Low Country [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Anne Rivers Siddons (Author), Debra Monk (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 23, 1998

The empowering story of Caroline Aubrey Gentry, who discovers that her tycoon husband plans to build a resort on a beautiful untouched island in South Carolina's low country, which results in her life-changing fight to save an island of wild ponies.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A Siddons heroine of a familiar stripe, Caroline Aubrey Venable battles adversity and despair to save her South Carolina island in a somewhat unwieldy novel that again shows us a woman maturing under pressure. The death of her daughter five years earlier still shadows Caroline's life, and her occasional overindulgence in alcohol is something neither she nor her husband of 25 years will discussAso long as Caroline continues dutifully to play "mother superior" to the junior partners of her husband Clay's land-developing empire. When rumor comes to light that Clay's company plans to turn their low country home into a theme parkAthreatening the wild ponies that Caroline loves, not to mention the Gullahs who have lived there for centuriesACaroline is roused from her stupor. The leisurely pace and evocative atmospheric background of Siddons's fiction are in evidence here, and the confiding tone of this first-person narrative of betrayal and redemption offers few surprises. Some readers, however, may find Caroline annoyingly self-absorbed; may question why she doesn't object more strenuously when Luis CassellsAone of the islandersAcharacterizes Clay as "Mengele"; may find Siddons's depiction of Luis as a Cuban-Jewish Don Quixote improbable; may take umbrage at Caroline's patronization of the Gullahs; and may agree that the climax, while surprising, makes for a pat denouement. $250,000 ad/promo; U.K. rights to Little, Brown; first serial and dramatic rights: Virginia Barber; audio rights: HarperAudio; translation rights: HarperCollins; author tour.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This abridged version of Siddons's (Fault Lines, Audio Reviews, LJ 3/15/96) romance novel will please those in search of an emotionally satisfying human drama. The production perfectly conveys the mysterious mood of a Gullah island of the South Carolina low country. Actor Debra Monk's bag of tricks includes a broad Cuban accent and over-the-top voices for the Southern folkAvoices that really do sound like they are native to the region. The story involves a tug of war between Caro Venable and her husband, Clay, over the fate of the island and its people; Caro's flirtation with their Cuban visitor; and the couple's coming to grips with the death of their young daughter. It is full of engaging characters and has a winding plot that leads to the only possible resolution. Recommended.AMark Pumphrey, Polk Cty. P.L., Columbus, NC
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: HarperAudio; Abridged edition (June 23, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0694519960
• ISBN-13: 978-0694519965
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,813,430 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book!, September 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Low Country (Hardcover)

I was very surprised to see all the negative reviews for "Low Country". I personally thought it was one of Anne Rivers Siddons' best books ever. I agree with the readers that say that her genre is somewhat predictable, but that is what makes her books almost comforting. I, for one, like happy endings. I loved "Colony" and "Fault Lines" and put this one on the same level. She chooses her surroundings carefully, but her characters always seem to be a part of their area. Any woman who has been through a crisis that shakes her marraige to the bone and makes her grow as woman and a partner can relate to her books.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Trite plot with predictable ending, October 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Low Country (Mass Market Paperback)

After enjoying "Colony" so much last year I eagerly looked forward to this latest novel. I found I had to struggle to finish the book and was very disappointed at the lack of imagination at the end. Obviously this book did not inspire me to read anything further by Siddons.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Bland and predictable, June 27, 2000

By 

Manola Sommerfeld (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Low Country (Hardcover)

Too much melodrama in this novel. Too many over-the-top characters. My favorite is the Jewish-Cuban-with-an-Italian-name, who minutes after meeting the wife of his boss, calls him "Mengele" to her face. Come on! Although i read some very nice passages, this book is nothing more than a glorified romance novel from the supermarket shelf.