Carrying Albert Home: The Somewhat True Story of A Man, His Wife, and Her Alligator

Set in the Depression-era American South, Homer Hickam's novel follows a young West Virginia couple on an unlikely road trip: Elsie, a woman who once danced on the edge of a different life, and her husband Homer, a coal miner determined to hold his marriage together. The catalyst is Albert, an alligator Elsie has raised since receiving him as a wedding gift from a former flame. When Homer issues an ultimatum, Elsie's solution sets the three of them on a thousand-mile journey through a country in economic freefall, navigating small towns, strange characters, and the complicated terrain of a young marriage.

Adam Verner brings a warm, unhurried quality to the narration that suits Hickam's tall-tale sensibility perfectly. His voice carries the cadence of a story told on a porch rather than read from a page, giving the novel's humor and melancholy equal weight. The audio format amplifies the book's episodic, folkloric structure, making each roadside encounter feel like a distinct chapter in an American legend. At just under eleven hours, the pacing feels leisurely without overstaying its welcome.