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    Life is Short But Wide
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    Life is Short But Wide
    Unavailable
    Life is Short But Wide
    Audiobook8 hours

    Life is Short But Wide

    Written by J. California Cooper

    Narrated by Adenrele Ojo

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Like the small towns J. California Cooper has so deftly portrayed in her previous novels and story collections, Wideland, Oklahoma, is home to ordinary Americans struggling to raise families, eke out a living, and fulfill their dreams. In the early twentieth century, Irene and Val fall in love in Wideland. While carving out a home for themselves, they also allow neighbors Bertha and Joseph to build a house and live on their land. The next generation brings two girls for Irene and Val, and a daughter for Bertha and Joseph. As the families cope with changing times and fortunes, and people are born and pass away, the characters learn the importance of living one's life boldly and squeezing out every possible moment of joy, while being held up by a strong foundation of love and the ultimate realization that whoever you are, and whatever you do, life is short, but it is also wide.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateMay 5, 2009
    ISBN9780739384299
    Unavailable
    Life is Short But Wide

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    Reviews for Life is Short But Wide

    3.5/5

    51 ratings8 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      All the characters in this book have hard lives. It follows several generations in a family. They work hard to try to survive and are often did wrong. They try to always do what's right and keep God in mind. It covers several family relationships and romances. You see several characters from childhood to death. Some die from old age. Others die too soon. Basically, I think the point is just how difficult yet fulfilling life can be and also maintain your faith.
    • 3/5
      “Life is Short But Wide” takes place in Wideland, Oklahoma from about 1910 to the late sixties. Our narrator and on-looker is 91 year old Mrs. Hattie B. Brown who lives with her 105 year old mother. She wants to tell us a story that follows the shape of a “Y” showing two parallel lives that eventually flow into one another. We meet three generations of men and women, starting with Irene and Val and their two daughters, Rose and Tante. We also meet their neighbors Bertha, Joseph and their daughter, Juliet. Eventually we'll pick up the story of Rose's daughter Myine and her life in Wideland and her connection to Herman Tenderman.

      The author develops a step by step historical journey across the generations where each tries to improve their life. The author presents the universal themes of love and survival under oppressive circumstances but for some reason I just couldn't identify with many of the decisions most of the characters made. There is a lot of sadness in this novel, most of it encouraged by poor decision making on the part of some of the more annoying characters. I believe the author has a big fan base and the book is probably better than I'm giving it credit for but I honestly don't think I would try another one of J. California Cooper's books.
    • 2/5
      I found this to be like reading someone's diary, where every thought jumps around and every thought that pops into the writer's head is also included on the page. I felt that reading each person's prayer (many, many prayers, and then add some more prayers) was unnecessary. There were also tedious descriptions of how to clean a house, and how to apply perfume. It just left me wondering what the point of the book was.
    • 4/5
      Now that I am a J. California Cooper junkie, I had to squeeze in another book by her this year. Prior to me reading anything by Cooper, Life is Short but Wide, was on my Amazon Wish List. Cooper is such a phenomenal storyteller that I could not wait to read a novel by her.Cooper begins this story with a blossoming love story between Irene and Val. Irene is a young woman “running from a motherless home” (14). Val is a hard working man that happens to be part Indian and part African. Val meets Irene at the boardinghouse he stays at occasionally with his friend Wings when they are between cattle runs. Irene and Val marry and begin to start a life in Wideland, OK. When they move to Wideland they find life-long friends in their new neighbors Bertha and Joseph. Soon both families began to start families. Irene and Val had two daughters, Rose and Tante. Bertha and Joseph had one daughter, Juliet. Rose yielded to the homemaker lifestyle. Tante read a lot which motivated her to leave Wideland and travel and see the world. Juliet never began to walk so she remained home with her parents. Life for both families was slow and steady. Life and death occurred. Rose keep up her mother’s makeshift school which taught poor children to read and write. Rose married Leon and had one daughter she named Myine. Leon carried on an extramarital affair with Tonya that shook this family to the very core. So much life occurred between these two families but Cooper did not overwhelm it just flowed. I want to commend Cooper for keeping the story very realistic. Cooper began with a love story and ended with a love story. The second part of the story we read about the life of one of Rose’s students Herman. Herman’s life was full of ups and downs but in his old age he found true love. Myine , Rose’s daughter, life really took over the story in the second half. Myine’s story was a hard one to read but she persevered and eventually found love too. Bertha, Joseph, and Juliet remained loyal friends. I love how Cooper crafted Juliet’s life initially you wanted to feel sorry for her due to her disability but love found her too. Life Is Short but Wide was a simple steady read. In classic J. California Cooper fashion, our narrator, Mrs. Hattie B. Brown, was just an “onlooker” but not a part of either family. I always enjoy the narrators in Cooper’s novels. Toward the end I did get the feel that the story was being dragged along.
    • 5/5
      Sometimes you read a work of fiction that makes you think and want to be better, this is one such book if you read with a combination of an open mind and a sense of historical times. First character that I felt let down by in a sense was Val Strong. His double stron(Val in Latin) and yet his wife's death makes him lose his will to live. I am also disappointed in this because he was raised as an Indian Warrior/Brave. I am rather certain they do not teach give up and die but this is my assessment. Irene knew what she wanted but she was not willing to take care of herself due to her refusal to spend the money and healthcare sucked in that time especially for "colored" people. I truly liked Wings because he was a good person. He showed a physically crippled child a craft that became an income producing skill. He looked after Val and made arrangements for his friend's wife's remanins as well as Val and the dog Brave. Which segues to his nephew Dreaming Clouds, later known as just Cloud, he also has a kind and good nature. I like the way these characters see the positive and are willing to stay the course. Who can say they do not need to do more of this from time to time especially in this age of technology run amuck. Irene and Val's daughters are very different. Tante cannot wait to leave the town of Wideland. She has a thirst for knowledge and is spirited. Rose is gullible in many respects which becomes an acute Achilles heel. Rose's husband is a complete ass(sorry no better way to describe him). Tante grows up to become selfish and in some respects ruthless and controlling. At times the behavior is admirable and at others shows her shallowness. Bertha and Joseph are in the beginning neighbors who become family. Their daughter Juliet was born with a crippleness of her legs but she is the most developed person of the three girls born to the two couples. She is insightful, smart and stronger than her mother gives her credit for being. Herman is a character you feel angst for because his entire life has been a struggle that in many ways results from his trying to be a good human. Both Tantes's and Rose's daughters you understand have a longing they do not know how to achieve, once again the results of live and circumstances. This book is about love, pain, loss and moving forward with a broken heart to a healed heart and a "happy ending."
    • 4/5
      This novel was based on unrequited love. The narrator gives us the background/ genealogy of the star-crossed lovers. In short, this novel was about the ups and downs of love. I gave it 4 stars,.
    • 3/5
      In the beginning I really enjoyed the book. But towards the end, I got somewhat bored with it, and the ending in my opinion was expected.
    • 5/5
      Life is Short but Wide is a gem of a book. Cooper is a fantastic storyteller and shows her strength here through the voice of Mrs. Hattie B. Brown. Hattie is ninety-one years old and she draws you in to the story just like a great, great aunt inviting you to sit down at the kitchen table to hear what she has to say. A beautiful story that spans four generations and one I highly recommend.