Some books are better listened to than read. I never thought I’d say that until I heard Will Patton read Charles Frazier’s Thirteen Moons. Frazier’s use of language compells me to listen to every word. I’m not sure I’d have waded through all the description and wordiness while reading it, but I have savored every detail I heard from Will Patton, my favorite reader on audio books.
Cold Mountain was an easy read, and the book haunted me for a long time. I even thought the movie was excellent. I had heard that Thirteen Moons was not as good a novel as Cold Mountain, and I’m not caught up in the actual story as much as I was in Frazier’s first book. But I find myself writing down phrases I hear on the audio version such as “beans basined in her apron.” Frazier paints the image I remember of my own mother who gathered beans or peas and made a "basin" with her apron in lieu of a bucket or pan.
With a life too full to have time for my own writing, I find myself seldom having time to read as much as I'd like. Books on CD are perfect. I spend much of each day driving. That time is not wasted if I am listening to a good book. Like my friend Estelle, I plan to make comments and mark special places in the margins of Thirteen Moons, the printed version. She does that with books by Terry Kay and Howard Bahr.
I only have one question I’d like to ask Mr. Frazier. He tells of cooking quail over an open fire, and he mentions using butter. He describes the meal and use of herbs, but I don’t understand how men who are on horseback riding day after day in search of Indians, manage to keep butter in their bags. Surely it would melt since there was no ice. Maybe I missed something and didn’t hear Will Patton explain this.
Charles Frazier and Will Patton. That's a fine combination.
