
Cow Country
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Narrated by:
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Therese Plummer
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LJ Ganser
About this listen
When a down-on-his-luck educational administrator arrives at the makeshift bus shelter of Cow Eye Junction, he finds a drought-stricken town and its community college on the precipice of institutional ruin. Struggling to navigate this strange world of bloated calf scrota, orgiastic math instruction, and onrushing regional accreditors, Charlie must devise a plan to lead Cow Eye Community College through the perils of continuous improvement to the triumphant culmination of world history.
Idiosyncratic, wry, and ambitiously constructed, Cow Country is Adrian Jones Pearson's most American work yet, deftly blending the lunacies of contemporary academia with the tragic consequences of New World nation building. A must-listen for anyone who has ever worked at an institution of higher education or attempted to straddle partisan lines, this insightful novel offers a poetic requiem for the loss of our humanity - and our humanities.
©2014 Adrian Jones Pearson (P)2016 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Fast-Food Science Fiction
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The first half is spent on what feels like every second of Charlie's first few days in Cow Eye, while the second barrels through the next several weeks, and at some points the timeline becomes completely muddled due to either a poorly executed literary device or the protagonist's deteriorating mental state. I couldn't tell. I found myself frequently wishing he'd get to the point, but then ultimately there wouldn't really be one.
The characters bounce unsuccessfully between "almost weird enough to be true" and "completely absurd," and I had a hard time figuring out exactly WHEN it was supposed to be set at times. Mongoloid? Negroid? Seriously?? The way things like the administration trying to address racial issues were portrayed are flat out bad, which is disappointing since the division between the meat-eaters and vegetarians is proof the author is capable of apt bits of satire of life in the Midwest.
It did have some moments that made me laugh aloud over Charlie's ridiculousness, but the ending was abrupt and unsatisfying.
Hoped for More...
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The backwardness of educational administration
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What would have made Cow Country better?
The main character was flat. A more interactive characterization, rather than employing a foil, may have made the story more interesting.What was most disappointing about Adrian Jones Pearson’s story?
The plot was thin, based only on a series of caricatures of college stereotypes.What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?
The main character was voiced as a bit of an idiot. The other characters were well represented.An inside joke for academia
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Obviously, this community college is set in another Universe where the laws of biology, physics, and the US government do not apply.
Should Be Categorized as Fantasy
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Weird book
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I received the Audible version of this book in exchange for an honest review and I do think that the narration enhanced the book.
I know there are many out there who absolutely love this book but I thought it was just okay. I guess it just wasn’t my type of humor and it was too slow paced.
LONG book that didn’t need to be so long!
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What disappointed you about Cow Country?
You may read the reviews and think: 'these people are probably not creative enough', or 'some readers can be so over-critical', or somthing along the lines of 'I'm going to give this a try anyway...'. Don't do it!The performance/reading is FANTASTIC. A ton of other audiobooks would be SO MUCH BETTER with a narrative performance like this one. This is the ONLY reason I stuck it out and finished the book, and the only reason for a 2nd "overall" star.
The story is... well... "tedious" is the best word I can come up with, although "obnoxious", "pointless" and "exasperating" all come to mind as well. Every description takes too long. Every situation is over-explained, often repetitively. And every time you think the author is JUST ABOUT to reveal the whole point of the story... you are let down again. Honestly... just painful, and I pride myself on my patience.
What do you think your next listen will be?
Something less ponderous like War and Peace or more thoughtful like The Cat in the Hat.What character would you cut from Cow Country?
Its tempting to say something sarcastic here, but I'll just stand by what I've already said.Don't do it!
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Not for me
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Hilarious satire about academia - very dry humor
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What disappointed you about Cow Country?
I was soooooo bored. NOTHING happened and I listened for 10 hours! It was also just so dumb. It seemed like it had potential but it was so poorly realized. Really, don't waste your time or credits.First book I just couldn't make it through
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