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    The Rifle
    The Rifle
    The Rifle
    Audiobook2 hours

    The Rifle

    Written by Gary Paulsen

    Narrated by Norman Dietz

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    In this wonderfully crafted novel, a rifle, not the people who come to own it, is the main character. This story follows the rifle from its creation in 1768 to a shattering event as it roars back to life in 1994. Gary Paulsen is one of the most popular writers of young adult fiction in America today.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateJan 17, 2014
    ISBN9781490608549
    Author

    Gary Paulsen

    Gary Paulsen (1939-2021) wrote more than two hundred books for children and adults. Three of his novels – Hatchet, Dogsong, and The Winter Room – were Newbery Honor books. In 1997, he received the ALA's Margaret A. Edwards Award for his contribution to young adult literature. His books have sold over 35 million copies around the world.

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    Reviews for The Rifle

    3.5/5

    59 ratings5 reviews

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    • 1/5
      Gary Paulsen is an excellent storyteller, and I have read a number of his books about nature and survival. As I started reading The Rifle, I was entranced with his descriptions of early America, and the tale of a gunsmith determined to make the best rifle he could. It wasn't until I got about halfway through this small book before I started seeing some indication that this was not just a tale of a man and a rifle, but I continued reading to the end. I cannot and will not recommend this book, because, unfortunately, the author turns it into a heavy-handed political statement, and ruins the enjoyment of the first part. What a shame.
    • 5/5
      Everyone should read this book!
    • 5/5
      The Rifle is about a gunsmith name Cornish McManus that builds a Rifle of such accuracy that he knew he could never build another like it. But McManus has to sell the rifle to make money. McManus sells the rifle to John Byam that uses it in the American Revolution. The Rifle then passes down to other owners until present day. But when the rifle gets pass down to the new owners, none of them check to see if the rifle is loaded.
    • 3/5
      First Line: It is necessary to know this rifle.This short little book traces the history of one flintlock rifle from its creation during the American Revolution to the 1990s.The rifle's creation is a months-long labor of love by a journeyman gunsmith named Cornish McManus. When completed, it is most definitely a "sweet rifle" (meaning one of stunning beauty and accuracy). In desperate need of money, Cornish reluctantly sells the gun to John Byam, a sharpshooter in the Revolutionary War who dies of dysentery.The rifle, intended as a gift to a son killed in battle, is tucked away and forgotten as the centuries pass. In the 1990s it is found, and changes hands a few times until it rests above the mantel of a home in Missouri. Tragedy will ensue because-- during all this time and through all the hands it's passed-- no one has ever checked to see if the rifle is loaded.The first part of this book is wonderful. The craftsmanship that goes into the making of this rifle is phenomenal, and Paulsen brings the entire process to life. The rifle's "life" while in the hands of sharpshooter John Byam is also vivid and well done.But the book falls apart in the end. It's obvious that the author wants to teach children how deadly serious guns are, that no matter how beautiful they are or how innocently they are kept, guns are made to kill-- and they will kill. But it strains credulity to the breaking point to believe that a gun loaded in the 1770s will still fire first-time true in 1993.Paulsen does not believe that "guns don't kill people, people kill people," but the tragedy that occurs at the end of the book is due entirely to humans who don't care about simple gun safety. The ending of the book, in particular, bothered me: "And in the meantime the rifle sits in the gun cabinet. Waiting." Guns are not inhabited by evil spirits who lurk patiently until the unwary come within range. (Although all too often they are owned by people who have no business having them in their possession.)Middle school children may well take Paulsen's message to heart, and I hope they do, but for most of the adults who read along with their children, the aim of his story is going to fall short.
    • 5/5
      This book is about a rifle that has been passed through George's family from generation to generation. This book is great and shows the main character's hard work to keep the rifle and pass it on one day to his family.