The Power of the Dog Audiobook By Thomas Savage, Annie Proulx - afterword cover art

The Power of the Dog

A Novel

Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

The Power of the Dog

By: Thomas Savage, Annie Proulx - afterword
Narrated by: Chad Michael Collins, Annie Proulx
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $19.49

Buy for $19.49

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

Now an Academy Award-winning Netflix film by Jane Campion, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Kirsten Dunst: Thomas Savage's acclaimed Western is "a pitch-perfect evocation of time and place" (Boston Globe) for fans of East of Eden and Brokeback Mountain.

Set in the wide-open spaces of the American West, The Power of the Dog is a stunning story of domestic tyranny, brutal masculinity, and thrilling defiance from one of the most powerful and distinctive voices in American literature. The novel tells the story of two brothers—one magnetic but cruel, the other gentle and quiet—and of the mother and son whose arrival on the brothers’ ranch shatters an already tenuous peace. From the novel’s startling first paragraph to its very last word, Thomas Savage’s voice—and the intense passion of his characters—holds listeners in thrall.

"Gripping and powerful...A work of literary art." —Annie Proulx, from her afterword

©2009 Thomas Savage (P)2021 Little, Brown & Company
Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Literature & Fiction Small Town & Rural Westerns Emotionally Gripping Heartfelt Thought-Provoking
adbl_web_global_use_to_activate_webcro805_stickypopup

Featured Article: Celebrate Award Season 2022 with Page-to-Screen Nominees and Listening Recs Based on Your Frontrunners


And now, it's time to honor and celebrate the achievements of the artists who brought these treasures to the big screen. No matter who you're rooting for when the ceremony begins, these listens are all worthy of a golden statuette in our books. Here are the audiobooks that directly inspired the nominees and a few others to check out based on your own personal frontrunners.

Beautiful Writing • Complex Characters • Powerful Storytelling • Emotional Depth • Rich Masculine Voice
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
A very well written story that will transport you to life lived on a ranch. Though I enjoyed the movie the book is so much more and will fill in a lot gaps that time constraints would not allow on film. The reader, which can make or break an audiobook, is excellent.

Worth you time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Powerful and engaging presentation of a story of the West. An important read. Worth the effort.

Wow

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Inspired by the beautifully crafted movie by Jane Campion, I found this book to be even more wondrous.Annie Proulx’s marvelous afterword completes the picture.

Not to be missed

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Tight, taut, and beautiful. For those of you who watched the movie on Netflix there is a lot more to explore here. It was interesting to see through the eyes of many of the characters and explore areas that were not visited in the film. I hate to say it but the casting of the movie was so well done that I couldn’t not see the actor who played Peter when I read the book. Definitely a beautifully written story with a subtle and semi-complex method for explaining how Peter plots his revenge on Phil. Worth reading even if you saw the film. The writing alone is fulfilling.

If you watched the film…(SPOILERS)

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I loved everything about this novel. A western with a twist. A slow burn with so much tension. Many connections and lots of clues and symbolism. Highly recommend. The movie with Benedict Cumberbatch is also fabulous. I'm glad I experienced both.

The Best I've read in such a long time

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I'm not as perceptive as Phil nor as slow and deliberate as George. It was a book of impressions and feelings that cried out for interpretation and recognition. it was both brutal and sensitive at the same time contrasting sensitivity with practical hardcore reality. enlightening and discussing but captivating . make sure to listen to jAnnie Prouix afterward to better understand the significance of the story!

sniper dogs of war invade the open range

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Wonderful evocation of the natural world and the human community, woven around a tense drama and complex characters. I didn't predict the denouement! Extremely well read.

Gripping psychological drama

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

This book is a work of poetry that embodies each level of human experience, Express with the intricacies and elegance of the English language. It is a majestic work of art and outstanding literature.o

Drama and tenderness all the way

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

An intense read with many intertwining complex characters. A book I will read again to reveal the hidden details that I missed the first time.

Complex Characters

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

What a powerful character study! Even before I listened to Annie Proulx's afterword, I knew I had just listened to one of the finest novels of The West ever written. The unraveling of this story, understated and subtle, stirs a full range of emotions in the reader-- love, caring, angst, anger, fear, and incredible tension. What a rare gem this book is. Thanks, Audible, for offering this masterfully-written piece of literature as a Daily Deal. This book should be required reading in high school English classes.

Best Daily Deal Ever

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews