The Summer He Didn't Die [Audio CD]

Jim Harrison (Author), Lloyd James (Narrator), Marguerite Gavin (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 2005

Master writer Jim Harrison offers three sparkling novellas celebrating the human experience and the places that shape it. In turns both deeply heartfelt and riotously satirical, Harrison evokes the ironies of human love with characteristic wit and wisdom.

--This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Three very different and challenging approaches to the novella form Harrison's latest. The title story laconically narrates the struggles of a multiracial, Indian-identified Northern Michigan wood pulp cutter named Brown Dog, a single father with an imprisoned, alcoholic wife. When the state dictates mandatory schooling for his disabled 7-year-old daughter, who suffers from the effects of fetal alcohol syndrome, "B.D." must decide whether to flee with her to Canada. "Republican Wives" presents after-the-affair disquisitions from three women who were the lovers of local university-based poet Daryl, whom one of the women, Martha, has tried to kill with an overdose of Elavil. The final novella, a meandering, partially autobiographical character study called "Tracking," thoroughly inspects the career's worth of baggage that has resulted from life as a white male writer operating in nonmetropolitan middle America. Harrison's command of the novella form is as impressive as the range of his voices, with his prose moving from the interiorized Faulknerian third-person of the title story to the run-on, staccato first-person of the first, and best, of the "Republican Wives." Following on the novel True North, this set of short fictions shifts pitch-perfect perspectives effortlessly, with a lightness that belies its depth. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Bookmarks Magazine

Harrison is arguably America’s master of the novella, and critics praise him for conquering such a challenging literary form. "The Summer He Didn’t Die" evokes Harrison’s previous Brown Dog stories—here narrating Brown Dog’s latest adventures—to please longtime fans, though even sympathetic critics concede that this latest collection is perhaps not his best. Some critics were surprised at the inclusion of the autobiographical "Tracking" so closely on the heels of Harrison’s 2002 memoir, Off to the Side.

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks; Unabridged edition (October 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786176296
• ISBN-13: 978-0786176298
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 5 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,345,681 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars King of the novella, August 9, 2005

By 

Albatross - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Summer He Didn't Die (Hardcover)

The novella is not the most commonplace of literary forms anymore, though it used to be much more popular. Credit Jim Harrison with preservation of this endangered species. Of the three samples here, two are among Harrison's wittiest, and one among his most eloquent. A story featuring yet another episode involving Brown Dog is always welcome, and in the title tale here, it seems "BD" is actually trying to grow up and do the right thing -- not that he ever really lacked an ethical sense; he just had trouble obeying the law. In this yarn, rightness and legality prove to be two different things, presenting Brown Dog with a choice that would involve personal sacrifice. "Republican Wives" is fun, too, and "Tracking" is the kind of piece that proves, again, that for all Harrison's literary carousing, he is a writer with serious things on his mind. By the way, to the author of the one-star review posted here: You are showing your political panties to the world. That's your choice, but my choice is to read fiction based on its ability to render life vividly, and not based on whether it lines up with my politics. And even if one does insist on considering Harrison's politics, it would certainly serve the interest of fairness to point out that the man has expressed plenty of contempt over the years for overly zealous environmentalists.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Resonates, August 18, 2005

By 

Geezerglide (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Summer He Didn't Die (Hardcover)

When I saw that Brown Dog was back for another chapter (the title story) I groaned. The previous BD (with him flying to L.A. - from "Bear...", I think) was pretty frivolous and I felt that the character was pretty well spent. THIS Brown Dog tale is not nearly as humorous as the first two "installments", but brings a depth of character to BD that resonates with the best of Harrison. I am once again on the edge of my seat hoping to spend more time with BD.

"Republican Wives" was interesting and includes a mysterious quote (on page 140 of the 1st ed. HC); "...liked to quote a German poet who said

"What is fate but the density of childhood?"

" I have searched high and low to find out who the "German poet" is, but have not yet traced it. This quote really resonated with me. If anyone knows it's source PLEASE post it.

"Tracking" is just beautiful. The Jim Harrison emotional autobiography. A breathless outpouring of memory so true and pure that it stings.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary, September 17, 2006

By 

J. Scott Shipman (Annandale, VA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Summer He Didn't Die (Hardcover)

Found this little book in the SF airport last week. Extraordinary. All of the novellas are good, but Tracking is a masterpiece---depicting the struggle of a writer to face life on his own terms---even when those terms aren't easy. This is my first Harrison book, but I bought three more when I returned home. His talent with the language and his insight into how we "tick" will amaze---which leads me back to my original "extraordinary". A great little book, and highly recommended.