Accordion Crimes

Annie Proulx

Jul 1996 · Simon and Schuster · Narrated by Edward Herrmann

About this audiobook

Pulitzer Prize–winning author Annie Proulx brings the immigrant experience to life in this stunning novel that traces the ownership of a simple green accordion.

E. Annie Proulx’s Accordion Crimes is a masterpiece of storytelling that spans a century and a continent. Proulx brings the immigrant experience in America to life through the eyes of the descendants of Mexicans, Poles, Africans, Irish-Scots, Franco-Canadians and many others, all linked by their successive ownership of a simple green accordion. The music they make is their last link with the past—voice for their fantasies, sorrows and exuberance. Proulx’s prodigious knowledge, unforgettable characters and radiant language make Accordion Crimes a stunning novel, exhilarating in its scope and originality.

Ratings and reviews

Personally loved this book. My husband is a third generation Finn and one of the most capable and resilient people I have ever met. Yet he had a secret. He had spent several years of his tender childhood saddled with the responsibility of learning not just the accordion but classical accordion studies under a very demanding maestro. He struggled with it, his parents desire for him to play- perhaps remembering their own romance dancing to accordion music in Finnish dance halls before the war. He excelled however, winning top awards in competitions, his strong character and conscientious nature never allowing him to fail. When his siblings got together to do jam sessions at Christmas, the accordion was never to appear—locked in its case over over 5 decades now. Now 72, he likes studying the Finnish language that his parents spoke whenever they did not want the kids to understand. He has studied tango for several years now and when we come to the point when we can all breath on each other, look forward to dancing again. Many thanks to Annie Proulx for this compelling reflection on the immigrant experience. It was a beautiful read.

About the author

Annie Proulx is the author of eleven books, including the novels The Shipping News and Barkskins, and the story collection Close Range. Her many honors include a Pulitzer Prize, a National Book Award, the Irish Times International Fiction Prize, and a PEN/Faulkner award. Her story “Brokeback Mountain,” which originally appeared in The New Yorker, was made into an Academy Award–winning film. Fen, Bog, and Swamp is her second work of nonfiction. She lives in New Hampshire.

Edward Herrmann's films include Nixon, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Annie, and The Aviator. On television's Gilmore Girls he starred as the patriarch, Richard Gilmore. He has also appeared on The Good Wife, Law & Order, 30 Rock, Grey's Anatomy, and Oz. He earned an Emmy Award for The Practice, and remains well-known for his Emmy-nominated portrayals of FDR in Eleanor and Franklin and Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years. On Broadway, he won a Tony Award for his performance in Mrs. Warren's Profession.