Ava's Man

I love the narrators voice, and the tone of this book is soothing and calming. Love hearing about the family and the time period. Would for sure recommend to anyone looking for a calming listen.

This story made me proud of being a 'Country Bumpkin. I was so reminded of my own father and his matter of fact approach to the dilemmas of being poor in the south. My family was one of thousands who braved the desperations brought about by the Dust Bowl era, and brought back to me stories told by relatives and old timers who know what its like to be truly self reliant when it came to putting food on the table in times of extreme need. This is a beautiful tale, richly wrought by the people who made it through similarly hard times. I admire Rick Bragg's painfully honest account of a fathers tough decisions and a woman's steel when it comes to making sacrifices for their children. To me it felt a little like Harper Lee's To Kill A mockingbird. A dark but richly woven story of human trial and error in a harsh world. Inspiring!

This is my favorite book ever! I've read it two or three times several years ago and when I saw it on AudioBooks I couldn't resist. I actually liked it better on audio books because the narrator was so good!!! I just love the characters in this memoir; Rick Bragg is a master of storytelling!

I was thoroughly enjoyed by this book. Good stories about a man I would like to of met.

Most excellent. For anyone that grew up in the country or, had grandparents that grew up poor in the south, this book is for you. I fully expect to find out the author is a cousin........ Listened to it twice!

I got this book without paying that much attention to what it was about. It was a very pleasant surprise. A real story about a real person.

Well written but a hollow hero figure. The writer tries to equate a Southern hillbilly with being a "man" and further, a hero. Perhaps he was a hero among hillbillies because he loved his family and kept them fed during difficult times but it seems more like a personal narrative of the author's need to validate his roots.

I'm a newcomer to Rick Bragg, but a convert after thoroughly enjoying this moving, vibrant, well-written book as read (lyrically in southern accent splendor) by the author. I'm moving on to 'All Over But the Shouting' next.

This was a delightful book that had me wishing traffic in Chicago was worse than it is! Author Bragg's voice is charming and it really welcomed me into his family's world.

I loved every word of this book and Rick Bragg's reading is warm, true, human and humorous. It left me full of regard for the deepest ethics of the human heart. Rick Bragg is so one of a kind I look forward to whatever stories he tells. I give it at least 5 stars times 2.