Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.
Title: Chicken Dreaming Corn
Author: Roy Hoffman
Narrator: Toni Orans
Format: Unabridged
Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
Language: English
Release date: 04-17-12
Publisher: Roy Hoffman
Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 4 votes
Genres: Fiction, Historical
Publisher's Summary:
In 1916, on the immigrant blocks of the Southern port city of Mobile, Alabama, a Romanian Jewish shopkeeper, Morris Kleinman, is sweeping his walk in preparation for the Confederate veterans parade about to pass by.
"Daddy," his son asks, "are we Rebels?"
"Today?" muses Morris. "Yes, we are Rebels."
Thus opens a novel set, like many, in a languid Southern town. But, in a rarity for Southern novels, this one centers on a character who mixes Yiddish with his Southern and has for his neighbors small merchants from Poland, Lebanon, and Greece.
At turns lyrical, comic, and melancholy, the tale takes inspiration from its title. This Romanian expression with an Alabama twist is symbolic of the strivings of ordinary folks for the realization of their hopes and dreams. Set largely on a few humble blocks yet engaging many parts of the world, this Southern Jewish novel is, ultimately, richly American.
Members Reviews:
Another World
Roy Hoffmanâs novel Chicken Dreaming Corn delivers something we rarely see, a picture of the Jewish experience in the Deep South during the first half of the 20th century. Jewish life in the Deep South remains sparsely explored territory in fiction. Hoffman's effort records the trials and tribulations of Morris Kleinman, a Romanian immigrant, as he struggles to raise his family according to Jewish law in Mobile, Alabama, an environment unfamiliar with his Old World ways. His struggles allow the reader an inside look at what life was like for a Jew living in the South so long ago.
The novel covers a 30 year span, from 1916 through 1945. During this time we follow Morris as he raises his family, establishes his business, and deals with people from both his Romanian past and American present who define his life. Much of the novel's interest derives from Morris's interaction with his neighbors and customers, those who accept him and his family and those who revile him, like the KKK and other anti-Semites. But Morris perseveres; he always believes because he is hardworking and honest the community at large will accept him and his family. His wife, Miriam, remains skeptical: "To them a Jew is a Jew," unsavory, money-hungry, and forever "foreign."
Portraying Morris's life in Mobile Hoffman draws a credible picture of Jewish life in the Deep South. One of the novel's most interesting characters, and one who gives us another insight into what some felt was necessary to survive in this environment, is Donnie McCall. The Jewish McCall reinvents himself as a Southern redneck, and he adopts many of the antagonistic attitudes prevalent at that time towards Jews.
As other reviewers have noted, the novel lacks somewhat in character development and plot consistency. This does not detract from the story it tells of a world we rarely encounter in fiction. The life of a Jew in the South, even today, remains an "other" experience. Hoffman's Chicken Dreaming Corn shines as an example of this experience.
Great Book - Horrible Kindle Version
This is a really well-written and interesting work and I highly recommend it. However, the Kindle version is so poorly produced - an astounding number of reproduction errors - that it seriously detracts from the quality of the work. This version should be avoided at all cost.
Good Read
An engaging story but not overwhelming.
Two Stars
Interesting subject but the writing didn't hold together.
