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| View Larger Image | A Place Called Freedom
by Ken Follett
| | List Price: | $7.99 |  | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours | | | | | Sales Rank: | 23988 | | Studio: | Fawcett | | | Binding: | Mass Market Paperback | | Number Of Pages: | 464 | | Publication Date: | June 30, 1996 | | Publisher: | Fawcett |
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
Sentenced to a life of misery in the Scottish coal mines, twenty-one-year-old Mack McAsh hungers for escape. His only ally: beautiful high-born Lizzie Hallim, who is trapped in her own kind of hell.
In 1766, from the teeming streets of London to the infernal hold of a slave ship headed for the American colonies to a sprawling Virginia plantation, two restless young people, separated by politics and position, are bound by their search for a place called freedom.... |
Amazon.com
With action that spans two countries on opposite sides of the Atlantic, making a credible audio version of this epic tale is no small feat. Victor Garber, the talented actor of stage and screen (Sleepless in Seattle, I'll Fly Away, The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd), does an admirable job. Garber presents the narrative passages in a clear, confident tone and uses his extensive acting experience to create believable voices for the many diverse characters. Follett has thrown in a confusing array of regional accents and disguised characters, but the range of Garber's voice helps keep things straight while heightening the considerable action and communicating the powerful emotions expressed by the very large cast that gives this drama its grand sweep. This intriguing novel hinges on the courageous struggles of the hero, an indentured coal miner who declares, "I'll go anywhere that is not Scotland--anywhere a man can be free." Getting anywhere else is easier said than done, especially when he's caught up in an entanglement of familial responsibility, forbidden love, official deceit, trickery, and violence. Even though there are plenty of breathless moments when proper ladies are tempted by bare-chested hunks, this is much more than just another adventure-filled love story. It's also an intriguing journey into the social and political realities of the late 18th century, when the rising influence of the American colonies was first taking hold and the shining glory of the British Empire had begun its long, slow fade. (Running time: four hours, four cassettes) --George Laney |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 64 reviews)
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A place called freedom 
The main protagonists are Mack McAsh, a coal miner and Lizzie Hallim, a high-born young woman, who has to marry a rich man to save her family. Their love story develops over the course of the novel, as the story progresses. Mack is a young coal miner, a very strong, stubborn, hot-blooded and intelligent guy. He is a property of Sir George Jamisson, who owns the coal mines in the village called Heugh in Scotland. Mack works extremely hard in in the cruel and dangerous coalfields. However, he does not want to accept his fate. He never loses his passion for freedom. Mack challenges his owner and flees to London, where he works as a coal heaver and quickly becomes a leader of the heavers. Meanwhile, Lizzie gets married to Sir George's son, Captain Jay Jamisson, and they move to live in London. Then Sir George gives them a tobacco plantation in Virginia as a wedding present. In London, Mack accidentally gets involved in a riot and is sentenced to be transported to Virginia. In America, Lizzie and Mack flee together and fight for their freedom in the western wilderness.
The book is too predictable and the plots are simple. There are too many coincidences and the ending is weak. I believe this book is definitely not Mr Follett's best. However, it's a fast read and quite entertaining. It also briefly but interestingly introduces the turbulent politics on 1760s Scotland, England and America.
I would strongly recommend other books by the same author, including "The pillars of the earth" and "World without end". Those books are great!
August 15, 2008 | |
Utterly unremarkable, mediocre novel
I've never read a lot of Ken Follett's work. His two historical fiction novels, World Without End and Pillars of the Earth picqued my interest and led me to delve a little deeper into his earlier efforts. I must say after reading this novel that I was quite disappointed.
A Place Called Freedom is at best quite mediocre. There is virtually nothing to recommend it above hundreds of other similar books. There were flashes of interest concerning mining conditions and southern plantation practices in the mid-18th century, but by and large it was utterly unremarkable.
Hard working, ambitious, intelligent Scottish miner, spends 400 pages being attracted to a young open minded highly sexed heiress both in Scotland and over seas in pre-revolutionary America. I wonder how it ends?
June 07, 2008 | |
A Place Called Freedom 
As always, another one of Ken Follett's books that I loved. This book takes you back to Scotland in the 1700's. Even though the book may have had some predictable parts, it was hard to put this book down. The story begins in the coal mines of Scotland and takes you through a beautifully told story of love, lust, greed and envy. A must read for all of Ken Follett fans.
March 21, 2008 | |
Why such a dull effort 
While I think it would be difficult for Follett to top a few of his own previous works, this novel falls far short of what I would have expected from such a detail-oriented writer.
The hardcover book was misleading by its sheer size, since one might expect a deep, intense story to unwind over seven or eight hundred pages. It's actually less than four hundred. The jacket also teased me with visions of a long epic spanning several decades, as Follett did so brilliantly with "The Pillars of the Earth," or as in the style of Michener with any one of his books.
As I ploughed through the pages, I kept waiting for a surprise situation to develop. As mentioned by other reviewers, the book is highly predictable, and contains a lot of flat action narrative that I guess is supposed to excite the reader. By the last twenty or so pages, the book had gotten ridiculous and I was skimming over it all just to get it over with.
This book is totally forgettable. What a shame.
February 19, 2008 | |
Freedom is not necessarily a place but a state of Mind
I picked this book up at the Madrid Airport on a business trip. I was immediately engrossed, and couldn't wait to turn the next page, reminded me of my independent Scotch Irish roots, and getting to America was so refreshing. A great ,with wild ride with the good, bad and the ugly, in a turbulent, but hopeful time. The love story gives it some glue also.
A easy and entertaining read.
February 11, 2008 | |
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