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A Place on Earth (Port Wiliam)
A Place on Earth - Port Wiliam
Author: Wendell Berry
Part ribald farce, part lyrical contemplation, Wendell Berry's novel is the story of a place -- Port William, Kentucky -- the farm lands and forests that surround it, and the river that runs nearby. The rhythms of this novel are the rhythms of the land. — A Place on Earth resonates with variations played on themes of change; looping ...  more »
ISBN-13: 9781582431246
ISBN-10: 1582431248
Publication Date: 6/2001
Pages: 320
Rating:
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 6

3.8 stars, based on 6 ratings
Publisher: Counterpoint Press
Book Type: Paperback
Members Wishing: 16
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

heyteacher-tpm avatar reviewed A Place on Earth (Port Wiliam) on + 35 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
This book was required reading for me in a graduate class, and I was surprised to find that I loved it.

Set in the ending months of WWII, this book is almost as much about a place - Port William - as it is about the characters. It is written beautifully and should be enjoyed, read slowly, to pick up all the details throughout. The ties between family and friends are so realistic, it is like living in your own small town. I really enjoyed the gentle humor at times and the strong sense of "place" that came when reading. Not action-packed and not quick to read, this is wonderful writing about a wonderful community, almost poetry.
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Phunter avatar reviewed A Place on Earth (Port Wiliam) on + 35 more book reviews
The New York Times book review calls "A Place On Earth" 'a masterpiece'. Wendell Berry's genius, in writing this book (and in his willingness to go back and significantly edit the first edition in order to achieve this revised edition), is seen in his love for, and intimate knowledge of the land about which he writes with the passion of a lover and of the people whose live are intimately bound to it. His keen insight into human nature takes the reader deep into the heart and soul of his characters; he stirs the reader's emotions as we gaze, voyeur- like, into the lives, the triumphs, the tragedies and the follies of the people of Port William. This truly is a book to savor.
For me, personally, it takes its place as part of a trilogy of favorites alongside Bruce Chatwin's "On The Black Hill" and Harry Middleton's "The Earth Is Enough".


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