Mule Boy

De: Andrew Krivak

Narrado por: Charles Linshaw

An elegiac novel of men lost in a coal mining disaster and the boy who survives to tell the story

On New Year’s Day, 1929, Ondro Prach, the thirteen-year-old son of Slovak immigrants in Pennsylvania coal country, begins a new job as mule boy. He knows the danger—his father died in the mines—but he is proud of his position handling the animal that hauls cartloads of coal from shafts deep within the earth to the surface. After Ondro earns the trust of the miners and the mule in his charge, the room the men are working collapses and their fate is sealed.

From that moment onward, Ondro carries the hard memory of that day, a burden that leads to addiction and imprisonment, costing him his family. But, years later, when the miners’ loved ones come searching for answers, he finds the strength to share what the men spoke of and prayed for in the pitch black.

Told in incantatory prose set to the rhythm of human breath, this sublime novel turns the memento mori into a meditation not only on death but on what it takes to tunnel through darkness and live.

©2026 Andrew Krivak (P)2026 Blackstone Publishing

Outstanding story

Outstanding story and performance. We slowly learn what happened down in the mine and how Ondro's and Magda's life were affected. One of a kind story and beautifully done.

Absolutely perfect match of narrator with content. Both excellent

Exquisite and moving novel. Expertly narrated May be better listened to than read Reminiscent of Stoner but more uplifting

Beautifully written …luv it!

Mule Boy is a wonderfully crafted novel that stays with you long after thinking about all the dirty, dangerous jobs that you have never had to do. The story of Ondro Prach, a 13-year-old sole survivor of a 1929 Pennsylvania coal mine collapse, unfolds with the rhythmic pull of a 70-year-old oral storyteller. No periods, just breath and memory flowing forward. I found the style refreshing and not a distraction. Audible is uniquely suited for this book. The narrator nailed it and appreciated hearing how to pronounce the foreign-sounding names. It’s literary fiction (not commercial fiction), so don’t go in expecting a thriller, but the writing itself is the reward… Spare, cinematic, and quietly devastating. If you loved McCarthy or Hemingway, this one is for you!

Maybe it would have been better as a short story

The mining community setting brought me to this title. That was the only thing that kept me listening. The barely tolerable narration reminded me of the steady hum of a beehive.
The odd ending, although significantly surprising, was simply a gorey, more detailed telling of the central event.
Stream of consciousness writing can be good, but there seemed here to be a lot of repetitive streaming, and not enough consciousness.