Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters

 

Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters had been on my reading wishlist for a longtime. I'm so glad I finally listened to the unabridged audio version of this classic. 

Listening time for Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters is 4 hours, 24 minutes, which makes for a quick read if that's your thing!

The audio edition I listened to of Spoon River Anthology was dramatized by a full cast of narrators, which I truly enjoyed. I almost felt like I was listening to an old-time radio broadcast due to the different, unique narrations for each character in this book.

Although, I enjoyed Spoon River Anthology, I initially found it difficult to follow the flow of various monologues written in free verse poetry. It's a unique way to write a book. It was pretty easy to grasp the concept right away and go with the flow of the book shortly after I began listening to it.

Have you ever wondered what someone say if they came back from the grave? The Spoon River Anthology answers this scenario in its own unique way by having the characters from the fictional town of Spoon River, discuss their life here on Earth after they've already died. Each character is quite colorful. Some of the characters were horrible people, while others were good people.

Below is the publisher's summary for Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters from Amazon's website:

In 1915, Edgar Lee Masters published a book of dramatic monologues written in free verse about a fictional town called Spoon River, based on the Midwestern towns where he grew up. The shocking scandals and secret tragedies of Spoon River were immediately recognized by readers as authentic. Masters raises the dead “sleeping on the hill” in their village cemetery to tell the truth about their lives, and their testimony topples the American myth of the moral superiority of small-town life. Spoon River, as undeniably corrupt and cruel as the big city, is home to murderers, drunkards, crooked bankers, lechers, bitter wives, abusive husbands, failed dreamers, and a few good souls. The freshness of this masterpiece undiminished, Spoon River Anthology remains a landmark of American literature.

I am giving Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!