I See You've Called in Dead by John Kennedy, 3.5 stars

[Holly R W]

The central character in the novel is Bud Stanley, who is a 44 year old obituary writer living in NYC. Bud can be funny or slightly sarcastic, depending on the situation. We soon find out that he is reeling from a divorce and feeling depressed. Bud has been sleep walking through his life, not feeling fully alive. One night after drinking too much, Bud decides in a frenzy of self-pity to write his own obit and types it mistakenly into his newspaper's website. His employer does not take this lightly, as Bud would hope.

I would call the novel comedic and quirky, but not a comedy. It deals with serious subjects like death and mental health. To me, the loveliest part of the book is Bud's friendship with his friend and landlord, Tim Charvat. Tim is a paraplegic who uses a wheelchair. I was very drawn to him.

Eventually, Bud works his way out of his funk through forging new and deeper relationships. Like Tim, these characters are interesting to read about.

[Jason]

This book was a pleasant library find. I loved the depth and quirkiness of it

[Holly R W]

I'm glad you enjoyed it too, Jason.