High Plains Tango, Robert James Waller
High Plains Tango, Robert James Waller
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High Plains Tango

Author: Robert James Waller

Narrator: Robertson Dean

Unabridged: 9 hr 53 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/28/2005


Synopsis

With over 10 million copies sold, bestselling author Robert James Waller returns with the haunting, evocative story of a small town, a beautiful and mysterious woman, and the man forever changed by both.

The wild places are where no one is looking anymore. Out there on the high plains, among the Sioux reservations and the silent buttes, among the small towns dying and the people with them, you can hear the wind. And on the back of the wind is the sound of an old accordion—tangos—mingling with the lonely thump of a single drum in the nighttime and a far-off warrior’s cry. On the back of the wind is the smell of worn saddle leather and sawdust, of sandalwood, and smoke from ancient ceremonial fires. To this, to a town called Salamander, comes Carlisle McMillan, a traveler and master carpenter seeking a place of quiet amid the grinding roar of progress. Near Wolf Butte, a strange and apparently haunted monolith, he finds his quiet, or so he believes, and begins rebuilding a decrepit house as a tribute to the gruff old man who taught him a carpenter’s skills, rebuilding his life at the same time.

He finds two very different, independent women: Gally Deveraux, who works at a diner in Salamander and longs for something more than she is, and Susanna Benteen, beautiful and enigmatic, who was drawn to Salamander for mysterious reasons of her own, a woman the town has labeled a witch. The women and his carpenter’s trade and an old Indian known as Flute Player bring Carlisle a sense of contentment for a while. But his quiet is shattered as bulldozer treads begin to turn and the Yerkes County War commences. Run or stand your ground, that is Carlisle’s dilemma, Gally on one side, Susanna on the other.

Robert James Waller’s fully imagined characters become people we know and care for deeply.

High Plains Tango is the hauntingly lyrical story of a small town in the middle of nowhere, a town that forever changed—and was forever changed by—one man.

About The Author

Robert James Waller is the author of the #1 New York Times bestsellers The Bridges of Madison County and Slow Waltz in Cedar Bend. His other works include the New York Times bestsellers Old Songs in a New Café: Selected Essays, Border Music, and Puerto Vallarta Squeeze, and his book of photographs, Images.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Linda on May 08, 2008

What peculiar writing. Waller uses verbose style in his recently written love story. I stumbled across words like, "folderold" "evanescent" amd found wrangling sentences I did not understand after reading over and over again. Carlise sat there, remembering what Cody Marx had said about working to c......more

Goodreads review by Dan on March 24, 2024

I like Robert James Waller’s writing style. Slow times and unique relationships. High Plains Tango was different from the other Robert James Waller books I’ve read. This book has a social message about the false promise of progress. Fortunately, I have several more novels of his to read.......more

Goodreads review by John on December 27, 2019

This is the third piece in the set that could be subtitled, "The Robert Kincaid Franchise." Readers were so smitten by that character in "Bridges of Madison County" that they continue to show up at National Geographic in D.C. asking to see the "Robert Kincaid Exhibit," earnestly believing he was a r......more

Goodreads review by Gayle on September 17, 2021

I loved this book. It was about love, corruption, environment, and beating the odds.......more

Goodreads review by L on August 22, 2017

such a wonderful story by a warm wonderful writer. I discovered this book on the shelf of my local library while browsing for books. Hmm, by the author of The Bridges of Madison County? hmm, I loved that book, so why not give this one a try? LOVED IT! Not necessarily a love story as it is a story of......more


Quotes

“The Bridges of Madison County fans will relish this latest follow-up.” —Chicago Tribune

“Blends Waller’s trademark romanticism with earthy humor and a powerful environmental message.” —Dayton Daily News

“A solid story with interesting characters . . . Waller gives the narrator the most wonderful wit.” —Omaha World-Herald