The Big Rock Candy Mountain

By: Wallace Stegner

Narrated by: Mark Bramhall

Bo Mason, his wife, and his two boys live a transient life of poverty and despair. Drifting from town to town and from state to state, the violent, ruthless Bo seeks his fortune in the hotel business, in new farmland, and, eventually, in illegal rum-running throughout the treacherous back roads of the American Northwest.

Based largely on his own childhood, Stegner has created a masterful, harrowing saga of a family trying to survive during the lean years of the early 20th century. It is the conflict between the hardscrabble existence and Bo's pursuit of the frontier myth and of the American dream that gives the book such resonance and power.

©1938 1940, 1942, 1943 by Wallace Stegner (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Stegner has felt the spell of mountain and prairie, of drought, flood, and blizzard....a harrowing saga." - ( New York Times)
"Stands out beautifully and unforgettably." ( New Yorker)

Very enjoyable

You have to be patient and in for the long ride. But in the end it was a very good listen. I recommend it. The Narrator was great !

Sometimes hard to keep listening

If you have ever lived with someone with a hair-trigger temper, this book may be hard for you to listen to. Several times I had to just turn it off for a while. There was "impending doom" through much of the book. Still, it was interesting and a good, well-written story.

Raw and powerful

Had to stop and start. Emotionally overwhelming. Bare. Glad I pushed through. The last 20 minutes …

The Slow Meandering Road ‘til Death

Outstanding story telling. Promoted deep reflection on the intensity of the “common man” at the dawn of the 20th Century. The American work ethic and free enterprise with moral limits underlie the fabric within the story. The growth of this “freedom” and “independence” from one’s offspring finalizes the story.

Exceptional

So absorbing. Emotional. Stunning writing. Stegner is a gift. This is a true classic. Pure oxygen.