Harvest

By: Jim Crace

Narrated by: John Keating

A remote English village wakes on the morning after harvest, looking forward to enjoying a hard-earned day of rest and feasting. But two mysterious columns of smoke mar the sky, raising alarm and suspicion.

The first column of smoke comes from the edge of the village land, sent as a signal by newcomers to announce their presence as per regional custom. The second smoke column is even more troubling: it comes from a blaze set in Master Kent's stables. Walter Thirsk, a relative outsider in the village, casts his eye on three local boys and blames their careless tomfoolery. The rest of the villagers, though, close ranks against the strangers rather than accuse one of their own. Two men and a woman are apprehended; their heads are shaved to mark their criminality; and the men are thrown into the stocks for a week. Justice has been served. Or has it?

Meanwhile, another newcomer has been spotted in the village sporting the finer clothes and fashionable beard of a townsman. Mr. Quill, as the villagers name him, observes them closely and takes careful notes about their land, apparently at Master Kent's behest. It is his presence more than any other that will threaten the village's entire way of life.

In effortless, expertly crafted prose, Jim Crace details the unraveling of bucolic life in the face of economic progress. His tale is timeless and unsettling, evoking a richly textured world you will remember long after you finish reading.

©2013 Jim Crace (P)2013 Recorded Books

Reader ruins it.

Would you try another book from Jim Crace and/or John Keating?

I really like Jim Crace, but I have to say that John Keating is not up to the task of reader. He has a wonderful voice, but he reads in short phrases that often don't have the correct intonation to convey the meaning of the sentence. It's almost as though he's reading the text for the first time and doesn't know where the sentence is heading. The story itself is tragic and sad, with a narrator who is complicated and somewhat infuriating.

Would you recommend Harvest to your friends? Why or why not?

I would recommend this if there was a different reader. It describes the time in England when the commons were "enclosed," and the effect on the peasantry. Makes a historical footnote real.

With Jim Crace, it is about the indelible characters. Even the non- leads . All have a real sense of Being.

Occasionally, the narrator would break the sentences incorrectly . Perhaps he was reading from an auto~ scrolling devise ?

I can never get those hours back!

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

No one in their right mind would enjoy this book.

What was most disappointing about Jim Crace’s story?

The main character was despicable, weak, and self-absorbed. The story droned on and on, and made little or no sense most of the time.

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator had to work with what he was given -- NOTHING! Only a better story could have improved this performance.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Harvest?

All of them.

Any additional comments?

This book was so bad I felt compelled to write a review as a courtesy and warning to my fellow listeners.