George Saunders (2017 Man Booker Prize Winner) returns with a new novel Vigil. It follows the lives of characters navigating the moment between life and death. It considers memories, moral dilemmas and the fragility of human connection. Whilst touching upon corporate greed and capitalism, and poses the question of what is the cost of progress on the world we live.
Vigil is a short read and an example of subtle writing with emotional depth that makes us question how we could make peace with any actions in our past that have harmed others.
As someone who’s usual to be read pile is full of fast paced thrillers and twisty horrors I found this a difficult read. However, it is a must-read for those who appreciate subtle storytelling and introspective narratives.
About the Book
What a lovely home I found myself plummeting toward. . .
Not for the first time – in fact, for the 343rd time – Jill ‘Doll’ Blaine finds herself crashing down to earth, head-first, rear-up, to accompany her latest charge into the afterlife. She soon realises however that this man is not quite like the others.
For powerful oil tycoon K.J. Boone will not be consoled, because he has nothing to regret. He lived a big, bold life, and the world is better for it. isn’t it?
As death approaches, a cast of worldly and otherworldly visitors arrive. Crowds of people and animals – alive and dead – materialise, birds swarm the dying man’s room, and associates from decades past show up, all clamouring for a reckoning.
In this electric novel brimming with explosive imagination, George Saunders confronts the biggest issues of our time with his trademark humour and warmth, spinning a tale that encompasses life and death, good and evil, and the inevitable question: who else could we be but exactly who we are?
About The Author
George Saunders is the author of nine books, including Tenth of December, which was a finalist for the National Book Award and won the inaugural Folio Prize (for the best work of fiction in English) and the Story Prize (best short-story collection). He has received MacArthur and Guggen-heim fellowships and the PEN/Malamud Prize for excellence in the short story, and was recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2013, he was named one of the world’s 100 most influential people by Time magazine. He teaches in the creative writing program at Syracuse University.
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