The Purple Land 1927

By: W.H.Hudson

Narrated by: Larry Hughson

First published in 1885, The Purple Land is a novel by Argentinian naturalist and author William Henry Hudson. It tells the story of a young Englishman called Richard Lamb who elopes with a teenage Argentinian girl to Uruguay. Once there, Lamb sets off to find work, but instead finds himself at the center of an epic adventure.

This exciting and beautifully written pause-resister is not to be missed by fans and collectors of Hudson's wonderful work, and it would make for a worthy addition to any collection.

AWilliam Henry Hudson (1841-1922) was an Argentinian naturalist, author, and ornithologist. He was one of the founding members of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and is best known for his novel Green Mansions (1904). Other notable works include A Crystal Age (1887) and Far Away and Long Ago (1918), which has since been adapted into a film.

Many vintage books, such as this, are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality audio edition, complete with a specially commissioned new biography of the author.

Public Domain (P)2020 Paul Bailey

Adventure, slice of life, colonization

Plot: a British guy (Richard, 24-29 y.o.) marries a girl ("child wife", violet eyes, well educated, underage) from Buenos Aires (Argentina) named Pequita. Her family did not consent. They fled to Montevideo (Uruguay) - and she eventually remembered she had an aunt in town.

He tried to find employment, but the area was just over a revolution and starting another revolution, and therefore devastated. Then, Pequita's aunt provided a letter of recommendation asking for a friend to find employment for her 'nephew'. He headed out with one horse for a 200-mile journey, that ultimately took several months.

As indicated in an early chapter: for the next three years after this story concludes, he was emprisoned and separated from her - ostensibly until she was of age. I'm guessing they were reunited from there.

And in the meanwhile, our narrator also develops obsessions with Margarita (14), Monica, Candelaria, Delores, Demetria, Cleta (14)...

Feat. white privilege and white guilt at the same damn time.

Notes: Banda Orientale = this specific area in Uruguay.

Definitely good bits in this (12 hour audio!) book. Travelogue! Cultural exchange! War rebel conscription! Horse theft! Campfire ghost/big fish stories!

Other reviewers' reference to the uncredited readers and variable sound quality of this edition are well-made. I updated my notes as I listened:

Chapters 1-2 - #1 uncredited reader, femme. Clear, clipped diction; sounds like she's vocally projecting a bit. Good, but distant sound quality.

Chapters 3-6, 8, 10, 12-14, 17-19, 21-29 - Chapter title reader appears to be unique - maybe the credited masc reader, with breathy, almost hesitant intonation, American-? Chapter number and text itself: #2 uncredited reader, masc. Good sound quality. more steady/forceful reading, more accents/character voices. Australian-?)

Chapter 7- #3 uncredited reader, masc. Clear intonation and British accent, more confident delivery. Poor sound quality with intermittent clicks.

Chapter 9 - #4 uncredited reader, masc. Steady American accent, more confident delivery.

Chapter 11 - #5 uncredited reader, femme. American accent, good sound quality, good emote work.

Chapter 15-16 - #6 uncredited reader, masc. Asian accent -? good sound quality.

Chapter 20 - #7 uncredited reader, masc. American accent, good sound quality, reads a little too fast.

Female voice to male character

The audio sample is a warm soothing male voice, the actúa book is read by an edgy female. Extremely disappointing to say the least. I am sure the story is good but
I cannot get passed this wretched voice.

Not recommend

I seldom leave reviews, but this is BAD. The preview/sample is the voice of a man. Then the book starts with a woman for a few chapters, then a man for a few others (I think the same one as the preview) during which it skips from time to time. Then a totally different man with background noises and random clicks, then back to the other man around chapter 8 or 9. Im not exaggerating.

The sad part is that it’s such a good book!!! The inconsistent reading make it impossible to enjoy. Truly, Audible, you should not be putting forth this product.