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  • The Last Days of Dogtown

  • A Novel
  • By: Anita Diamant
  • Narrated by: Kate Nelligan
  • Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (15 ratings)
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The Last Days of Dogtown cover art

The Last Days of Dogtown

By: Anita Diamant
Narrated by: Kate Nelligan
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Summary

Set on Cape Ann in the early 1800s, The Last Days of Dogtown is peopled by widows, orphans, spinsters, scoundrels, whores, free Africans, and "witches". Nearly a decade ago, Diamant found an account of an abandoned rural backwater near the Massachusetts coastline at the turn of the nineteenth century. That pamphlet inspired a stunning novel about a small group of eccentrics and misfits, struggling in a harsh, isolated landscape only fifty miles north of Boston, yet a world away.

Among the inhabitants of Dogtown are Black Ruth, an African woman who dresses as a man and works as a stone mason; Mrs. Stanley, an imperious madam whose grandson, Sammy, comes of age in her rural brothel; Oliver Younger, who survives a miserable childhood at the hands of a very strange aunt; and Cornelius Finson, a freed slave whose race denies him everything. At the center of it all is Judy Rhines, a fiercely independent soul, deeply lonely, who nonetheless builds a life for herself and inspires those around her to become more generous and tolerant themselves.

©2005 Anita Diamant (P)2005 Simon & Schuster Inc. All rights reserved. AUDIOWORKS is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division.

Critic reviews

"Poignant, beautifully written. Diamant's fans won't be surprised to see that she continues to excel at creating memorable characters." ( Boston Magazine)

What listeners say about The Last Days of Dogtown

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Compelling listening

Couldn't switch this one off, the characters were so well described within the narrative and conversation of the other characters.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent, raw yet hopeful

Powerful, sad, joyful, real and somehow hopeful.
Very good story read by an excellent performer who kept the right tones of the tale. I seldom cry at reading a book but this moved me so much. Thank you.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Captivating

Felt like I was there alongside everyone..wonderful story and narration was simply lovely x

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

not gripping enough to finish listening

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

couldn't finish it as too boring

Would you ever listen to anything by Anita Diamant again?

I have read Anita Diamant before and enjoyed very disappointed this time.

Have you listened to any of Kate Nelligan’s other performances? How does this one compare?

well read

Could you see The Last Days of Dogtown being made into a movie or a TV series? Who would the stars be?

pass

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