I was so excited!! One of my favorite authors, William Kent Krueger came out with a new book. I saw it on Amazon and immediately checked with my online libraries and one of them had it. From what I could tell it would only be about a month’s wait to get it…or I could forgo the month and just get it from Audible. The wise person in me decided that I would just use the online library and wait.
So the book, The Levee, finally came up in my queue and I immediately started listening. I was so excited. Two of the author’s other books are right near the top of my favorite books ever list. Ah…I was so excited to settle in for an epic read.
Well, I was sadly disappointed. It wasn’t the epic novel I was waiting for. It was a short novella…and I was so disappointed. For a novella, it was fine. I had so much promise wanting more from the book but novellas just don’t have the meat a full novel has. Blah. I listened to it and honestly, besides being short, it was okay but I wouldn’t take the time. Novellas always leave me wanting more and had I known it was only a novella when I borrowed it, I likely wouldn’t have gotten it. Thank goodness I didn’t burn an Audible credit for it.
Here’s what Amazon had to say:
“It’s 1927, and the most devastating flood in American history has swelled the Mississippi River to a width of eighty miles. In an attempt to save a family trapped by the rising water, four men in a tiny rowboat battle the treacherous flow: three are convicts, on loan from the local prison and pressed into service; the fourth, the leader of the team, is driven by his own hidden motives. But to their surprise upon arrival at Ballymore, an ancestral home protected by a high, circular levee, not everyone in the family feels the need to be saved. Pride, greed, loyalty, and even love create their own complex currents behind the massive wall. As the threat from the flood increases and time ticks away, the crew and the family must decide on a course of action, and a desperate plan is hatched to save the weakening levee and all it was built to protect.
The Levee is a propulsive, heartfelt tale of courage, cowardice, and sacrifice in a historic moment when the indomitable human spirit is pitted against the awesome and destructive power of nature.”
Amazon readers gave the book 3.7 stars. I’m going to have to agree. I wasn’t really impressed…I really think it has more to do with that it was a novella so the story wasn’t developed like the author’s previous books. Also, maybe had I known it was a novella from the start, I wouldn’t have been so disappointed when the story just ended. For a novella it was good…I think my rating has more to do with that it was a novella.
William Kent Krueger has written some of my all-time favorite books so instead of this, read either of these instead…
Ordinary Grace
This Tender Land
He also has a book series that he is well known for…
Cork O’Connor Series
He has a new book coming out September 5th – THE RIVER WE REMEMBER. Maybe you can get on a hold list for it now!
I LOVE his writing as well and have read MANY of his books! Thanks for the heads up..will look for The Levee right now!
Ordinary Grace is one of my favorite books. William Kent Krueger is a very good author. I’ll try This Tender Land. Glad he has a new novel coming out soon.:) Thx, Cindy D.
I have not read anything from this author, thanks for the recommendation. I am not fond of novellas but I will try some of his other works. I just recently finished a book by Sandra Dallas called Little Souls. It set in Colorado during WWI and the Spanish Flu pandemic. I thought it was very good.
Hi Jo
We were fortunate to have this author come to the lake Okoboji area (sponsored by the 3 local libraries). He didn’t talk about the novella- but mentioned that his latest book will be out in about 2 months. “The River we Remember”. He is one of my favorite authors. He does a fair amount of traveling to libraries- so maybe he will come to yours. Have a great 4th