CATALOOCHEE

This epic story, which spans three generations from the time of the Civil War to 1928, encompasses three families of Cataloochee, in the remote North Carolina mountains. Both characters and setting create a weighty task for the narrator. Caldwell's tone is folksy and fast moving, detailed in both imagery and the voices of his memorable characters. Scott Sowers's narration lives up to the task. His vernacular tone holds fast throughout, and his character portrayals help listeners imagine a place where people are land wise and world ignorant, where they are born and die in a community that imagines it will go on forever--until the creation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park threatens it all. S.W. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2008]