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The Son

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About this listen

 THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
NOW A MAJOR TV SERIES starring Pierce Brosnan and co-written by Philipp Meyer

The critically acclaimed, New York Times-bestselling epic, a saga of land, blood and power, follows the rise of one unforgettable Texas family from the Comanche raids of the 1800s to the oil booms of the 20th century.

Eli McCullough is just twelve years old when a marauding band of Comanche storm his Texas homestead, brutally murder his mother and sister and take him captive. Despite their torture and cruelty, Eli - against all odds - adapts to life with the Comanche, learning their ways and language, taking on a new name, finding a place as the adopted son of the band's chief and fighting their wars against not only other Indians but white men too, which complicates his sense of loyalty, his promised vengeance and his very understanding of self. But when disease, starvation and westward expansion finally decimate the Comanche, Eli is left alone in a world in which he belongs nowhere, neither white nor Indian, civilized nor fully wild.

Deftly interweaving Eli’s story with those of his son Peter and his great-granddaughter JA, The Son maps the legacy of Eli’s ruthlessness, his drive to power and his lifelong status as an outsider, even as the McCullough family rises to become one of the richest in Texas, a ranching and oil dynasty that is as resilient and dangerous as the land they claim. Yet, like all empires, the McCulloughs must eventually face the consequences of their choices.

Panoramic, deeply evocative and utterly transporting, The Son is a masterpiece American novel - part epic of Texas, part classic coming-of-age story - that combines the narrative prowess of Larry McMurtry with the knife-edge sharpness of Cormac McCarthy.

'Stunning ... a book that for once really does deserve to be called a masterpiece' Kate Atkinson

'Magnificent ... McCarthy's Border Trilogy is a point of reference, as is There Will Be Blood, but it is not fanciful to be reminded of certain passages from Moby-Dick - it's that good'The Times

'Brilliant ... a wonderful novel' Lionel Shriver
©2013 Philipp Meyer (P)2013 Simon & Schuster Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Wild West Old West

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All stars
Most relevant
This is my favourite listen of the year so far.

We are introduced to the McCullough family and a narrator covers each generation with each chapter. I particularly enjoyed Will Patton's reading of Eli, the ten year old kidnapped by Commanche Indians. The thing I noticed was that we are always told how terribly the Native American Indians were treated, and this is pointed out here; but we are also shown how the Indians retaliated and this was pretty graphic and brutal.

The story veers close to Dallas territory when oil is introduced, but luckily doesn't morph into soap opera theatrics. Give it a go and travel from 1840 to present day, you'll love it!

Generational Differences

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Would you consider the audio edition of The Son to be better than the print version?

not read the book as i listened to it as i commute everyday.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Eli...

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

All good...believable and engaging.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, quite easily

Any additional comments?

A great book, spilt over three generations...a story of how lawless Texas became the oil capitol of the world...cowboys and Indians...love and loss...adventure and heartache.

Great book

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This was a fantastic 'historical' novel set over three generations in the emerging state of Texas. Often bloody, the characters were greedy, murderous and remorseless. I was completely engrossed by the story and the historical detail and information.
Narrated by three different actors for each of the three main characters it worked especially well as an audio book.
Completely addictive listening.

Epic!

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A generational tale of a dynasty that was created through the savage clashes at the frontier of the native American tribes, Mexican settlers and the American western expansion. Refreshing in that no party is judged as being worse than any other, but that all were willing to do whatever it took to achieve their goals.

Engrossing from beginning to the end.

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Went into this book not knowing what to expect and wow was I left impressed. This book is now my favourite of all time, highly with the read. 100% would recommend.

Absolute masterpiece

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