Spook

Science Tackles the Afterlife

By: Mary Roach

Narrated by: Bernadette Quigley

"What happens when we die? Does the light just go out and that's that - the million-year nap? Or will some part of my personality, my me-ness persist? What will that feel like? What will I do all day? Is there a place to plug in my laptop?"

In an attempt to find out, Mary Roach brings her tireless curiosity to bear on an array of contemporary and historical soul-searchers: scientists, schemers, engineers, mediums, all trying to prove (or disprove) that life goes on after we die. She begins the journey in rural India with a reincarnation researcher and ends up in a University of Virginia operating room where cardiologists have installed equipment near the ceiling to study out-of-body near-death experiences. Along the way, she enrolls in an English medium school, gets electromagnetically haunted at a university in Ontario, and visits a Duke University professor with a plan to weigh the consciousness of a leech. Her historical wanderings unearth soul-seeking philosophers who rummaged through cadavers and calves' heads, a North Carolina lawsuit that established legal precedence for ghosts, and the last surviving sample of "ectoplasm" in a Cambridge University archive.

©2005 Mary Roach (P)2005 Brilliance Audio

What? A Comedy?

I thought this would be an interesting listen about afterlife and ghosts - you know stuff for long boring car rides. The opening of the book which is very slow follows our author in India while looking into reincarnation. The narration was very unusual and I could not figure out the tone of the book - it certainly was not what I was expecting. I stopped listening to in fact. Then I gave it another chance, it turned into one of the funniest books I have listened to as the author exhaustively goes through the history of mediums and ghost hunting in general. I have recommended it to family members with the warning about a tedious start. All have agreed it is hilarious - unintentionally or not. I can understand why folks are upset though - but as far as historical comedy and satire goes the subject is loaded with great(silly)potential.

Sound quality was not very good.

What made the experience of listening to Spook the most enjoyable?

I'm afraid this was not as good as stiff, but still quite informative.
I believe the subject matter wasn't as interesting as one might think.

What did you like best about this story?

Mary Roach is excellent

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Bernadette Quigley?

The narrator who performed on stiff was excellent.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No

Hasn't aged well

I loved "Stiff" by Mary Roach when I read it, and "Bonk" was just okay. "Spook" had several interesting sections, but the author's sparky, wry humor lost its charm for me when she aimed it at beliefs of the Hindu religion (and the names of so many people, for some reason)--and in this audiobook production, the white female narrator delivers an Apu-style fake Indian accent that had me cringing for the whole chapter.

Awful narration

Quigley's condescending, cheesy narration, rife with cringe-worthy bad accents (Indian, English, Southern) can't help but detract from Mary Roach's normally brilliant prose. That said, this book lacks so many of the surprises and signature counter-intuitive gems that make Mary Roach my favorite living author. All said and done, probably her weakest book but still worth checking out. But read it, don't listen to this.

great book, not great reader

Bernadette Quigley's regional accents here are in pretty poor taste. She also mispronounced "verisimilitude." In general, she was a poor choice for this book.

I'm still trying to decide...

I had to stop listening about 2/3 the way through for a couple of weeks before I could find the steam to listen to the rest and enjoy it again. We all know Roach is a good author to read with book in hand, right? Appropriately and light humor and sarcasm, usually well placed (and well played) with her anecdotes and research. Then on this audio book, the performer is solid and consistent from cover to cover...but. The sarcasm maintained via voice for an entire book was hard to listen to. I had a hard time even enjoying the rest. I'm going to listen to it again some day to see what I missed during my sighs and eye rolls 😅

snarky narration

I found the content of this book quite interesting; however, it was difficult to get past the snarky tone in the voice of the narrator.

Somewhat disappointing

Partly, I was disappointed in the reader. I found her rendition too over-done for what I imagine to be Mary Roach's dry, tongue-in-cheek humor. I also found the topic to be less interesting than I expected, although the ending was quite a surprise. I guess most of the scientific findings about topics related to the afterlife are exactly what I would expect. I am looking forward to more of Roach's books though.

Good Mary Roach book, atrocious narration

Would you try another book from Mary Roach and/or Bernadette Quigley?

Yes for Mary Roach, no for Bernadette Quigley

What did you like best about this story?

Classic Mary Roach, gonzo journalism with weird scientists

Would you be willing to try another one of Bernadette Quigley’s performances?

Never. Throughout the book she does horrible accents bordering on racist, she pauses in the wrong places or emphasizes the wrong words, and feels free to put her own spin on sentences. It would have been much better with a narrator reading in a neutral tone and her own voice.

Terrible narration mars an interesting topic

The narrator treats the interviewees and even the subject matter as a joke, leading to a lot of cringeworthy moments regarding accents, beliefs, and even the scientific research. Better read as a book when possible.