Play Audiobook Sample
That Distant Land: The Collected Stories Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(4.06) - 369 listener ratings
Quick Stats About this Audiobook
Total Audiobook Chapters:
Longest Chapter Length:
Shortest Chapter Length:
Average Chapter Length:
Audiobooks by this Author:
Publisher Description
That Distant Land collects twenty-three stories, interlinked with each other and with the other published "Port William" novels. The stories, arranged in their fictional chronology (from 1888 to almost the present day), become one sustained work, a new novel that spans the entire life and time involved. The range of this book is extraordinary -- it offers rest for the weary, hope for the beleaguered, and strength for everyone else.
Download and start listening now!
"This was a wonderful collection of short stories with characters from Port Washington, KY. I'd read several of the stories before, but the great thing about this collection was that they were in chronological order of when they happened (including the year). I liked reading about plowing with horses before the grandson plows with a tractor. It just helped fit everything in the space time-wise. Tol (Ptolomy) Proudfoot is one of my favorite characters. He's a farmer who loves his work and his wife. He says, "Steady work quiets the mind." It was said about him: "Tol's clothes always looked as if they were making a strenuous and perhaps hopeless effort just to stay somewhere in his vicinity.""
— Joy (5 out of 5 stars)
That Distant Land Listener Reviews
-
" Really great writing, but short stories are hard for me to enjoy. If I like them, then I don't like them to end quite so soon. I like Bildungsroman lit, so I prefer hefty character development. My two favorites were It Wasn't Me and Fidelity. I like very much Berry's concept of the compilation of short stories that span generations of a town and the inhabitants' relationships to one another. The chronology of the layout and maps were a nice touch. Berry writes in such detail, that it sounds more like he's recounting his own memories than composing fiction. He's a really decent writer and is a great example of old-timey lit. "
— Jill, 2/20/2014 -
" Reading Wendell Berry's short stories makes you long for a way of life that has left us. Each story is like returning home after a long and weary journey. "
— Michal, 2/14/2014 -
" Unbelievable. Every single story of this book is breathtaking. Wendell Berry has a way of drawing you into his stories that makes you never want to come back - even if they're sad or uncomfortable. I love the setting - a small town filled with farmland and generations of families that are beautifully intertwined. "
— Meredith, 1/23/2014 -
" A very good collection of short stories... a real pleasure to read. This is also a collection of several of his other books... Fidelity, The Wild Birds, Ptolemy Proudfoot, etc. "
— James, 1/23/2014 -
" Okay, to all my friends who have been promoting Berry to me for years: I'm hooked. I don't think I'm quite as romantically wistful for country life or a bygone era before indoor plumbing and penicillin and Netflix as he (and sometimes they) seems to be. But the writing is truly beautiful. And many of the stories were lots of fun. "
— Nickg, 1/19/2014 -
" Story telling Berry at his best! "
— Albert, 1/13/2014 -
" Talk about rolling on the floor! I love Ptolemy Proudfoot and all of his antics! "
— Janet, 1/12/2014 -
" Incredible cycle of short stories! Since I moved to KY, Wendell Berry has become one of my favorite authors...more later. "
— Mr., 1/5/2014 -
" Not for the lover of high-speed car chases -- but who other than Wendell Berry can tell a story about a man shooting his best friend to death, and end believably with the killer's daughter as a permanently joyous woman? "
— Stephanie, 12/8/2013 -
" Love Wendell Berry! These stories are my favorite of his fiction work. "
— Debra, 12/3/2013 -
" I loved these short stories. Wendell Berry's writing is like poetry in places. He expresses his ideas so beautifully. The people he creates seem so real. I liked the glimpses into a time and place I know nothing about. "
— Susan, 10/16/2013 -
" so much like the old stories and history I have experienced - slow to grow on me but by the end I was glad I'd read it. Endearing people and stories - really hit home the aspect of land and ownership or stewardship caring and tending to the community. "
— Suevw, 8/12/2013 -
" Read most of the short stories - will have to return to them this summer. Fills out some of the Port William community. "
— Lori, 8/10/2013 -
" The short story "Fidelity" may be one of the finest pieces of modern fiction literature ever penned. "
— Caleb, 6/29/2013 -
" Everything good- great characters you get to follow over time, grounded landscape that is a protagonist on its own, passionate philosophy. Can't really argue with WB. "
— Christina, 6/13/2013 -
" One of the finest books I have ever read. By the end, the characters all felt like family. "
— Tim, 1/10/2013 -
" I have already read this book but will read it for the rest of my life. "
— Eric, 12/31/2012 -
" practically anything by mr. berry is good reading. "
— Steve, 8/7/2012 -
" I'm reading this at the same time as East of Eden and am finding many parallels. Berry, however, has a much more loving view of human nature and a more natural, comfortable writing style. "
— Nancy, 7/3/2012 -
" I think to really get to know the heart of Wendell Berry, one should read his fiction and not simply his essays. "
— Sarah, 10/1/2011 -
" This is a very slow moving book, but very beautiful. It's an elegy to a lost time. "
— Kathleen, 8/20/2011 -
" One of the best fiction works that I have read, and certainly the best one I have read in the last couple of years. It is real, poetic, subtle, charming, and it drew deep into my heart. "
— Stephen4nderson, 8/20/2011 -
" Reading Wendell Berry's short stories makes you long for a way of life that has left us. Each story is like returning home after a long and weary journey. "
— Michal, 5/18/2011 -
" Well crafted, exquisite language from a master. The stories present a progressive picture of Port William, Kentucky from 1888 to 1986. I found the tone quite similar for each story, which took away any distinctive individual features. Interesting portrait. Very dense. "
— Kae, 4/14/2011 -
" "Much better to talk about than to read"-Leigh Ann Nally<br/><br/>But interesting to think about time and place...I wish I knew who lived in this apartment for the last years...maybe i could find out and write about them... "
— Hansell, 1/13/2011 -
" I think to really get to know the heart of Wendell Berry, one should read his fiction and not simply his essays. "
— Sarah, 1/9/2011 -
" This is a very slow moving book, but very beautiful. It's an elegy to a lost time. "
— Kathleen, 12/1/2010 -
" The short story "Fidelity" may be one of the finest pieces of modern fiction literature ever penned. "
— Caleb, 11/10/2010 -
" Everything good- great characters you get to follow over time, grounded landscape that is a protagonist on its own, passionate philosophy. Can't really argue with WB. "
— Christina, 8/29/2010 -
" A very good collection of short stories... a real pleasure to read. This is also a collection of several of his other books... Fidelity, The Wild Birds, Ptolemy Proudfoot, etc. "
— James, 5/19/2010 -
" practically anything by mr. berry is good reading. "
— Steve, 1/7/2010 -
" so much like the old stories and history I have experienced - slow to grow on me but by the end I was glad I'd read it. Endearing people and stories - really hit home the aspect of land and ownership or stewardship caring and tending to the community. "
— Suevw, 9/25/2009
About Wendell Berry
Wendell Berry was born in Henry County, Kentucky, in 1934, and lives and farms with his wife, Tanya Berry, close to the place of his birth. A poet, critic, storyteller, and activist, he has written more than fifty books. He is the recipient of The National Humanities Medal, awarded by President Barack Obama, and was named The Jefferson Lecturer for 2012. He is a winner of the Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award, and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
About Michael Kramer
Michael Kramer is an AudioFile Earphones Award winner, a finalist for the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration, and recipient of a Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award. He is also an actor and director in the Washington, DC, area, where he is active in the area’s theater scene and has appeared in productions at the Shakespeare Theatre, the Kennedy Center, and Theater J.