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The Turquoise Ledge: A Memoir Audiobook
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(2.98) - 178 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Leslie Marmon Silko established herself as "the finest prose writer of her generation" (Larry McMurtry) with her debut novel Ceremony, one of the most acclaimed works of the 20th century. Of mixed Laguna Pueblo, Cherokee, Mexican, and white heritage, Silko brings a unique perspective to her powerful works. In this deeply personal and spiritual book, she combines memoirs, traditional storytelling, and ruminations on the natural world. ".this richly veined, dramatic, and mysterious self-portrait [is] a provocative and numinous memoir."-Booklist, starred review
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"I've been a Leslie Marmon Silko fan for years, having first read Storyteller in college. This is a memoir, but totally unlike traditional memoirs: a good thing (I don't typically read memoirs, although I am a biography fan). Silko has lived outside of Tucson for over thirty years, and the biography recounts her experiences. She begins walking regularly, as both physical and mental exercise, collecting turquoise pieces she finds along the arroyo she walks along, believing them to be part of an ancient ledge. I loved learning about her family of mastiffs (I think 8!) her pit bull, her love for her macaws, her respect for the rattlesnakes and other creatures she shares her home with (refusing, unlike most humans, to uproot and displace them). Excellent, as always, work from Silko."
— Venessa (5 out of 5 stars)
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“A much-needed treatise on renewing our relationship with the natural world.”
— Kirkus Reviews -
“Novelist, essayist, and poet Silko finds in her deeply meditative memoir-cum-journal an exquisite harmony between the native ways of her ancestors and the cycle of nature that unfolds in the high desert of Arizona where she has lived for 30 years.”
— Publishers Weekly
Awards
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Selected for the December 2010 Indie Next List
The Turquoise Ledge Listener Reviews
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" Finally gave up on this one. Although some of the stories were interesting, it just didn't hold my attention. "
— Susan, 2/15/2014 -
" I can't force myself to read any more of this. I've read the first 31 chapters... 174 pages out of 311. I keep thinking it will get better, but it won't. It's not like I have to read it. This book just rambles on about one woman's personal journal of how she walks around the arroyo's in Tucson and picks up turquoise, and how she has all her favorite rattle snakes in her yard, etc. etc. I can't believe it got so many good reviews. Oh well, I must learn to cut my losses sooner with this type of book and just move on. "
— Courtney, 2/14/2014 -
" Another disappointment (see Wendell Berry review) - Perhaps I should try one of her novels. "
— Carol, 2/11/2014 -
" Clouds, Rattlesnakes (she loves and respects them), Star Beings, her beloved Macaws, the turquoise she picks up on her walks through the arroyos near her home outside Tucson: these are the main characters of Silko's fascinating, strange memoir. Sometimes rambling and a bit repetitious, it's not as perfectly realized as Ceremony or as prophetically powerful as Almanac of the Dead, but definitely worth reading. "
— Craig, 2/8/2014 -
" So here in northern Arizona where I live, we are being overwhelmed with honeybees taking over our hummingbird feeders. It's been a real dilemma as no one really wants them around. But this author begins one of her chapters with "This is a great day...the bees are back!" This is what I enjoyed most about her book. How she relates to the natural world and that every critter, insect, and rattlesnake has a place in life and live freely around and sometimes inside her house. I found her writing a bit dry but I still was drawn into her day to day journal where she writes about her walks through the desert and finding her collection of rocks, especially turquoise. It has changed my attitude about the bees. I now feel good about "feeding them." But I also purchased a hummer feeder today that is guaranteed to be bee proof. So everyone is happy! "
— Elly, 1/29/2014 -
" Unedited journal not always of interest to others, even though who appreciate one's other literary offerings "
— Dorinda, 1/13/2014 -
" I loved her descriptions of her walks, but...so much of this reminded me of a kid trying to pad out a term paper. I felt embarrassed for her, reading it, which not how I want to feel about Leslie Marmon Silko. "
— Beckydham, 12/30/2013 -
" Leslie writes about what it was like growing up in Laguna, and chronicles her daily life in the desert of Tucson. "
— Nana', 12/29/2013 -
" I was disappointed only because I was hoping for a more traditional narrative. I do appreciate that Silko doesn't mince words though which leads to a more straightforward reading experience (even if the story line isn't so straightforward.) "
— Betsy, 12/2/2013 -
" Award-winning Native American author writes about daily life in which ancestral stories and Southwestern landscape help shape her days. Very interesting and poetic. "
— Champaign, 9/14/2013 -
" A bizarre and unique memoir. Silko doesn't spend time talking about her family or lovers, instead acquainting us with the lizards and snakes and coyotes on her land in Tucson. Somewhat repetitive but I grew to like that about it; felt like I was accompanying her on the walks. "
— Randa, 6/30/2012 -
" A good book by a great writer, well-written but some of her obsessions are strange. "
— Mariana, 12/7/2011 -
" Disappointing. Had to stop reading it. "
— Marlies, 9/7/2011 -
" A good book by a great writer, well-written but some of her obsessions are strange. "
— Mariana, 6/3/2011 -
" Disappointing. Had to stop reading it. "
— Marlies, 5/10/2011 -
" Oh dear God, save me from this dreadfully boring tale of rattlesnakes and rocks masquerading as a "memoir". My girlfriend had to read this book for a class. It was so dismal that we attacked it as a team in an attempt to make the book more bearable. <br/><br/>It didn't work. "
— Danielle, 5/9/2011 -
" Finally gave up on this one. Although some of the stories were interesting, it just didn't hold my attention. "
— Susan, 5/6/2011 -
" Leslie writes about what it was like growing up in Laguna, and chronicles her daily life in the desert of Tucson. "
— Nana', 2/25/2011
About Leslie Marmon Silko
Leslie Marmon Silko has said that her writing has at its core “the attempt to identify what it is to be a half-breed or mixed-blood person.” As she grew up on the Laguna Pueblo Reservation, she learned the stories and culture of the Laguna people from her great-grandmother and other female relatives. After receiving her BA in English at the University of New Mexico, she enrolled in the University of New Mexico School of Law but completed only three semesters before deciding that writing and storytelling were the means by which she could best promote justice. She lives in Tucson, Arizona.
About Alma Cuervo
Alma Cuervo is an Earphones Award–winning narrator and a stage actress and singer who has also performed in film and television. She holds an MFA in acting from the Yale School of Drama, from which she graduated in 1976 alongside Meryl Streep. She starred in the role of Madame Morrible in the first national tour of Wicked.