Stephen L. Vernon has narrated 6 audiobooks on Listento.it by 4 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.5★ across 15 ratings. The most-rated is Twelve Years a Slave.
Twelve Years a Slave
Summary
Twelve Years a Slave is an account of actual events that took place in the life of Solomon Northup, during the pre-Civil War era of the 1840s. It follows the trials and tribulations of an educated African American man that was born into freedom and later kidnapped, taken away from his family, and forced into slavery. His story brings to life a shockingly common practice that took place during those times. In his journey, Northup, who is a native of Saratoga, New York, and has a wife with three kids, gets lured into leaving his home town by two circus promoters who ask him to accompany them to Washington, D.C., while getting paid to perform at a musical gig. This trip, which he thought would only take a few days turned in to an unimaginable voyage of deceit and great misfortune. Those few days turned into 12 long years, in which Northup was placed back into slavery in the isolated plantation country of Louisiana's Bayou Boeuf where he quickly learned that the mere mention of his past freedom would result in severe punishments or possibly his own death. His story takes a drastic turn when a heroic friend risks his own life to help deliver the news of Northup's whereabouts to his wife, in order to help him regain his freedom. This heroic act could ultimately get Northup killed or help return him back home, to his family and freedom.
©2014 A.R.N. Publications (P)2014 A.R.N. Publications
Coinman
Summary
Coinman is one of life's victims, the receiver of subtle bullying in an office environment and thinly disguised control in his own home, but remains true to his desire to be polite and accepting of how he is treated by everyone. Then, an incident at work changes all that. Huffington Post: One of the best literary fiction books of 2016 (Independently Published).
©2015 Pawan Mishra (P)2017 Pawan Mishra
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Summary
Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn delivers the details of Huck Finn's life after the landmark novel Tom Sawyer, at the end of which Huck becomes fairly rich for a young person. In a stroke of maturity, however, Huck entrusts his small fortune to Judge Thatcher, who he can rely on for safekeeping. The next day, Huck's biological father comes into town in pursuit of his son and the money. Having lost the chance at the latter, his father kidnaps him, forcing Huck to fake his own death just to escape. Thus begins one of the most gripping cross-state adventures in literary history, as Huck joins a slave named Jim and the two of them plot their respective flights down the Mississippi River. Throughout the novel, Huck and Jim find themselves in a series of potentially compromising situations, especially since Jim is an escaped slave and there is a price put on his head. Huck eventually reunites with his old friend Tom Sawyer, who delivers a piece of news to him about Jim and Jim's former owner that is both shocking and joyful. A true masterpiece in exposing race relations as well as a young man's knack for adventure and misfortune is widely represented throughout this novel, which contributes to its timeless placement in the literary canon.
©2014 A.R.N. Publications (P)2015 A.R.N. Publications
Life on the Mississippi
Summary
The mighty Mississippi River is the backdrop for this charming and adventurous tale. Samuel Clemens, who is better known as Mark Twain, began his Mississippi adventure as a riverboat captain and decided to pen a journal, recording the Mark Twain classic, Life on the Mississippi. Twain writes of the history of the river and relates his own adventures and misadventures as he seeks his fortune. During Mark Twain’s time on the Mississippi, not only was he inspired to write Life on the Mississippi, but his experiences would also motivate one of his greatest novels of all time, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Life on the Mississippi is a first-hand account of river travel during the American pre-Civil War era and one of Twain’s finest works.
©2017 A. R. N. Publications (P)2017 A. R. N. Publications
The Call of the Wild
Summary
The Call of the Wild is a tale of instincts and wilderness, man and wild, work and loyalty. Written and published by Jack London in the early 1900s, the novel has become one of the pinnacles of American literature, as it details the sheer willpower and stamina at the heart of the country during the Klondike Gold Rush of the 1890s. The main character is a large dog named Buck who is stolen and sold to dog traders where he is forced to work during the madness that is the Gold Rush. As Buck becomes more acclimated to his working lifestyle in the wild north, he becomes more and more wild, asserting himself and overthrowing authority until he himself becomes the top dog. After being mistreated by his many changing masters, Buck eventually meets his one true master, and they traverse the Canadian landscape together. As the two grow closer, Buck and his new master, Thornton, begin to understand that they have a close bond and that they have both saved each other to some extent. At the novel's close, Buck has become inseparable from the wilderness and finds his destiny in its vast opportunity.
©2015 A.R.N. Publications (P)2015 A.R.N. Publications
Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn Series, Book 1
Summary
A classic tale of the journeys and challenges faced by young boys unravels in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. The energetic Tom - who lives with his aunt - is frequently made to do things that he simply does not want to do; namely, going to school and to church. His days off are Saturdays, but when he misbehaves, even those are taken away from him by Aunt Polly. Yet after Tom and his friends witness a murder, for whom the wrong person is blamed, his summer of adventures truly begins. Later, Tom and his friend, Huck Finn, decide to go on a quest for buried treasure, only to find themselves in the presence of two thieves who have an evil plot to harm one of the widows in town. Purely by chance, Tom and his love interest, Becky, become trapped in a cave, and to Tom's fright, discover that there is someone else who is in the cave with them - someone that they would absolutely not like to cross. Ultimately, Tom and Becky are rescued, but the tale does not end there. In the true spirit of boyhood adventures, Tom and Huck reunite to continue their streak of treasure hunting and manage to devise a plan to create their own troupe of robbers.
©2015 A.R.N. Publications (P)2015 A.R.N. Publications