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Sign up todayThe Levee
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“The audio of this short novel, reworked during the pandemic from a very early version written when Krueger was a young, aspiring-writer, is the perfect road-trip companion, clocking in at 3 ½ hours in length. Both men and women will enjoy this tale of escape, greed, love, loyalty, and redemption. Set during the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, rising waters threaten Ballymore, the ancestral home of a local aristocratic family. Four men in a rowboat have been sent to rescue the inhabitants, but not all of them are willing to leave. The mission then becomes one to shore up the levee. As the water continues to rise, so does the tension in the narrative. Three of the 'rescuers' are convicts on loan from the local prison; one is a former priest who has a connection to the family. In spite of the short length of the story, the characters are well-developed, and the propulsive plot is filled with surprising twists and turns. Thoroughly enjoyable!”
— Shirley • Watermark Books
An audio original novella from the bestselling author of Ordinary Grace and This Tender Land, The Levee is a powerful, captivating story of a family, a storm, a complicated rescue, and the true cost of survival.
“A masterwork…Full of heart and a spellbinding plot, Krueger packs a powerful punch in this audio novella, delivering grand scale storytelling at its finest.” —Kim Michele Richardson, New York Times bestselling author of The Book Woman’s Daughter
It’s 1927, and the most devastating flood in American history has swelled the Mississippi River to a width of eighty miles. In an attempt to save a family trapped by the rising water, four men in a tiny rowboat battle the treacherous flow: three are convicts, on loan from the local prison and pressed into service; the fourth, the leader of the team, is driven by his own hidden motives. But to their surprise upon arrival at Ballymore, an ancestral home protected by a high, circular levee, not everyone in the family feels the need to be saved. Pride, greed, loyalty, and even love create their own complex currents behind the massive wall. As the threat from the flood increases and time ticks away, the crew and the family must decide on a course of action, and a desperate plan is hatched to save the weakening levee and all it was built to protect.
The Levee is a propulsive, heartfelt tale of courage, cowardice, and sacrifice in a historic moment when the indomitable human spirit is pitted against the awesome and destructive power of nature.
“Will the levee hold? Or will greed, pride, and hubris engulf the characters of The Levee like the historic flood waters of the Mississippi River threatening the inhabitants of Ballymore? William Kent Krueger’s masterful tale of suspense about courage, family, secrets, and the power of nature is a must-listen!” —Marie Benedict, New York Times bestselling author of The Only Woman in the Room and The Personal Librarian
This audiobook includes an author’s note read by the author, a reading group guide (available as a PDF), and a preview of William Kent Krueger’s next novel, The River We Remember.
William Kent Krueger is the New York Times bestselling author of The River We Remember, This Tender Land, Ordinary Grace (winner of the Edgar Award for best novel), and the original audio novella The Levee, as well as nineteen acclaimed books in the Cork O’Connor mystery series, including Lightning Strike and Fox Creek. He lives in the Twin Cities with his family. Learn more at WilliamKentKrueger.com.
William Kent Krueger is the New York Times bestselling author of The River We Remember, This Tender Land, Ordinary Grace (winner of the Edgar Award for best novel), and the original audio novella The Levee, as well as nineteen acclaimed books in the Cork O’Connor mystery series, including Lightning Strike and Fox Creek. He lives in the Twin Cities with his family. Learn more at WilliamKentKrueger.com.
Reviews
"The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 engulfed tens of thousands of square miles, across ten states, with up to 30 feet of water. Krueger sets his first original audiobook in this moment of crisis, as desperation pushes people, passions, and levees to their breaking points. The Ballymore estate is surrounded by one of those levees, built to protect the home and its people. But when a rowboat arrives at the estate, carrying work-release convicts who will help rescue the residents, the convicts are met with a surprising situation: not everyone wants their assistance. Jackson crafts consistent voices for many of the characters, softening his gravelly voice for women and making judicious use of accents. As the waters rise, the levee weakens, and the tension increases, Jackson's soothing, rhythmic narration is lulling. This allows for panicked dialogue to rise up and grip the listener like a cresting wave. His voice creates a cocoon around the listener like the levee itself, which seems protective but could ultimately mask great danger. This tense and satisfying tale has a historical setting eerily relevant to modern climate fears." "Golden Voice narrator JD Jackson acts out Krueger’s dramatic audio-original novella, which is about the potential breach of a levee, the only thing holding back torrents of water during the unprecedented flooding of the lower Mississippi River in 1927. Four men — three convicts temporarily released and a man named Quince Mobley — arrive by boat and work tirelessly to save the high, circular levee and rescue the obstinate stranded residents of an estate called Ballymore. Jackson’s deep, gravelly voice pervades the performance, shifting subtly to reflect the stiff-necked women and the strong-backed, sometimes bellicose, men. The raging river’s inexorable attacks are reflected in Jackson’s cadence as he adds emotional energy to the exhausting fight between men and the mighty Mississippi." "The gripping tale is narrated by J.D. Jackson; in his slow drawl, the story dramatically builds like flood waters rising." "Years ago, while still in his 20s, William Kent Krueger read William Faulkner's novella "Old Man" and was captivated by the tale of a convict sent out in a small boat to rescue a pregnant woman during a flood. Inspired, he wrote his own story, which he called "The Levee." It wasn't quite right, and he put it away.In his mid-40s, he pulled out the story and reworked it, but put it away again; it still wasn't right.
And then during the COVID-19 lockdown — a time that Krueger calls the most productive of his life — he took it out one more time. "Rather than merely rework it, I completely rethought the story," he said in a coda to "The Levee," just released by Simon & Schuster as an audiobook original.
The story is set in 1927, during a flood of "Biblical proportions." The Mississippi River south of Memphis swelled to 80 miles across, and hundreds of people were trapped or died. Three inmates are released from prison to help with rescues, and they set out with a fourth man who supervises them. They end up at Ballymore, a stately house protected by a levee that may or may not be in danger of giving way and inhabited by a family torn about leaving.
The gripping tale is narrated by J.D. Jackson; in his slow drawl, the story dramatically builds like flood waters rising."
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