Grave Talk

De: Nick Spalding

Narrado por: Imogen Church, Steve West

The hardest part of death is learning how to live.

The last thing Alice expects to see at her husband’s graveside on his birthday is a giant, talking frog. On closer inspection, it’s a grown man dressed as Kermit.

Turns out Alice’s husband is buried next to Ben’s older brother Harry, who—as a parting practical joke in his will—insisted that Ben visit his grave each year, on this specific day, dressed in an as-yet-undisclosed pageant of embarrassing fancy dress.

With little but their grief and this one day in common, Alice and Ben form a very special, very strange friendship, meeting just once a year: same day, same time, same place—different silly costume. As the years pass and grief alters, can their unique bond help them cope with the hardest part of death: life?

©2024 by Nick Spalding. (P)2024 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Such a wonderful story

Loved how different the story setting was. Really enjoyed the narration, storyline and the ending.

I loved it

I loved this book it was such and easy read and just a hallmark book I would definitely recommend to friends .. I just love the friendship of the two main character finally a book that didn’t involve falling in love but a friendship created .. very pleasing.

It’s about helping and healing

Started and finished in 26 hours. Immediately engaging. Heartwarming. Real. Compassionate. About bonding through a unique yet universal shared pain and how we humans can hold one another up in the best ways even when we ourselves feel at our worst. A story of hope and love. Narrated tenderly by Imogen Church and Steve West, two performers who elevate any book they read. Thank you both, and thank you, Nick Spalding.

Meh

I used to love Nick's books and howled with laughter listening to them but he seems to have lost his touch. This book and his last ones haven't been funny or clever like his early ones. Furthermore, I really disliked this female narrator. She was always hysterical sounding, overexaggerating everything to the point of extreme annoyance. I am going to be very cautious before automatically buying another Spaulding book.

Grave Talk

Love this book so much!!! It touched something deep inside after losing my grandmother. It's a must re-read or listen to in my list. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

absolutely hilarious

I read this book while I was at work and laughed so hard I had tears running down my face, everybody I was working with thought I was absolutely insane and I didn't care one bit this book is hilarious. the passion and feelings the sorrow and the Heartbreak you felt every emotion the character spelled I wish I could give this book 10 Stars

I’m not crying you are

Took a break from litrpg, to listen to this book, and even through all the culture shock, and tears I don’t regret, without spoiling anything this is not a rom com, and have tissues ready, the need for them will come out of nowhere.

Don't Bother Listening to These Whiny Narrators

Alice and Ben meet once a year at the grave sites of their husband and brother, respectively, who both died young. At first they meet by chance, there being a reason why they're there at the same time. They then decide to go back every year, the only time they ever get to see each other.

Ben has the misfortune of being forced by his brother's will to wear a ridiculous costume during his visits, Kermit the Frog at that first meeting with Alice, then a different one each succeeding year. Alice has the misfortune of not knowing why her husband had to die in the ER without receiving any care.

As they get to know each other better, they set challenges for each other to deal with their respective life issues. The following year they review the last challenges, which naturally set the stage for the new challenges they set forth.

That is all great stuff. So why the low rating? I had the misfortune of listening to the audio edition while a friend was reading the print edition. They were laughing their head off at all the great Nick Spalding comedy (I've read three or four of his other books and generally liked them a lot).

But the audio edition just infuriated me. Generally, I like to listen to humor in audio, believing the professional voice actors to have better comic timing than the voice in my head. The two narrators of this book (one for Ben, one for Alice) have no comic timing whatsoever.

What they do have in spades are the whiniest voices ever. Whoever made the decision to have them be so pathetic in their readings should never work in audio again. Nothing is funny. In print, when Alice feuds with Jobbers the kookaburra, I'm told it's hilarious. Lifewise when Ben, as awkward as he is, has to fill in for his brother at a rugby match. Not in audio. It's excruciatingly pathetic.

The patheticness of it points a bright spotlight at the one thing Nick Spalding got wrong. Meeting each year once a year raises the question, what do they do the rest of the year? Yes, we get the big picture via the challenges. But what of their day to day?

How does Alice go through ten years -- TEN YEARS! -- of sitting around friendless and dateless (OK, one of each over the course of ten years), wallowing in self pity and endless grief? It doesn't pass the BS test. Maybe if the humor worked (in audio) it wouldn't have mattered, but if the voice actors are going to emphasize self-pity over a ten year period, how can it not matter?

Do yourself a favor, read the print edition. If you must listen to an audiobook, choose another Spalding title, not this one.

Melodramatic narration

Really could not stand imogen- super dramatic over nothing - very irritating. Did not finish - I thought the premise was interesting but a very boring story!

1 star, rare DNF

I like the premise for Grave Talk by Nick Spalding. However, I found myself not able to relate to either character. I'd took some thinking, but I realized it's because we are never introduced to Joe or Harry. This missing piece would make it easier to understand why it takes so many years for them to not be able to function better after their respective losses. It was also quite boring.

Imogen Church as Alice was amazing, as always. However, Steve West as Ben is so boring with very little range or inflection that I couldn't do it anymore.

DNF @ 48%, although I did skim the ending.