Old Jules

By: Mari Sandoz

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki, Gabrielle de Cuir, Roxanne Hernandez

First published in 1935, Old Jules is unquestionably Mari Sandoz’s masterpiece. This portrait of her pioneer father grew out of “the silent hours of listening behind the stove or the wood box, when it was assumed, of course, that I was asleep in bed. So it was that I heard the accounts of the hunts,” Sandoz recalls. “Of the fights with the cattlemen and the sheepmen, of the tragic scarcity of women, when a man had to ‘marry anything that got off the train,’ of the droughts, the storms, the wind and isolation. But the most impressive stories were those told to me by Old Jules himself.”

©2005 Mari Sandoz (P)2022 Blackstone Publishing

I know the area well.

I was born in Knox county, and smile when I think my Grandfather may have known some of the same people.

I have a friend who still lives near Ellsworth who’s Grandma’s people were located by Jules.

I am moving into a new house with a 14 month baby. Listening to this made stripping old wallpaper less of a task for sure.

Wonderful narration of a great story

The narrator does a good job of portraying the characters personalities. I grew up in this area and Mari Sandoz brings all the sites, sounds, smells, and the people of the Sandhills back to life.

True History

Mari Sandoz brings alive a slice of the old west, clearly bringing out the human side of the story.

Old Jules cruelty told

The Voice of Mari did not predominate, it was there, but in the genius of her tolerance, carried like the constant breeze of Sandhills.

I can't believe I finished this crap.

This book was really bad. Here is a synopsis of the story:
Arrogant blowhard moves to America and things go poorly, so he decides to move west into one of the least habitable states in the country. His hometown girl refuses to move out to his new life*, and he vasilates between loving and hating her for the rest of his life. He proceeds to lure one woman after the next into his wilderness with elaborate lies, and corners them into marrying him, one after the next. He is a bully to each of them, and to any and everyone he knows. He dies as an old miserable cuss, just the way he lived. The end.
Now, I just saved you hours of your life that you would have otherwise wasted on this book. You're welcome.

*She really dodged a bullet there - figuratively AND literally.