An audio original novella from the bestselling author of Ordinary Grace and This Tender Land, The Levee is a powerful, captivating story of a family, a storm, a complicated rescue, and the true cost of survival. "A masterwork...Full of heart and a spellbinding plot, Krueger packs a powerful punch in this audio novella, delivering grand scale storytelling at its finest." --Kim Michele Richardson, New York Times bestselling author of The Book Woman's Daughter
It's 1927, and the most devastating flood in American history has swelled the Mississippi River to a width of eighty miles. In an attempt to save a family trapped by the rising water, four men in a tiny rowboat battle the treacherous flow: three are convicts, on loan from the local prison and pressed into service; the fourth, the leader of the team, is driven by his own hidden motives. But to their surprise upon arrival at Ballymore, an ancestral home protected by a high, circular levee, not everyone in the family feels the need to be saved. Pride, greed, loyalty, and even love create their own complex currents behind the massive wall. As the threat from the flood increases and time ticks away, the crew and the family must decide on a course of action, and a desperate plan is hatched to save the weakening levee and all it was built to protect.
The Levee is a propulsive, heartfelt tale of courage, cowardice, and sacrifice in a historic moment when the indomitable human spirit is pitted against the awesome and destructive power of nature.
"Will the levee hold? Or will greed, pride, and hubris engulf the characters of The Levee like the historic flood waters of the Mississippi River threatening the inhabitants of Ballymore? William Kent Krueger's masterful tale of suspense about courage, family, secrets, and the power of nature is a must-listen!" --Marie Benedict, New York Times bestselling author of The Only Woman in the Room and The Personal Librarian
This audiobook includes an author's note read by the author, a reading group guide (available as a PDF), and a preview of William Kent Krueger's next novel, The River We Remember.
About the Author :
William Kent Krueger is the New York Times bestselling author of The River We Remember, This Tender Land, Ordinary Grace (winner of the Edgar Award for best novel), and the original audio novella The Levee, as well as twenty acclaimed books in the Cork O'Connor mystery series, including Spirit Crossing, Fox Creek, and Lightning Strike. He lives in the Twin Cities with his family. Learn more at WilliamKentKrueger.com.
Review :
"Years ago, while still in his 20s, William Kent Krueger read William Faulkner's novella "Old Man" and was captivated by the tale of a convict sent out in a small boat to rescue a pregnant woman during a flood. Inspired, he wrote his own story, which he called "The Levee." It wasn't quite right, and he put it away.
In his mid-40s, he pulled out the story and reworked it, but put it away again; it still wasn't right.
And then during the COVID-19 lockdown -- a time that Krueger calls the most productive of his life -- he took it out one more time. "Rather than merely rework it, I completely rethought the story," he said in a coda to "The Levee," just released by Simon & Schuster as an audiobook original.
The story is set in 1927, during a flood of "Biblical proportions." The Mississippi River south of Memphis swelled to 80 miles across, and hundreds of people were trapped or died. Three inmates are released from prison to help with rescues, and they set out with a fourth man who supervises them. They end up at Ballymore, a stately house protected by a levee that may or may not be in danger of giving way and inhabited by a family torn about leaving.
The gripping tale is narrated by J.D. Jackson; in his slow drawl, the story dramatically builds like flood waters rising."
--Laurie Hertzel "Star Tribune"
