Reincarnation Blues

A Novel

By: Michael Poore

Narrated by: Mark Bramhall

A wildly imaginative novel about a man who is reincarnated over 10,000 lifetimes to be with his one true love: Death herself.

First we live. Then we die. And then...we get another try?

Ten thousand tries, to be exact. Ten thousand lives to "get it right". Answer all the big questions. Achieve wisdom. And become one with everything.

Milo has had 9,995 chances so far and has just five more lives to earn a place in the cosmic soul. If he doesn't make the cut, oblivion awaits. But all Milo really wants is to fall forever into the arms of Death. Or Suzie, as he calls her.

More than just Milo's lover throughout his countless layovers in the Afterlife, Suzie is literally his reason for living - as he dives into one new existence after another, praying for the day he'll never have to leave her side again.

But Reincarnation Blues is more than a great love story: Every journey from cradle to grave offers Milo more pieces of the great cosmic puzzle - if only he can piece them together in time to finally understand what it means to be part of something bigger than infinity. As darkly enchanting as the works of Neil Gaiman and as wisely hilarious as Kurt Vonnegut's, Michael Poore's Reincarnation Blues is the story of everything that makes life profound, beautiful, absurd, and heartbreaking.

Because it's more than Milo and Suzie's story. It's your story, too.

©2017 Michael Poore (P)2017 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Tales of gods and men akin to Neil Gaiman's Sandman as penned by a kindred spirit of Douglas Adams." ( Kirkus Reviews, starred review)

Now THAT was fun!

**Warning: there may be spoilers ahead**

After reading the brief synopsis, I decided to give it a try. A guy's been reincarnated thousands of times and STILL hasn't achieved perfection? He's in love with Death who goes by the name of Suzie. This sounded like fun...and I was right!! Milo's lives on Earth and his life in the afterlife are all intertwined in such an amazing way that I couldn't tell which story I wanted to follow. His relationship with Suzie was so beautiful that I couldn't wait for him to die on Earth so he could be with her again. But when they are separated from each other after Suzie quits, I stopped listening for a few days. I was so heartbroken they were torn apart that I didn't want to hear another word, because this way in my mind they are still there on the couch, reading the newspaper with their legs all twisted together. I almost started all over because I wanted to relive the good parts all over again. But I powered through and continued until the end. His last life, and her first, got really dark. I couldn't believe how horrible it was. I did like though, how she remembered who they were before he did. and I was really excited when he finally clicked on.

For me this was a nice change of pace from all the Baldacci and Meltzer I've been listening to. A breath of fresh air. I'm a visual thinker and I could see this as some sort of mini series on HBO or something like that. Or as a movie where I can see the last chapter like bumpers during the end credits. But it would have to end with the exact lines the book ended. That was... perfection.

The very best book I have ever read or listened to

I'll be brief:

The book was PHENOMENAL. I have never read (or listened) to any book that moved and entertained me the way this one did. Michael Poore (author): Brilliant! Mark Bramhall (narrator): Remarkable!

I've listened to it twice now and will do it again and again. I want more of Poore! Bramhall too!

Excellent read.

not sure about the ending, but a winner overall. Lots to think about. very entertaining.

Fantastic book

This was so much better than I thought it was going to be. The story is wild. Reminded me of Tom Robbins, Jitterbug Perfume in some ways.

Intriguing story

I enjoyed listening to this story. It carried me through long drive times and kept me interested enough to finish the story of the 10,000 lives of Milo. Narration was superb.

Imaginative and Disturbing

What made the experience of listening to Reincarnation Blues the most enjoyable?

The imagination required to create all these lifetimes and stories is really impressive. Some are quite touching, others pretty damn disturbing!

What other book might you compare Reincarnation Blues to and why?

I don't know of any book I can compare. This is really unique.

What does Mark Bramhall bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Mr. Bramhall does a great job of creating many characters, and keeping them consistent throughout the story. Good sense of humor through his voice!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Maybe, but it's too long. It's certainly interesting, but can be exhausting trying to follow all the story lines too.

Any additional comments?

Overall I really enjoyed this story. Michael Poore is surely listening to his own inner voices to have created such scope of story telling. But be warned, this is not some Pollyanna new-age feel good book. There are some quite disturbing images and even heart break in his scenes. I had to stop at a few points and just turn it off before I could continue.

Read it. great story

I didn't want the book to end. Great storyline relatable funny and awesome narrator. The story kept my company for the weekend.

loved it great story telling, love story

loved it... thoughts about the value of losing the "self" Mylo and Susie love story and how doing good may include compassion and appreciation for death

Great book.

Great book. I think of it as a bunch of short stories tied together. Narrator was excelent.

Disappointed

Loved the first half of this book, would have loved the rest too, if the author didn’t ‘have to’ use ‘moon ni***r’ several times in the second half….