Tobacco Road

Name: Tobacco Road
Brand: Blackstone Audiobooks
Availability: InStock
Rating: 3.7 (3 reviews)
Author: Erskine Caldwell
ISBN: 9781433249877

Author: Erskine Caldwell

Narrator: John MacDonald

Unabridged: 5 hr 22 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Published: 10/14/2009

Categories: Fiction, Classic

Synopsis

Set during the Depression in the depleted farmlands surrounding Augusta, Georgia, Tobacco Road was first published in 1922. It is the story of the Lesters, a family of white sharecroppers so destitute that most of their creditors have given up on them. Debased by poverty to an elemental state of ignorance and selfishness, the Lesters are preoccupied by their hunger, sexual longings, and fear that they will one day descend to a lower rung on the social ladder than the black families who live near them.Caldwell's skillful use of dialect and his plain style make the book one of the best examples of literary naturalism in contemporary American fiction. The novel was adapted as a successful play in 1933.

About Erskine Caldwell

Erskine Caldwell (1903â€“1987) was an American author known for his writings about poverty, racism, and social problems in his native South. As one of the first authors to be published in mass-market paperback editions, he is a key figure in the history of American publishing. Three of his books were made into movies, and the stage adaption of Tobacco Road made American theater history when it ran for seven-and-a-half years on Broadway.

Reviews

AudiobooksNow review by D THOMAS on 2016-07-06 18:15:31

Poor folks have no ethics or love of family in this story. That is not my experience. Compared with Grapes of Wrath and other books, this is not very entertaining or thoughtful. Caldwells belief in the misled interpretation of Darwin i.e. eugenicsmade the characters without redeeming qualities. Not worth reading, unless for seeing this then popular fad of eugenics and reflecting on the damage it created. We know what Hitler did with that theory.

Goodreads review by Vit

Erskine Caldwell specialized in portraying misery and wretchedness of man and was a great expert of human distress. Tobacco Road is one of the most effective trips to the bottom of human existence. When his father died, what was left of the Lester lands and debts was willed to Jeeter. The first thing......more

Goodreads review by Justin

At times laugh-out-loud, slap your knee hilarious, and at times truly heart-breaking. Of course we're dealing with depression-era poverty, so it shouldn't all be a jolly good time. Caldwell's witty cast of characters allows for this unique experience of laughing until you cry and crying because you......more

Goodreads review by Melanie

I am amazed that so many people on this website just did not get this book. Perhaps it has to do with their innate feelings about people from the South. Maybe they should look to own their prejudices. This is one of the most powerful books I have ever read. While there were certain humorous passages,......more