The Whisper of the River (Paperback)

by Ferrol Sams (Author) "It was wood and it was white and it was balanced like a box on upturned native stones..." (more)
Key Phrases: college than books, comma fault, box from home, Bob Cater, Sara Belle, Professor Twilley (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
A beautiful work of the storyteller's art. -- Syndicated columnist James Kilpatrick --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
Thousands came to know and love the boy in Ferrol Sams's brilliant, best-selling first novel RUN WITH THE HORSEMEN. Now the redoubtable Porter Osborne, Jr. is back - a little older, slightly more worldly, but just as full of mischief and curiosity as ever. With the power and grace which readily identify Ferrol Sams's writing, THE WHISPER OF THE RIVER confronts young Porter with a maelstrom of conflict, growth, and heightened sexuality. But beneath the turbulent surface of outrageous pranks and ribald humor, Porter finally senses a quiet and constant flow toward maturity. This is a story about loss of innocence, but it's also the story of an age, a family, and a place that will remain with you long after the last page. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (February 4, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140083871
• ISBN-13: 978-0140083873
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #27,592 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderfully poignant tale of college days in middle Georgia., August 21, 1998

By A Customer

It's been over 10 years since I first read the book. Recommended by a fellow (presbyterian) clergyman, I looked at the jacket of the book he was showing me only to be stunned to realize that it was about a boy who attended the same college I attended, in a state far away. Not only that, but in reading the book, I discovered that I'd resided for a time in the same dormitory room, albeit several decades past the late 1930's. The book was painfully and poignantly real, from the descriptions of life in that particular dormitory room (I can see the room and scenery outside the windows even to this day) to life in Macon (some of the stories and experiences he went through were almost eerily familiar). Ferrol Sams is an incredibly gifted writer who I wish had started writing years earlier. His corpus of books, though relatively small, are all treasures and treasured. BTW, having graduated years earlier then a previous reviewer, let me point out that "Willingham University" was taken from what was then Willingham Chapel, not "Auditorium". It was during the 1970's that the former baptist church next door to Willingham Chapel was sold to Mercer and became the Newton Chapel at Mercer. At that point, Willingham Chapel became Willingham Auditorium.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Glued to the pages!, October 18, 2004

By	S. Antle (MO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you are unaware of the author Ferrol Sams, you are missing a true giant in American literature. This second book of the Porter Osborne trilogy is just as golden as Run With the Horsemen. More than just a coming of age novel, Sams provides intricate detail into young Osborne's life, feelings and thoughts. Quite moving and actually sad when you find the last page is near, you'll quickly want to open up When All the World Was Young (#3). Dr. Sams is still practicing medicine in Georgia and has given us a treasure in his writings. Well worth it to purchase not only this book, but all three since you will find yourself thinking about them often after you've experienced them.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best coming of age book ever, September 4, 1998

By	Charles Andrews (Fort Worth, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Why schools still mandate that student plod through that old New England tale of Holden Caufield and his stuggles is beyond me. Sams writes a fresh energizing book devoid of the cynicism of Salinger. I'd rather my children experienced the joys and pains of Porter Osborne, Jr. Of course I have insisted they read the complete trilogy. However, it was something they wanted to do once started. Of the three Whisper is chronologically and artisyically the centerpiece. Our educational institutions should wake up and discover Porter and his journey to define himself