The Stone Lion

By: William Eisner

Narrated by: Alan Sklar

After 22 years with the same company, George Breal is out of work for the first time in his life. He must confront the unpleasant task of reinventing his career at an age when many are winding down their ambitions and looking forward to retirement. A skilled manager, he finally finds work at the slowly failing Electronic Technologies (ETI), which has come face-to-face with a modern German competitor. ETI is owned by the cantankerous, obsessive, and dictatorial entrepreneur John Lowell, who is starting to realize, as he closes out his 70s, that his shortcomings are a direct result of his misguided actions from the past.

George Breal, Edna Graham, and Catherine Lowell are three people who had never met but have one thing in common: They are key components in Lowell’s life. Edna is his lover, Catherine his estranged daughter, and George the man who is trying to save his company.

Telling the story through the eyes of Edna, George, Lowell, and Catherine, Eisner transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary in this riveting and winning tale, filled with surprises and diverse, intriguing characters, all showcased by a writer who combines a touch of the poet with a dispassionate view of corporate America at its worst and best.

©2013 William Eisner (P)2013 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Very good story, keeps you interested

Where does The Stone Lion rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's in the top 10 or so. I usually dont listen to Fiction, but this was such a good story with many ties to our current economy.

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

He is an amazing voice-talent. Brings the characters to life.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

Worth the listen, enjoyable.

An interesting piece of fiction

Maybe not your first or second choice in fiction tonight but it is an interesting one. Our story starts with a corporate aquisition of an American manufacturing company. We follow Geogre Breal, a displaced executive from the acquired company move to Boston and work for Electronic Technologies Inc., a firm run by a controlling founder, John Lowell. Mr. Lowell has many problems on his hands including a German competitor who is positioned to eat his lunch, an estranged daughter and a girlfriend with an agenda. Breal is brought into to make ETI more profitable and ends up fighting to keep the company in business. Stone Lion is an interesting book that doesn't necessarily compell you to keep reading hour after hour, but eagerly awaits your return and rewards you with an palette of well developed characters and a fully crafted story of challenges, successes and failures. You'll want to finish Stone Lion but you can take your time and savor some fiction without a murder, sex scene or a lot of foul language - something of a rarity today. Take a break from all of the back biting and violence found in a lot of today's fiction and enjoy a book that challenges it's characters, shows how they grow and develop and doesn't insult you (unless you are or work for an aggressive German Corporation trying to dominate the world of photoelectric micro-switchs).

Unique Story

Most of this book occurred in/about a manufacturing plant, which interested me. I enjoyed the business aspects of this book, which focused around turning around a company. There were labor/union issues, costs, a totalitarian boss, etc. At the same time, we learn about Lowell, the head of ETI, and his struggles personally and professionally. I thought the characters were well developed, and I like how it all came together.

I absolutely loved the image of the Stone Lion, guarding the front entrance of the plant all of these years. Lowell and the Stone Lion, both guardians of ETI, are getting old and show signs of wear and tear. Yet both continue to proudly perform their task. This added a unique perspective to the story, and I could visualize this lion at the entrance, day in and day out.

The story line of Catherine was also interesting. She is Lowell's estranged daughter, and is going through some personal struggles as well. And then there is Edna, Lowell's housekeeper/girlfriend, who is jealous of Lowell's reconciliation with Catherine; who happened to be Edna's childhood friend. Edna will go to great lengths to keep them apart.

Overall, this was an interesting story and the audio version was well narrated.