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| LISTENING STILL by Anne Griffin Publication: 01 Mar 2022 Publisher: St. Martin Press Genre: General Fiction Rating: ★★★★★ |
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Jeanie Masterson has a gift: she can hear the last words of the dead.
Passed down from generation to generation, this gift means she is able to make wrongs right, to give voice to unspoken love and dying regrets. She and her father have worked happily alongside each other for years, but now he's unexpectedly announced that he wants to retire early and leave the business to her and her life is called into question.
Does she really want to be married to the embalmer, or does she want to be with her childhood sweetheart, off in London? Does she want to have children, and pass this gift on to them? And does she want to be stuck in this small town, or is there more of the world she wants to see - like the South of France, where she's discovered a woman who shares her gift?
Tied to her home by this unusual talent, she begins to question: what if what she's always thought of as a gift is a curse?
Passed down from generation to generation, this gift means she is able to make wrongs right, to give voice to unspoken love and dying regrets. She and her father have worked happily alongside each other for years, but now he's unexpectedly announced that he wants to retire early and leave the business to her and her life is called into question.
Does she really want to be married to the embalmer, or does she want to be with her childhood sweetheart, off in London? Does she want to have children, and pass this gift on to them? And does she want to be stuck in this small town, or is there more of the world she wants to see - like the South of France, where she's discovered a woman who shares her gift?
Tied to her home by this unusual talent, she begins to question: what if what she's always thought of as a gift is a curse?
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If you are looking for a captivating and
emotional read that explores the power of words, secrets and family, you might
want to check out Listening Still by Anne Griffin. This is her second novel,
after the acclaimed When All is Said, and it follows the journey of Jeanie
Masterson, a young woman who inherits her father's funeral home and his unusual
ability to hear the last words of the dead.
Jeanie has always helped her family with
the business, listening to the final confessions, regrets and wishes of the
departed and passing them on to their loved ones. But when her parents retired
unexpectedly, she finds herself alone with this burden and a business to run.
She also must deal with her own life, dreams, and regrets.
LISTENING STILL is a beautifully written
and engaging novel that transports the reader to the rural Ireland. It is not
only a compelling story of one woman's quest for happiness and fulfillment, but
also a celebration of the Irish culture, history and tradition. The
setting is richly described and full of life.
Anne Griffin has a gift for creating vivid
and authentic characters that you care about and root for. She also tackles
some of life’s big questions, while blending humor and heartache, realism and
magic, in a way that makes you feel both enchanted and enlightened.
Listening Still is a novel that will make
you laugh, cry, think and feel. It is a novel that will stay with you long
after you finish reading it. It is a novel that will make you want to listen
more closely to the voices around you, and to your own voice within.
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About the Author:
Anne Griffin is the author of the Irish No. 1 bestseller ‘When All Is Said’. Winner of the Newcomer of the Year Irish Book Awards 2019 and longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award 2021. Her second novel, ‘Listening Still’ was published in 2022 and her third, ‘The Island Of Longing’ will be published on May 4th, 2023.
Anne’s books have been translated into several languages and recorded as e-audiobooks.
Anne’s books have been translated into several languages and recorded as e-audiobooks.
*Digital ARC provided by St. Martin Press and Netgalley in exchange for this unbiased review.
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