Remembering: A Novel (Port William)

Written by Wendell Berry

Narrated by Michael Kramer

It is 1976 and Andy Catlett, farmer and agricultural journalist, is walking the streets of San Francisco at dawn. In the eight months since losing his right hand to a corn-picking machine, he has also lost himself. Two thousand miles from his home in Kentucky, he begins to remember people, the land, and the comfort of knowing his place intimately. Andy's reveries evoke a membership governed by the principles of humanity and love. Inspiring and eye-opening, Remembering follows Andy's journey out of darkness and into the warm light of community.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ChristianAudio.com
• Release date: Jul 1, 2009
• ISBN: 9781596447806

Reviews for Remembering

[lauralkeet · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In Remembering, one of Wendell Berry’s Port William novels, Andy Catlett has traveled from Port William to San Francisco to speak at a conference on farming. It is 1976 and Andy (whom readers met as a boy and young man in previous novels) is now a middle-aged father and recently lost his right hand in a farming accident. He has recovered physically but not psychologically, and this has put significant strain on his marriage. And then he finds himself in a lecture hall, listening to “suits” droning on about modern-day farming practices, and he just can’t stand it. He sets his prepared remarks aside and speaks from his heart, which isn’t necessarily popular with the audience and the conference organizers. After this episode, Andy wakes up in a cold sweat in his hotel room and heads out into the early morning for a long walk around San Francisco, filled with ruminations and memories. These vignettes paint a picture of Andy’s adult life, and also remind us of Port William, its people, and a way of life that was disappearing then and by today has faded into even more obscurity. And yet, Andy’s reflections during his walk and on his journey home also have a ray of hope, at least for Andy himself if not for rural America.

[laugal-2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Powerful !!!!!! A day in the life of Andy Catlett.A soulful story of remembering who you are and where you came from.Redemption,integrity and dignity.A reminder we need to be true to our history and ourselves. Author, Wendell Berry is an American classic.

[greengables-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

..."that an argument was losing did not mean that it should not be made."Wendell Berry's novels haunt me. Although somewhat choppy, his style has a simple eloquence. I do not necessarily agree with all of his premises or conclusions, but he does make me think. Berry's arguments do seem to be losing in our day and age, but I for one am glad that he is making them.Most of all, I am intrigued by his emphasis on place, because I was born and raised among those who valued place in a similar way. There are times when I think he puts too much stock in the concept of place as it relates to this world, since I am fully persuaded that home and place can never be fully realized in this world - the very longing for it points us to another world.But in this novel he does reveal a bit more of his "theology" of place, particularly at the end, which is reminiscent of Lewis' real Narnia within Narnia, and which even more importantly ties into the types and shadows with which this world overflows. The longing and reverence for home - for a place in this world - is strong; properly viewed and prioritized, it is an important tie which binds us to our covenant community as Christians (which has similarities what Berry calls "the membership" of the farming community in Port William).I am grateful for the boundary lines fallen in pleasant places which the Lord has graciously given in my life, with their attendant love and commitment to home, family, and community. My community now is miles removed from the community where I grew up, but it is not altogether different, and for that I am also grateful. The world Berry portrays is one which I have glimpsed in the lives of grandparents, parents, uncles, aunts, and cousins...and I realize that my children have little context for that world. I think I will ask them to read some of Berry's Port William canon to give a better idea of what has gone into the making of me, and consequently, the making of them.

[joelhagan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great Read. Poetic and moving. At points the writing seemed to be a bit choppy, but enjoyable none-the-less.

[lothiriel2003 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is lyrical and haunting. It's a bit difficult to read at first, but well worth the effort. It resonates with hope and with the awareness of an eternity that exists alongside our time-bound life.