Norwood

By: Charles Portis

Narrated by: David Aaron Baker

An American literary treasure, Charles Portis penned the Western classic True Grit. Set in the 1960s, Norwood is a picaresque romp taking audiences on a journey from Texas to New York and back again. An ex-marine, troubadour Norwood Pratt is on a mission to recover money he once loaned to a buddy in the service. Along the way, he gets into all manner of trouble involving stolen cars, beautiful women, and a chicken with a college education.

©1966 Charles Portis (P)2013 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

• 10 Best Audiobooks of 2013 (Salon)

"….Baker seems to have marinated in Portis’ sensibility, a voice and view of the world that could be likened to a lighter version of Flannery O'Connor. If what you like best about the FX series 'Justified' is the repartee and the humor, then come on down. For me, this recording triggered a Portis binge, so I can also recommend the recording of 'True Grit' narrated by none other than Donna Tartt, also a fan." (Laura Miller, Salon)

"[A] glimpse of how a 20th century Mark Twain might write.” ( Entertainment Tonight)

“…David Aaron Baker does a commendable job bringing the characters to life.” ( AudioFile)

Great narration

Narrator did a great job. Glad it was a short book. That’s all I can say.

Enjoyable listen

Great old fashion story telling. To me the sign of a good author is being able to put you in the story and making it come alive. I felt I was there with each character. They all just came alive. Especially in New York, with just a few words I could feel, smell and experience the city as he did. What a fun journey. This is a story I could listen to again.

Liked it much more than I thought I would

It's certainly an odd story. A nice, but sort of bungling fellow goes chasing after $70 that an old buddy from the Marines owes him. We follow his adventures as he traverses much of the country in pursuit. He meets some interesting characters and gets into some pretty curious predicaments.

Turned out to be a fun trip – for the listener, anyway. Not sure if it was fun for our hero, Norwood.

I think it was the chicken with the college education that drew me into this one, and I'm glad I went along for the ride!

A great American road trip

This book evokes memories I never made. But if Id lived in Ralph decades ago, I hope I would have had the kind of character Norwood displayed. Sometimes being plain spoken makes life feel more true. Enjoy this summer adventure!

Perfect

This slim volume is a crisply crafted story. Each scene, each sentence falls perfectly in place.