I’m no great fan of what I call (admittedly pejoratively) YokelLit, so I would likely have skipped this one had it not been written by one of my favorite singer-songwriters.

Thus it’s no great surprise that I didn’t love this, and just felt it was too folksy for my interest. Given that, I’m probably not the target audience for this one, so please consider my thoughts accordingly if this type of subject matter is more in your wheelhouse.

The story is certainly well-conceived and unique, but for me it lacked gravitas and mostly left me ambivalent towards the characters’ fates and disinterested in most of the plot.

There’s some nonsensical stuff toward the end of the book that really dig bug me from a quality standpoint, but mostly this was a not my taste issue and I rated accordingly.

The audiobook format helped a bit for a number of reasons, not the least of which being that Ritter performs original music at the end that is definitely worth a listen. Otherwise, skip if this type of subject matter is, as is the case for me, not your thing, and go forth and read if it is.

This review deals with the audiobook version of this book. I had read the book previously thanks to NetGalley and I also listened to this book via NetGalley.
I enjoyed the book and also the narration of it.

First, I must put in a warning for language. It didn't bother me, but the author did apologize to his mother for the language in the book in the credits. This is the story of Weldon Applegate's life from his childhood in the lumbering town of Cordelia, to his 99th year, still in Cordelia and still on the Lost Lot, his inherited timber claim. In the story we meet the legendary logger Linden Laughlin, a logger renowned for his lumber camp exploits, the 'witch' who tells the loggers their fortunes, and a host of other colorful characters. We read about 'dream', the bootleg liquor enjoyed by the loggers and witness the demise of this way of life. I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the author's reading of his work.

What an odd little book. Part folktale, part tall tale, and told in such a unique voice. Characters seemed larger than life and full of derring-do which made for an interesting read, less focused on traditional plot structure and more the rambling reflections of a dying man.

Audiobook was self-narrated and excellent. Author has just the right voice for a folktale. Listeners will be treated at the end to the singer/songwriter performing Some Somewhere.

3.5 stars rounded up.

Audiobook provided by NetGalley, Harper Audio, and Harlequin Audio in exchange for an honest review.

Ok, so yeah.... this just wasn't the book for me. It read like a tall tale that was just one long run-on sentence. It might be your thing, it just wasn't mine.

I was really excited for this but I honestly can't really tell you what this book is about as I had a hard time following the story. And while I love a good swear, it was off-putting that almost every sentence had the word f***k in it. To me that's not creative and it got old pretty quickly, it didn't serve a purpose.

While I enjoy Ritter's music, I think this story would have benefited from a different audiobook narrator. He wasn't horrible, but I felt like the audiobook was very one-note.

Josh Ritter has been a favorite singer/songwriter for many years. I always knew he was quite a wordsmith. The Great Glorious Goddamn of it All was a wonderful story of a small timber town and the rememberings of a ninety nine year old man. His adventures, toils, and foibles are all told here.

A fascinating yarn of one man's life experience as a lumber jack told from his perspective of an old man looking back and a child. When speaking from the younger perspective, Ritter skillfully captures the overwhelming bigness of the characters and landscape around him - exactly the way a child would experience them.

The writing is really terrific overall - no one turns a phrase like a singer-songwriter.

I don't think the audiobook format contributed much to the story. There were points where a sudden change in volume was distracting - needs improved mixing? Also, it was difficult to tell, at times, if we were hearing from the elder Weldon or the younger - I finally decided it didn't matter that much.

The Great Glorious Goddamn of It All follows Weldon Applegate. Whose family of well-known lumberjacks have worked in the forests of Cordelia, Idaho. The story jumps back and forth between Weldon at 99 years old and him as a young boy (12 to 14 years old).

Story (3.5 stars): Overall, the title (although a mouthful) captures the essence of the novel and Weldon’s crotchety, ornery character. The writing about the lumber industry during the time period is fascinating and the story woven around it is well done. I guess I thought we’d see a little more of Weldon as he grew up, but the majority of the book was him as a young "cub". The writing is artful; some very memorable quotes and dialogue. Most all the characters are rather unpleasant, but it fits. The story grew on me... A well-constructed historical fiction.

Audio (3.5 stars): The audio is well done. It was hard to tell young Weldon from older Weldon sometimes – they just sounded the same until some semblance of time or place was mentioned. There were a few times where the sound changed and you could tell there was a break or addition to a section. I would probably prefer to read this book because there were so many characters and I felt it took me awhile to figure out who was who and what time in Weldon’s life we were in.

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Audio this ARC. This might be an interesting book club read.

Historical fiction about the lore of the lumberjacks of our past. Both of my grandfathers actually worked in this industry when I was a baby. When you walk the woods of WV, you are often on the trails created by the loggers and their horse teams so this book came alive for me. I spent my earliest years in the shadow of my grandfather's saw mill.

Well written and preformed, there is a lot of language, but it is not authentic in tone.

In the tiny timber town of Cordelia, Idaho, everyone has heard tales of the Applegates. Local legend says their family line boasts some of the greatest lumberjacks to ever roam the American West, and from the moment young Weldon stepped foot in the deep Cordelia woods as a child, he dreamed of joining the rowdy ranks of his ancestors in their epic axe-swinging adventures. But at the beginning of the twentieth century, times are changing fast, and the jacks are dying out.

On his deathbed nearly a century later, Weldon Applegate recounts his life in all its glory, filled with tall tales writ large with murder, mayhem, avalanches and bootlegging. It’s the story of dark pine forests brewing with ancient magic, and Weldon’s struggle as a boy to keep his father’s inherited timber claim, the Lost Lot, from the ravenous clutches of Linden Laughlin.

Braided with haunting saloon tunes and just the right dose of magic, The Great Glorious Goddamn of It All is a novel bursting with heart, humor and an utterly transporting adventure that is sure to sweep you away into the beauty of the tall snowy mountain timber.