Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

$0.00 for first 30 days

Thousands of incredible audiobooks and podcasts to take wherever you go.
Immerse yourself in a world of storytelling with the Plus Catalogue - unlimited listening to thousands of select audiobooks, podcasts and Audible Originals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
The Big Rock Candy Mountain cover art

The Big Rock Candy Mountain

By: Wallace Stegner
Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Buy Now for £25.99

Buy Now for £25.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
activate_primeday_promo_in_buybox_DT

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Spectator Bird cover art
Angle of Repose cover art
Leonard and Hungry Paul cover art
Nobody's Fool cover art
Crossing to Safety cover art
The Lost Mother cover art
Buried Child cover art
Nathan Coulter cover art
Beach Music cover art
Black Wings Has My Angel cover art
The Poisonwood Bible cover art
The Kite Runner cover art
North and South cover art
More Than Human cover art
The Plague of Doves cover art
An American Marriage (Oprah’s Book Club) cover art

Summary

Bo Mason, his wife, and his two boys live a transient life of poverty and despair. Drifting from town to town and from state to state, the violent, ruthless Bo seeks his fortune in the hotel business, in new farmland, and, eventually, in illegal rum-running throughout the treacherous back roads of the American Northwest.

Based largely on his own childhood, Stegner has created a masterful, harrowing saga of a family trying to survive during the lean years of the early 20th century. It is the conflict between the hardscrabble existence and Bo's pursuit of the frontier myth and of the American dream that gives the book such resonance and power.

©1938 1940, 1942, 1943 by Wallace Stegner (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Stegner has felt the spell of mountain and prairie, of drought, flood, and blizzard....a harrowing saga." - ( New York Times)
"Stands out beautifully and unforgettably." ( New Yorker)

What listeners say about The Big Rock Candy Mountain

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    12
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    11
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    10
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A roller coaster of a novel

First time ever that I went right back to the beginning on finishing this fantastic book about a families struggle to live and love against the background of childhood adversity and neglect and the relentless elements. I was on tenterhooks first time round, and now knowing the ending, I'm back looking for the clues to how and why. Stegner brings all the emotions, the characters spring into life, and at points I felt so moved that I had to pause and reflect. The hope, the love, the despair, it's all there. The only other book that I found equal evocative was Suttree by Cormac McCarthy, another epic about frontier life.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Blood is thicker

This was another book where you are introduced to the main character as a child, and see what an awful upbringing they had; so feel sympathy for them in adulthood. Then, they make the same mistakes they were running from in the first place, so you find it conflicting as to where your loyalties lie.

Bo is the dad and grows up living hand to mouth until he meets his wife and has two children. He's always looking for the next big thing, be it oil, gold or whisky and the family just has to go along with him as he is so violent it's not worth complaining. The family keep seeking their fortune across America and Canada and the history is rich along the way. You'll enjoy it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful