
The Ploughmen
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Jim Meskimen
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By:
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Kim Zupan
About this listen
A young sheriff and a hardened killer form an uneasy and complicated bond in this mesmerizing first novel set on the plains of Montana.
Steeped in a lonesome Montana landscape as unyielding and rawas it is beautiful, Kim Zupan's ThePloughmen is a new classic in the literature of the American West.
At the center of this searing fever-dream of a novel are two men - a killer awaiting trial and a troubled young deputy - sitting across fromeach other in the dark, talking through the bars of a county jail cell: JohnGload, so brutally adept at his craft that only now, at the age of 77, has he faced the prospect of long-term incarceration; and Valentine Millimaki, low man in the Copper County sheriff's department, who draws the overnight shift after Gload's arrest. With a disintegrating marriage further collapsing under the strain of his night duty, Millimaki finds himself seeking counsel from a man whose troubled past shares something essential with his own. Their uneasy friendship takes a startling turn with a brazen act of violence that yokes together the two haunted souls by the secrets they share - and by the rugged country that keeps them.
©2014 Kim Zupan (P)2014 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Complicated book
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reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy
characters are real but not pretty
places are real
feelings are real
poetic
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Mr. Zupan's characters speak simply and directly, but the narrative is complex, indirect and uses English's natural ambiguity when it best suits his purposes. Some reviewers noted he uses some rarely-used works in the narration, and this is true. Despite having to consult a dictionary once (refulgent; shining brilliantly) I found his brazen exploitation of the language refreshing in a world of books intentionally written to a sub-high-school level.
Mr. Meskimen's reading is spot-on given the story. His steady, matter-of-fact rhythm is perfect to the mood and subject, and his sparing use of emotional intonation makes perfect sense in the context of this book. His character voices are great particularly for that of John Gload, all cigarette smoke and hard living.
Beautifully written, beautifully read
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The Ploughmen low key action and surprises
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Beautiful. desolate and engaging
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I knew a bunch folks from Great Falls Central High School-played football against them & wrestled against them back in the late 1960's and early 1970's. Bill Higgins, Mike Whalen, and I think Mr. Zupan might have been one of those guys-if so I am so happy to see him write such a great story!
Anyone who wishes to consume a slice of the mystery of the life on the high plains-please buy & read this book! The Audible version is absolutely EXCELLENT. Jim Meskimen's narration is genius!
I hope Mr. Zupan will share many more stories with us in the coming years!
Mr. Zupan is a MASTER storyteller!
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Jim Meskimen did a good job and was pleasant on the ears. This is the first book with his narration that I have listened to and I would certainly listen to more of his work.
So Very Confused
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The book kept me wanting to return and read/listen to it a little more. Did not find it tedious or boring.
Imaginative and perceptive
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Rather than boring, the descriptive passages brought me into the folds of isolated life in Nebraska.
Most of the story is focused in the minds of two very different men; and the way they think dictates the story. There were times, just a few, when Zupan was more wordy than necessary. But then, when we think there are no rules for commas or periods.
The Ploughmen is a haunting work of art. I’d like to thank the author and the narrator for their incredible creation.
One of the best!
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incredibly Vivid writing, the writing equivalent of a Renaissance masterpiece. I had no idea that I could feel sympathy like that for a cold-blooded killer.
buy it.
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