Five Skies
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Ron Carlson
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By:
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Ron Carlson
About this listen
As they endeavor upon this simple, grand project, the three reveal themselves in cautiously resonant, profound ways. And in a voice of striking intimacy and grace, Carlson's novel reveals itself as a story of biblical, almost spiritual force.
A bellwether return from one of our greatest craftsmen, Five Skies is sure to be one of the most praised and cherished novels of the year.
©2007 Ron Carlson (P)2007 Penguin Audio, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., and Books on Tape. All rights reserved.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Guilt..... a deadly emotion !!
- By John on 08-24-14
By: Elliott Chaze
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Fourth of July Creek
- A Novel
- By: Smith Henderson
- Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews, Jenna Lamia
- Length: 15 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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After trying to help Benjamin Pearl, an undernourished, nearly feral 11-year-old boy living in the Montana wilderness, social worker Pete Snow comes face-to-face with the boy's profoundly disturbed father, Jeremiah. With courage and caution, Pete slowly earns a measure of trust from this paranoid survivalist itching for a final conflict that will signal the coming End Times. But as Pete's own family spins out of control, Pearl's activities spark the full-blown interest of the FBI, putting Pete at the center of a massive manhunt from which no one will emerge unscathed.
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The Ghost of Tom Joad & the Wrath of Grapes
- By Mel on 06-30-14
By: Smith Henderson
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Rain Dogs
- By: Sean Doolittle
- Narrated by: Basil Sands
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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It was one hell of an inheritance for former Chicago reporter Tom Coleman: a broken-down pickup truck, ramshackle campground, a canoe livery - and one pot-smoking, barely working employee he doesn’t need, doesn’t want, and can’t afford. But the truth is, after losing a child and a marriage, Tom doesn’t really care.
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Narration is awful
- By Karen Martin on 03-09-21
By: Sean Doolittle
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The Winemaker's Daughter
- By: Timothy Egan
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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When Brunella Cartolano visits her father on the family vineyard in the basin of the Cascade Mountains, she's shocked by the devastation caused by a four-year drought. Passionate about the Pacific Northwest ecology, Brunella, a cultural impact analyst, is embroiled in a battle to save the Seattle waterfront from redevelopment and to preserve a fisherman's livelihood. But when a tragedy among fire-jumpers results from a failure of the water supply - her brother Niccolo is among those lost - Brunella finds herself with another mission.
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Obviously Not Read By A Washington Resident
- By John C Schuyler on 04-24-19
By: Timothy Egan
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Provinces of Night
- By: William Gay
- Narrated by: Dick Hill
- Length: 11 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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E.F. Bloodworth has returned to his home - a forgotten corner of Tennessee - after 20 years of roaming. The wife he walked out on has withered and faded, his three sons are grown and angry. Warren is a womanizing alcoholic, Boyd is driven by jealousy to hunt down his wife's lover, and Brady puts hexes on his enemies from his mamma's porch. Only Fleming, the old man's grandson, treats him with the respect his age commands, and sees past all the hatred to realize the way it can posion a man's soul.
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Story and Narration a perfect match
- By 99hedys on 10-03-15
By: William Gay
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The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break: A Novel
- By: Steven Sherrill
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Five thousand years out of the Labyrinth, the Minotaur finds himself in the American South, living in a trailer park and working as a line cook at a steakhouse. No longer a devourer of human flesh, the Minotaur is a socially inept, lonely creature with very human needs. But over a two-week period, as his life dissolves into chaos, this broken and alienated immortal awakens to the possibility for happiness and to the capacity for love.
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The author is a professor of English
- By ShySusan on 11-16-11
By: Steven Sherrill
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The Royal Wulff Murders
- By: Keith McCafferty
- Narrated by: Rick Holmes
- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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A local fisherman lands more than he bargained for when he pulls a dead body out of Montana’s Madison River. Sheriff Martha Ettinger takes on the case and soon comes into the company of reclusive artist, Montana newcomer, and ex-PI Sean Stranahan. After teaming up to investigate, Martha and Sean soon uncover evidence that the murder has ties to one of the state’s biggest industries: fly fishing.
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I like this series set in Montana
- By L. O. Pardue on 11-14-16
By: Keith McCafferty
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A Death in Kitchawank, and Other Stories
- By: T. C. Boyle
- Narrated by: T. C. Boyle
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Few authors write with such sheer love of story and language as T. C. Boyle, and that is nowhere more evident than in his inventive, wickedly funny, and always entertaining short stories. Here are 14 new tales previously unpublished in book form. By turns mythic and realistic, farcical and tragic, ironic and moving, Boyle's stories have mapped a wide range of human emotions. The stories here reflect his maturing themes.
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Mixed Bag
- By AuntGert on 09-22-20
By: T. C. Boyle
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The Wettest County in the World, or Lawless
- A Novel Based on a True Story
- By: Matt Bondurant
- Narrated by: Erik Steele
- Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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The Bondurant Boys were a notorious gang of roughnecks and moonshiners who ran liquor through Franklin County during Prohibition and after. The brothers played a central role in a major conspiracy trial and its violent end. In 1935, Sherwood Anderson, working on a magazine story, finds himself driving along the dusty red roads trying to find the brothers and break the silence that shrouds Franklin County.
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Just outstanding!
- By Rich on 08-18-12
By: Matt Bondurant
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Way of the Wolf
- The Vampire Earth, Book 1
- By: E. E. Knight
- Narrated by: Christian Rummel, E. E. Knight (Introduction)
- Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Louisiana, 2065. A lot has changed in the 43rd year of the Kurian Order. Possessed of an unnatural and legendary hunger, the bloodthirsty Reapers have come to Earth to establish a New Order built on the harvesting of enslaved human souls. They rule the planet. They thrive on the scent of fear. And if it is night, as sure as darkness, they will come.
On this pitiless world, the indomitable spirit of mankind still breathes in Lieutenant David Valentine.
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Its what you expect, and thats not a bad thing.
- By Kevin McLaughlin on 11-26-08
By: E. E. Knight
What listeners say about Five Skies
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- John
- 09-19-09
Subtle, well written, insightful
A simple yet engaging story of three men rebuilding their lives, set in a tough but beautiful desert wilderness. Carlson's dialogue is spare but clever, while his characters are interesting and carefully drawn although all would have benefited from further development. This doesn't detract from the enjoyment of this methodically paced and evocative story of heartbreak, recovery and friendship. Some beautiful turns of phrase and great descriptions of the high desert environment. Carlson narrates his own story, and gets the mood right. Recommended.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall
- dlsidrn
- 01-02-09
easy listen
This wasn't the most exciting book I've ever listened too but it was a nice story, kept me interested and the narration was good. A nice change from murder mystery.
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Overall
- Andrew
- 07-27-07
A first-rate audio experience.
“Five Skies” written and narrated by Ron Carlson, is a considered and uplifting portrait of male life. Three emotionally scarred strangers find themselves together on a construction project deep in the back blocks of rural Idaho. As spring turns into summer a camaraderie is quietly forged as they gradually reveal their stories to each other. As the summer progresses healing and resolution begin. The story itself is relaxed and measured but at times it flares into life with frightening intensity and the action is perilous and real. The characters are all recognizable and familiar men, fundamentally decent and honest, trying to come to grips with the tragedy and change that life has thrust upon them. Arthur Key is especially memorable as the mentor figure trying to redefine his emotional centre. There are many moments in the story worth revisiting. The depictions of working life. The satisfaction of mastering new skills, problem solving and a job well done. The simple pleasures of a meal under the stars after a tiring day. The joy of watching a young man growing into himself. While not a faultless novel, any inconsistencies can be forgiven for at its heart this story is deeply authentic. This was a first-rate audio experience, compelling and absorbing, and I recommend it without hesitation.
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36 people found this helpful
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Overall
- E. Eggen
- 04-03-08
An Excellent Story
This is an excellent story told from a low-key male perspective. It reminds me of Cormac McCarthy's work, but without the surfeit of violence. The author's reading of the story provides a calm, yet well-paced progression of the tale and the development of the characters. Just as you would expect in dealing with men, you eventually know much of their background stories, but they are played out in a natural manner as the story progresses and the characters get to know and trust each other.
The main character, Arthur Key, opines early in the story that "someone is going to die here." You don't know who it will be and it doesn't dominate the story, but its there as an undercurrent to both the physical activity and to the interactions of the three main characters with others.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall
- Rio Delta Wild
- 03-08-08
an excellent listen
From a woman's perspective, I think this book reminded me of forgotten parts of a man's psyche. I'd especially recommend this story to young men in high school. Young girls with a penchant for building things or a desire to better understand the men around them might enjoy it too. The characters are believable and the values they demonstrate are excellent. This is a story about forgiveness, and it's worth a listen. Doesn't have a fairy tale ending.
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Patricia B Tripoli
- 05-16-10
I Didn't Get It
Maybe I am too much of a "girl" or maybe as another reviewer suggested, this story is too similar to a Cormac McCarthy book (and I cannot tolerate his works), but this was not a great read for me.
It was slow to give me anything to catch on to and it did eventually, but it was so weak it didn't last. And the ending was especially anticlimactic. For knowing someone would die, when it happened ...it was over. And so was the book.
I didn't get why I needed to kow about these men. I didn't get why there was a story in this tale. I don't understand why I bought it or listened to it.
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Overall
- Craig
- 03-30-08
Really enjoyed this
It's a simple book and has that sort of "Cowboy Way" type of feel - little said with so much more implied, but I really enjoyed how this book flowed and how you felt like you really knew these men by the end of the story. It was eight hours well spent. I ended up finishing it in one day because it kept me so intrigued.
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Susan Penner
- 06-07-09
It took my breath away!
Ron Carlson is, by far, my favorite fiction writer and this novel is his best yet. I can't wait for his next.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall
- J Landau
- 08-01-08
Thoughtful character study
The plot unfolds in bits and pieces, as another reviewer said, as the three characters learn to trust each other - and perhaps themselves - better through the course of their work together. A novel more about character development and what it takes to live a life worth living, than adventure plot, there are still lively moments of action. I found it thoughtful and well-suited to audio. I will listen to it again with pleasure.
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Overall
- Jane
- 04-14-08
A rough sketch for a book
Predictable, repetitious character studies that never quite resolve central questions, and finish anticlimactically when the author gets tired of writing. Skip this one.
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3 people found this helpful