Before We Died

Rivers, Book 1

By: Joan Schweighardt

Narrated by: Lucio Leone

Two young men battle corruption, the forces of nature, and their own weaknesses (including the issue of their love for the same woman) in the deepest part of the Brazilian jungle: In 1908 two Irish American brothers leave their jobs on the docks of Hoboken, NJ, to make their fortune tapping rubber trees in the South American rain forest. They expect to encounter floods, snakes, malaria, extreme hunger, and unfriendly competitors, but nothing prepares them for the psychological hurdles that will befall them.

Before We Died, the first in the three-book Rivers series, is a literary adventure novel set against the background of the South American rubber boom, a fascinating but little known historical moment.

©2018 Joan Schweighardt (P)2019 Joan Schweighardt

Artful storytelling for a fascinating time

I honestly had never really considered the rubber boom in South America before, so listening to this audiobook was enlightening and incredibly fascinating. The story focuses on two brothers (though is told through the eyes of one in particular) and their adventures and journey to the Amazon and what they find there. The story is a good mix of present and past, and I found myself quite captivated throughout.

The narrator really made the characters come alive. The range of accents, tones, and cadences all helped the characters come alive and convey the emotions they were feeling. The pace of story telling was also spot on, and I never felt that the narration was too slow or too fast and kept me quite engaged.

Overall, Joan Schweighardt has written a great novel and Lucio Leone did a fantastic job of making the story come to life. I can't wait for the next book/narration.