The Living

“Remarkable. . . . A deftly woven narrative saturated with violence, hardship, and triumph. Readers will be richly rewarded, for by the end of this deeply felt novel it is hard to let the frontier town and its people go.” — San Francisco Chronicle

This New York Times bestselling novel by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Dillard is a mesmerizing evocation of pioneer life navigated by European settlers and Lummi natives in the Pacific Northwest during the last decades of the 19th century.

The Living is a tale full of gold minors, friendly railroad speculators, doe-eyed sweethearts, shifty card players, and 19th century adventures that will stay with you long after you close the book.

Exceptional writing, average narration.

Dillard is exceptional as always. her writing is spectacular and this work specifically is a wonderful example of just how singular she is. I appreciate the choice to have the book narrated by a man. I feel a woman's voice would have been wrong for this story. With that said, there was nothing exceptional about this narrator. It was neither good nor bad.

abridged Dillard

abridged version of Annie Dillard's epic set in the Puget Sound of the 19th century. The original novel has the sweep and range of Tolstoy with the social comedy of George Eliott.

Abridged version

I must’ve missed the memo or the note this is an abridged version. I was disappointed to discover that! Hard to rate the story now that I realize I didn’t get the whole thing.

Unfortunate abridgment

Many of Dillard's psychological insights, stylistically evocative passages, and even needed character background are lost in this abridgment.