times. The Audible version amplifies Carpenter’s gritty, compassionate storytelling, making it an experience that feels as relevant today as when it was first written.

Good narration

Average at best story, and very predictable. Came highly recommended. Very much a let down.

A Well Read, American Noir Novel from The 1960s

This is a debut novel of Don Carpenter. It is set in the Western United States in the 1960s. It has a hard, grim edge to it. I liked the novel, but would not want a constant diet of this type of novel.

As far as an audiobook, it is very well read. I did read along on Kindle. The narration is faithful to read the written text. The narrator, Elijah Alexander, is a competent professional and did a fine job.

I came across this novel while reading a different novel by George Pelecanos, "The Man Who Came Uptown". I could see stylistic similarities between these two novels and liked them both about the same. Which is to say, I liked them a good deal. Thank You...

A glutton for punishment

I must be just that because this was so incredibly brutal. But I couldn’t stop. So real. So hard. The way Carpenter paces the narrative is incredible. A couple chapters ago feels like eons. Each character is so well defined as is any scene as is the nuances of each relationship. Ultimately though it was tough as nails, immersive and thought-provoking. Should be required reading. Especially in our culture where half of our government and half of society has zero empathy for those who weren’t given much of a chance to survive. Well done Donny boy! An American classic IMO.

the characterization was wonderfu

the characters and situations were real
going through time as it should have been. True Americana

Huh?

Ending leaves you wondering what the hell? Not really a story of redemption like you would expect.

Disappointed

I really struggled to get through this book. I hate to give up on a book, but I almost didn't make it to the end of this book. I couldn't find the theme of the book, or develop any interest in the direction of the story. The author seems to wander all over, and I kept waiting for some of these "detours" to have some significance to the story - but there seemed to be no common thread to many of the subplots. Not a good use of a credit.

A Disappointment

I thought this book was terrible. The main character did not seem to develop. Just one bad scene after another. He had no redeeming qualities.