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Title details for Life is Short but Wide by J. California Cooper - Available

Life is Short but Wide

by J. California Cooper
Adenrele Ojo
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
Beloved writer J. California Cooper has won a legion of loyal fans and much critical acclaim for her powerful storytelling gifts. In language both spare and direct yet wondrously lyrical, LIFE IS SHORT BUT WIDE is an irresistible story of family that proves no matter who you are or what you do, you are never too old to chase your dreams.
Like the small towns J. California Cooper has so vividly portrayed in her previous novels and story collections, Wideland, Oklahoma, is home to ordinary Americans struggling to raise families, eke out a living, and fulfill their dreams. In the early twentieth century, Irene and Val fall in love in Wideland. While carving out a home for themselves, they also allow neighbors Bertha and Joseph to build a house and live on their land. The next generation brings two girls for Irene and Val, and a daughter for Bertha and Joseph. As the families cope with the hardships that come with changing times and fortunes, and people are born and pass away, the characters learn the importance of living one’s life boldly and squeezing out every possible moment of joy.
Cooper brilliantly captures the cadences of the South and draws a picture of American life at once down-to-earth and heartwarming in this-as her wise narrator will tell you-“strange, sad, kind’a beautiful, life story.” It is a story about love that leads to the ultimate realization that whoever you are, and whatever you do, life is short, but it is also wide.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    May 5, 2009

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781415964415
      • File size: 255267 KB
      • Duration: 08:51:48

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      For the generations that pass through this novel, life seems short indeed, and peppered with as much hardship as happiness. In Wideman, Oklahoma, people come and go, love and lose, succeed and fail, with predictable regularity. Adenrele Ojo's performance shines brightest when she engages in dialogue between any of the myriad characters herein, creating a zest and personality that might otherwise go unnoticed. The listener can't help but get pulled into the story of the families whose paths cross in a small town, and Ojo's methodical narration is reasonable and easy to follow--but the audiobook is more diverting than it is dazzling. For the most part, the characters and setting remain flat, leaving the focus on life's brevity rather than its breadth. L.B.F. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      December 8, 2008
      With another multigenerational, wonderfully crafted Midwest ensemble cast, Cooper (Wild Stars Seeking Midnight Suns
      ) presents the town of Wideland, Okla., through the eyes of folksy nonagenarian Hattie B. Brown. This community sentinel, though sometimes short on memory, acts as tour guide and historian, introducing the town at the beginning of the 20th century, when the railroad first arrived and, with it, a growing population. Among the new residents, Hattie introduces the industrious, loving African-American cowboy Val Strong and his Cherokee “brother-friend” Wings; Val's hardened but beautiful wife, Irene Lowell; and their two strong-willed daughters, Rose and Tante. Following the Strong family and their associates through the better part of the 1900s, Hattie finds history running roughshod through their lives, crushing some and strengthening others, introducing new generations and obstacles to love, home and happiness. Cooper's characteristic motherly wit carries an appealing raft of characters through a world tougher than it is tender, but touched with beauty and wisdom.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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