Stripped of opportunity by the Great Depression, educated and ambitious Liam takes a low-paying job with the Federal Writers’ Project, assigned to collect stories of rural life for the Library of Congress in a hot, poverty-stricken Dust Bowl town in Oklahoma. He’ll take his government check, write the stories, and wait for better times. Then Liam meets a woman who upends all his plans.
Eden Sawyer may be poor, but she’s hardworking and determined. She has dreams; more than that, she has talent. As Liam interviews her, he discovers that Eden longs to be an artist, and has the skill to do it, if only she can break the cycle of poverty that traps her.
Eden leads Liam to an unexpected, unimagined love. But as he interviews more townspeople, Liam’s probing questions steer him into danger, threatening to reveal untold secrets, unsolved mysteries, and unfulfilled passions. Will one man’s simmering jealousy and thwarted ambition bring Liam and Eden’s story to an abrupt and deadly end?
Reviews
Reminiscent of Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants, Sheldon Russell’s Listen paints a picture of the resilience of people during the Great Depression. Jobs were hard to come by when Liam Walker stepped off the train in Atlas, Oklahoma. He was out of options and had to make a living. And then he met the inhabitants of the town. Working for the Federal Writers’ Project, a part of Roosevelt’s WPA, he listened to their stories and learned the difference between working to live and living to work. Eden, a woman with troubles of her own, had a burning talent and drive that would pull her up—if she would let it—and Liam wanted to help her. Listen is full of deep characterizations and action to keep you guessing. Five stars for Listen.
—Peggy Chambers, author of Blooming Greed
Listen is an excellent read. The character development is very well done, and the plot keeps the story moving at a swift pace. The clear, concise, and descriptive sentences make the story come alive. The references to the flora and fauna of the setting add a lot to the novel. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the characters. They were realistic to the extent that I felt as though I knew many of them. Listen is a very interesting novel that I will recommend to all of my literary friends!
—Dave Kirkbride, former Executive Director, Kansas National Education Association
In 1935, FDR established the Federal Writers’ Project to hire unemployed writers during the Great Depression and record the unique experiences of ordinary Americans across the country. Sheldon Russell’s latest novel, Listen, uses this ambitious government program to uncover the surprising stories of rural residents in an isolated Oklahoma town and emphasize the power that narrative can have in bringing us together. As in his other work, Russell gives voice to the beauty and mystery behind northwestern Oklahoma’s harsh landscape and resilient residents.
—Matthew Lambert, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of English, Foreign Language, and Humanities, Northwestern Oklahoma State University
Genre: Historical
Eden Sawyer may be poor, but she’s hardworking and determined. She has dreams; more than that, she has talent. As Liam interviews her, he discovers that Eden longs to be an artist, and has the skill to do it, if only she can break the cycle of poverty that traps her.
Eden leads Liam to an unexpected, unimagined love. But as he interviews more townspeople, Liam’s probing questions steer him into danger, threatening to reveal untold secrets, unsolved mysteries, and unfulfilled passions. Will one man’s simmering jealousy and thwarted ambition bring Liam and Eden’s story to an abrupt and deadly end?
Reviews
Reminiscent of Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants, Sheldon Russell’s Listen paints a picture of the resilience of people during the Great Depression. Jobs were hard to come by when Liam Walker stepped off the train in Atlas, Oklahoma. He was out of options and had to make a living. And then he met the inhabitants of the town. Working for the Federal Writers’ Project, a part of Roosevelt’s WPA, he listened to their stories and learned the difference between working to live and living to work. Eden, a woman with troubles of her own, had a burning talent and drive that would pull her up—if she would let it—and Liam wanted to help her. Listen is full of deep characterizations and action to keep you guessing. Five stars for Listen.
—Peggy Chambers, author of Blooming Greed
Listen is an excellent read. The character development is very well done, and the plot keeps the story moving at a swift pace. The clear, concise, and descriptive sentences make the story come alive. The references to the flora and fauna of the setting add a lot to the novel. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the characters. They were realistic to the extent that I felt as though I knew many of them. Listen is a very interesting novel that I will recommend to all of my literary friends!
—Dave Kirkbride, former Executive Director, Kansas National Education Association
In 1935, FDR established the Federal Writers’ Project to hire unemployed writers during the Great Depression and record the unique experiences of ordinary Americans across the country. Sheldon Russell’s latest novel, Listen, uses this ambitious government program to uncover the surprising stories of rural residents in an isolated Oklahoma town and emphasize the power that narrative can have in bringing us together. As in his other work, Russell gives voice to the beauty and mystery behind northwestern Oklahoma’s harsh landscape and resilient residents.
—Matthew Lambert, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of English, Foreign Language, and Humanities, Northwestern Oklahoma State University
Genre: Historical
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