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annabel_jacobs's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I found this to be an interesting read! Set in a small Irish town, this is a unique story about a girl that can talk to the dead.
I did enjoy that this book is quite different from most of the books that I read.
It made me think but unfortunately the characters didn’t make a real impact on me. Overall it just made me sad.
I’m giving it 3.75 stars
I did enjoy that this book is quite different from most of the books that I read.
It made me think but unfortunately the characters didn’t make a real impact on me. Overall it just made me sad.
I’m giving it 3.75 stars
jaylees91's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
paulsnelling's review against another edition
3.0
Though placed in the environment of a funeral home, this is a book very much about the living, specifically the lies and incomplete truths we tell each other. Jeannie speaks to the recently dead, hears their regrets of things unsaid. Sometimes she passes them on; sometimes out of a paternalistic concern, she doesn’t. When she tells the whole truth, it backfires. Tricky thing, truth, especially when you are merely the messenger. But she also has an ambivalent relationship with her own truth – as do many in her family– away from the dead. A young choice not to follow the love of her life leads instead to safety with Niall, but prompted by a big change, her failure to acknowledge her truth and communicate it unravels their lives. Reconciliation and a way forward follows, and the only loser is poor Niall, the only one who knew all along how things were, and who lied to no-one. I felt that the talking to the dead plot device wasn’t really necessary, and for a solid unbeliever like me, made the book hover between novel and fable. Without it the characters might have been developed a little. The arguments for truth and communication were clear enough and though Jeannie was aware of her obligations to the dead, and her simple obligations to the living, she wasn’t so likeable with the complex. Eventually she concedes: ‘So, you were right all along, Niall, I was holding something back.’ All Niall wanted was to love her and so, among her parting words to him, she said sorry: ‘I didn’t mean for any of this. I tried, I tried’. It did not seem enough. Three and a half stars
nicjohnston's review against another edition
4.0
I absolutely loved When All Is Said, Anne Griffin’s first novel. I was therefore excited to get an ARC of Listening Still, if not a little nervous. I needn’t have been. Listening Still is mesmerising and I loved it (it even has a nod to When All Is Said).
The story of the Mastersons. Funeral directors, extended family and the added benefit of, for a short window, being able to gather the last thoughts of the dead. With no exception I thought all of the characters were beautifully written and the plotting was tight. I read the book over 3 sittings (and the only reason it wasn’t one sitting was pesky work getting in the way). I would thoroughly recommend Listening Still.
Thanks to Netgalley and Sceptre/Hachette/Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC. It was a pleasure to read.
The story of the Mastersons. Funeral directors, extended family and the added benefit of, for a short window, being able to gather the last thoughts of the dead. With no exception I thought all of the characters were beautifully written and the plotting was tight. I read the book over 3 sittings (and the only reason it wasn’t one sitting was pesky work getting in the way). I would thoroughly recommend Listening Still.
Thanks to Netgalley and Sceptre/Hachette/Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC. It was a pleasure to read.
peachyteachy's review against another edition
3.0
I did not like this one as much as "When All is Said" ...the protagonist was very whiny IMHO and I lost patience with her sometimes. There were some really good scenes and some decent humour. Meh
marilynw's review
4.0
Listening Still by Anne Griffin (Author) Nicola Coughlan (Narrator)
Jeanie Masterson can hear the last words of the dead and they can hear her. It's a gift and a curse because she feels this obligation to listen to the dead, to pass on their messages to the living. The only other person who can do this is her father and he doesn't always pass on what the dead want to pass on. He'll sugar coat the message or change it entirely because he doesn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. Jeanie feels conflicted about what her father does but then she feels conflicted about everything.
Coming from a family where it always feels like everyone is holding back from saying what they really think and feel, Jeanie has adapted to this way of not communicating. She is such a frustrating person to me. She spends years not answering the questions of people who love her, leaving herself and them hanging, with no end in sight. It's as if she craves this hanging on of her never to be reached hopes and wishes and of men whose lives are put on hold waiting for her to give answers to questions. What is most frustrating is when she knows the answer but still won't say it out loud, It's a cruel way of living and a cruel way to treat the people in her life.
But family is where she learned a lot of what she does. Not that it's spoken about or addressed. This family doesn't address anything important and seems to revolve around not dealing with the most important issues of their lives. So I felt sad while reading this story, for this woman who is so removed from life that she is really only living it in her head. She communicates better with the dead than she does with the living. I will say though, that I still enjoyed the book and the narration of the story. I could tell, early on, not to get invested in Jeanie's actions or inactions because nothing much was going to happen if she had her way.
Publication: March 1, 2022
Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for this ARC
Jeanie Masterson can hear the last words of the dead and they can hear her. It's a gift and a curse because she feels this obligation to listen to the dead, to pass on their messages to the living. The only other person who can do this is her father and he doesn't always pass on what the dead want to pass on. He'll sugar coat the message or change it entirely because he doesn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. Jeanie feels conflicted about what her father does but then she feels conflicted about everything.
Coming from a family where it always feels like everyone is holding back from saying what they really think and feel, Jeanie has adapted to this way of not communicating. She is such a frustrating person to me. She spends years not answering the questions of people who love her, leaving herself and them hanging, with no end in sight. It's as if she craves this hanging on of her never to be reached hopes and wishes and of men whose lives are put on hold waiting for her to give answers to questions. What is most frustrating is when she knows the answer but still won't say it out loud, It's a cruel way of living and a cruel way to treat the people in her life.
But family is where she learned a lot of what she does. Not that it's spoken about or addressed. This family doesn't address anything important and seems to revolve around not dealing with the most important issues of their lives. So I felt sad while reading this story, for this woman who is so removed from life that she is really only living it in her head. She communicates better with the dead than she does with the living. I will say though, that I still enjoyed the book and the narration of the story. I could tell, early on, not to get invested in Jeanie's actions or inactions because nothing much was going to happen if she had her way.
Publication: March 1, 2022
Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for this ARC