Title: "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" Author: Washington Irving
Year: 1819
Audiobook Length: 1.5 hours
Main Characters: Ichabod Crane, Katrina Van Tassel, Abraham "Brom Bones" Van Brunt, The Headless Horseman
First Line: "In the bosom of one of those spacious coves which indent the eastern shore of the Hudson, at that broad expansion of the river denominated by the ancient Dutch navigators the Tappan Zee, and where they always prudently shortened sail and implored the protection of St. Nicholas when they crossed, there lies a small market town or rural port, which by some is called Greensburgh, but which is more generally and properly known by the name of Tarry Town."
I think the basic plot of Irving's short story is fairly well known. I even vaguely remember seeing the Tim Burton movie adaptation starring Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci. That being said, I'm feeling kind of indifferent about the story itself. For me, this is one of those cases where the hype/cultural memory of the story is more exciting than the actual story. I honestly felt like the end was a bit anticlimactic.
"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is written well. Irving provides some beautiful descriptions throughout the tale. I am glad that I listened to it, however, because looking up the first line to add to the beginning of this post made me see the length of Irving's sentences. I guess I didn't realize it when I was listening, but writing out just the first sentence made me a little twitchy. There is a lot of content in that thing!
I listened to "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" as part of the Read-A-Thon. I turned out to be the perfect length for the trip I had to take during the event. I grabbed it at the library because I thought it would be appropriate to read near Halloween. I would recommend "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" to those seeking a dose of spooky American short story.
