Reviews

Listening Still by Anne Griffin

rebuiltbybooks's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

shawshaff's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I wish this book would've taken a different direction.... I didn't find the main character compelling nor did I feel all that bad for her ?? which I felt is what the story was trying to do. I wish the author would've focused more on the family business and not on the main character's quarter life crisis. Lol. Still a fine read !

vivienned's review against another edition

3.0

This is going to be a very heartachingly sad read. The whole mood of [b:Listening Still|57693425|Listening Still|Anne Griffin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1636980671l/57693425._SY75_.jpg|86047779] is very melancholy. I was expecting more prominence with the interactions between Jeannie & the dead and more fantasy elements to the story. But it’s not like that. The book focuses mainly on Jeanie and how she’s falling apart – or she says her life is falling apart. The entire story is told through Jeanie’s point of view and moves from past relationships to present ones. She hears dead people after they’ve passed, but not very long after, and it varies from person to person. That’s pretty much all it is as far as her paranormal talent goes.

Jeanie lives most of her life with “what-ifs”, and the flashbacks show contemplation of her decisions especially the ones that involve Fion. She had to learn to be authentic to herself because the whole point is that she’s lived all her life doing what’s expected of her.

The story of Annalise was the saddest for me. My heart broke for the young girl. Of course, I couldn’t help but be mad in Nial’s stead, but I understand the honesty of it all. A man who’s loved her all his life and knows that she doesn’t feel the same. Love is like that. Even though the ending is left a bit open-ended, I thought the last few lines of the book were the sweetest part – partially because I'm rooting for Nial to find happiness. Overall, I’m pleased that Jeannie’s finally being true to herself and everyone else in the end.

Thanks to #NetGalley & MacMillan Audio for providing an arc. All opinions are my own.

ndoenowu's review against another edition

3.0

BOOK CLUB 2023 FEB 3 ugh…at the end Niall tells Jeanie let’s go our separate ways Then all of a sudden he pulls out the dog legs and they walk off into the sunset together like everything’s OK. this book is a bizarre story. At times I was interested like in that some thing was going to actually happen but unfortunately everyone sucks in the story. Jeanie he’s not a nice person she doesn’t tell the truth at the end they never resolve the fact that they don’t want children together they at least tell each other that they don’t love each other it’s very confusing and I am left feeling completely uncaring about the end of the story. I am glad that I finished it quickly if only to know that the story with end as it does. I am frustrated feeling for Jeanie as she try’s to escape her family situation built in lies. I left feeling sad for the secondary characters more than Niall and Jeanie. Changed to 3 stars from 2.5 because there was enough here to want to read quickly to the end to discover the truth.

julie7's review against another edition

1.0

Now I quite like a 'wordy' book...but boy was this wordy. It seemed to go nowhere very fast and every turn of the page was a chore.
The female protagonist just came across as a moaning Minnie, and many a time I said out loud "Just be quiet, love!"
I thought from the premise that there would be more around her being able to communicate with the dead.
My first AG book😕 

danidella's review

emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

encounterswiththemoon's review against another edition

3.0

Spoiler

Jeanie Masterson is thirty-two (32), she is married to her lifelong friend, Niall & they work alongside Jeanie’s parents as Undertakers in Kilcross, Ireland. This book follows Jeanie as she wades her way through adult situations without ever investing any ounce of truth, honesty or bits of herself; lest it is the wrong decision. Though the main character is surrounded by family & friends who have doted on her for the entirety of her life, Jeanie continues to evade sincerity in all her actions & reactions; choosing instead to lean on the words ‘duty’ & ‘obligation’ in a hope to validate her inability to be the person that she is.
 
At face value, you might approach my review feeling a bit confused as to why I rated this book so highly if I spent the entirety of my reading experience riddled with annoyance towards the main character. I myself wondered how I might be able to express my reasoning; finding myself working through the pages curious as to why I was enjoying a book that featured a character so polar opposite to myself & truly, a person with whom I felt very frustrated. I suppose I found my way to this rating as I asked myself what it was that I was enjoying; what aspect of a book renders us to fully invest? Does it matter to us if the characters are unlikeable if a story is realistic? In this instance, I found myself invested in the story because I felt that Griffin has successfully created a plot, characters & an environment that made me feel like a fly on the wall. I was peering into the lives of a family who held secrets close to their heart, closer still than the people they loved more than anything in life.

I found myself enjoying the aspects which sprinkled sentiments of reality in this story. Though the plot highlights Jeanie as having a supernatural ability to communicate with those who are deceased, this was not a huge part of the plot & I felt as though it was utilized in an appropriate fashion. By this I mean, it didn’t really matter if I believed that Jeanie could communicate with dead people. It didn’t change the fact that the conversations that were shared held more value than the requirement for me to believe in something outside of my immediate understanding of reality. 

The feelings & emotions that Jeanie explored when sitting beside a deceased person evoked more motion in the advancement of the plot than the simple act of her sitting in a mortuary. Therefore, it didn’t matter whether I believed that a dead person would choose to wait before transitioning into the ether. What mattered was that I read about sentiments we often feel, evoked in a time of high stress & turmoil, from the lips of an imaginary character, into my very real conscious state.
 
Before delving further into other topics of the plot, I want to acknowledge the representation of neurodivergence in Mikey, Jeanie’s older brother. I am not someone who is personally or professionally in a position to make remarks on the authentic representation of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (regarding it wholeheartedly as the spectrum that it is) & therefore, my comments should be recognized as coming from someone who read through this book without personal or educational weight to back my impressions & opinions. 

I wish we had explored this character a little further, I wish there had been more to him than his deep adoration for all things ‘war history’. However, when I regard any other character, I cannot say for certain that they had thoroughly been developed either. Everyone was second fiddle to Jeanie & her antics. Though I didn’t feel any longing for any further details from any of the other characters, I was left feeling rather sad about Mikey & his circumstances.

Having a younger sibling like Jeanie could not have been easy. For the entirety of their lives, she put herself at the forefront of his well-being without ever being able to take care of herself. Are we meant to believe that everyone who is on the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) requires a member of their family to abandon all their hopes & dreams to take care of them? 

I think I felt so poorly about Mikey because his character was constantly utilized as an excuse; a reason to stay behind, someone to hold others back. Based on the little we know of this person, I can’t imagine that he ever wanted anyone to not be who they were. Therefore reading about Jeanie, vapid underachieving Jeanie, constantly placing the blame of her ineptitude on her older brother felt like a huge cop-out; though, maybe that was the point.
 
My most favoured line of the book is spoken in passing after the horribly lost main character evades responsibilities & lives in the rural countryside of France in the hopes of learning who she really is. When Marianne tells Jeanie that (in different words), places do not matter, the people in them do; I found myself at the core of the story.
 
Though I admit that Jeanie as the main character was hugely flawed I couldn’t help but accept that so many, many, people are indeed wandering through life just as she was. I couldn’t shame Jeanie for not knowing who she was when I very clearly read about her having always been evasive when it mattered to be straightforward. One might even argue that her parents & the lies that they fostered, encouraged her to be less than honest, even with herself. However, I think it was more than that. Jeanie never had to question anything, she never had to wonder ‘what if’ because there were always ample people around her protecting her from a failure that might scare her into making a solid decision. 

While she was a child on the playground, Peanut defended her honour. All throughout their lives, Jeanie had someone defending her, helping her choose, & leading her by the hand through any confusing moment in time. I suppose one might say that she was luckier than some of us who have had to do it on our own. However, on the other hand, Jeanie was never so alone as she was when it came time to speak on her desires; who was she but the flimsy leaf, grasping for dear life on the bark of a self-sufficient tree?
 
I found it difficult to find it in myself to think kindly or empathetically toward Jeanie. Every time someone in her life asked her, to be honest, to be present, to be invested; she was elusive & asked for time to think. This time to think was always granted & I couldn’t help but feel envious. How many times, I cannot count, might it have been warmly welcomed for me to have been granted time to reflect; time to organize my thoughts & feelings? Jeanie was granted the freedom of independence & she abused it at every turn. 

How can you be so willfully ignorant as to take advantage of the people who are trusting & loving toward you? How can you take their kindness & understanding at your needing time before broaching a subject, only for you to leave them hanging for days, sometimes years? You have no right to turn around & feel betrayed when on their deathbed, they speak of the people in their lives whom they loved; people with whom they were able to foster an actual healthy relationship.
 
Should I leave a low rating because I thought Jeanie was a spoilt privileged vapid individual who never learnt any lessons in all of her life? Or, should I rate this book highly as it made me truly feel as though this person were real, & as though all the turmoil experienced was in fact truly transpiring?

I chose the latter because, though many aspects of this book were annoying, & sometimes frustrating to read about, I appreciated their earnest presentation. It made sense that Niall moved away to finally find himself living sea-side; this was honest & genuine to the complexities of his character. Of course, he loved Jeanie, of course, he adored everything he hoped to build. But, he was also a person who had complex emotions & a deep understanding that though Jeanie had many aspects of her person to love, she was hollow & this does not leave much room for him & his characteristics, to be loved in return.

I wished for better for all the secondary characters. Even after the final twist is revealed, that didn’t alter my opinion of anyone involved. Life is not always straightforward, sometimes very simple matters snowball into complicated situations. Regardless of what is right & wrong, I wanted everyone in this story to feel validated & comforted. I cannot imagine what Jeanie’s parents must have been feeling when their daughter ran off to Norway because she had never learnt to communicate how she feels. Though I appreciate that she felt inclined to stay to support her aging parents (as many children feel), she was not in a situation wherein she was not granted the liberty of being her own person with her own path.
 
All this to say that I very much enjoyed this book. It was frustrating & aggravating & sometimes very noisome but, it was honest. It genuinely presented the complexities which lie in a single person’s life, however much they lack substance, there is still very much a whole person inside trying to find their way. I think that this book should be read when one is in the frame of mind to appreciate the enormous flaws of the main character without allowing her tantrums to get in the way of the plot. There were so many other people to like, root for, to enjoy. The paranormal aspect of the story plays such a small role so, if you are seeking to have that at the forefront you might be left wanting.

Overall, I am glad that I read this book when I did. Irish novels always remind me of my grandparents & for that, I am left with warm sentiments of home & love.
 
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, & Anne Griffin for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

fourestxx's review against another edition

5.0

Listening Still tells the story of Jeanie Masterson, a girl with a gift passed down through the generations of her family – hearing the final words of the dead.

I have to start by saying how much I absolutely adored this book! It was a beautifully written, thought-provoking story exploring a variety of issues from parental expectations and family pressure, to lost love, self-discovery and having the courage to make your own life choices.

Anne Griffin also highlights the beauty and magic of conversing with the recently deceased, while balancing it against the struggles of people’s reactions to the gift and the challenge of deciding how much to pass on to the loved ones left behind.

The story has humour (lifelong friendships and shared experiences), heartbreak (of lives that could have been) and love (both actual family and the family we choose). I particularly loved characters such as Arthur and Ffion, who brought real heart to the book.

It made me tearful in places and I definitely needed a quiet moment to reflect after turning the final page. A highly recommended read and one I can’t wait to purchase a physical copy of when it is released!

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

julibug86's review against another edition

4.0

Liked this, but was frustrated by the main character and her life choices. Listened on audiobook narrated by Nicola Coughlan. I love Derry Girls, but I watch it with subtitles soooooo probably shouldn’t have listened to an audiobook narrated by her. Had to slow it down, haha.

cdbellomy's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5