The Sojourn

By: Andrew Krivak

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

The Sojourn, finalist for the National Book Award and winner of both the Dayton Literary Peace Prize and inaugural Chautauqua Prize, is the story of Jozef Vinich, who was uprooted from a 19th-century mining town in Colorado by a family tragedy and returns with his father to an impoverished shepherd’s life in rural Austria-Hungary.

When World War One comes, Jozef joins his adopted brother as a sharpshooter in the Kaiser’s army, surviving a perilous trek across the frozen Italian Alps and capture by a victorious enemy.

A stirring tale of brotherhood, coming-of-age, and survival, that was inspired by the author’s own family history, this novel evokes a time when Czechs, Slovaks, Austrians, and Germans fought on the same side while divided by language, ethnicity, and social class in the most brutal war to date. It is also a poignant tale of fathers and sons, addressing the great immigration to America and the desire to live the American dream amidst the unfolding tragedy in Europe.

©2011 Andrew Krivak (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

A beautiful, powerful expression of coming of age.

As one of Slovak decent, this story was near and dear to my heart. The prose is beautiful and smooth and Stefan Rudnicki, as usual, delivers a gorgeous narration. Do yourself a favor and buy this one!

It was engaging and emotional.

Amazing book. I also read The Bear, by the same author. Also an amazing book. Andrew Krivak is one of the best writers out today bar none.

A Truly Captivating Journey

I’m so thrilled I finally listened to The Sojourn. I wasn’t sure about listening to it verses reading it. For me sometimes the narration of some books isn’t quite right for the writing.

Well…the writing is phenomenal and the narration is fantastic. The narrator is absolutely perfect for this book. I was drawn in from the moment he started speaking.

The writing is stunning, and I went on a rollercoaster ride of emotions with the characters. It’s intense, meaningful, emotional, engaging and memorable. Two thumbs up!!

Extraordinary writing and fantastic narration.

This book had been recommended to me several years ago. To be completely blunt I waited to listen to it because I did not want to be disappointed. Recently I have had less interest in listening to books or podcasts, but reached a point where I needed a good story to help me focus on something other than work. I scrolled through my library and ran back across this title - I was hesitant, but decided to take a chance. I am so thankful that I did.

The writing is captivating and the narration could not be better. I was reeled in nearly immediately and enjoyed every minute of the story. I will add this one to the repeat-listen section of my library.

Short and Powerful

This was a beautifully written book about war, loss, and peace. Andrew Krivak is a talented and poetic writter who tells this story with every word written with an intentionaldelivery! The performance of the narrator was superb!!!! His accent and delivery of each word make you feel as though you're hearing the story from the main character himself. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!

Transformational

Andrew Krivak is a phenomenal writer. His tenderness of his characters and painting of every scene brings the reader into the story.

Interesting but somehow less than satisfying

Would you try another book from Andrew Krivak and/or Stefan Rudnicki?

Maybe on both.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Sojourn?

When Josef's adopted brother was killed. The death was so sudden and senseless as was the entire war experience--thus it was moving.

What three words best describe Stefan Rudnicki’s performance?

Annoying accent.

Was The Sojourn worth the listening time?

Yes

Any additional comments?

The photo displayed on my iphone as the book played identified the book as 'The Legend of Drizzt Book III' and had an incongruous illustration given the subject of the book. This illustration is different from the one on the site and in my downloads folder. The author was correct though. Given I was listening on a trip I couldn't look it up. It caused an aura of confusion for me while I listened. I kept wondering what I had missed in books one and two because I rarely if ever read a series out of sequence.