The Regrets

By: Amy Bonnaffons

Narrated by: Christie Moreau, Gary Tiedemann, Jay Ben Markson

Reality and dream collide in Amy Bonnaffons's dazzling, darkly playful debut novel about a love affair between the living and the dead.

For weeks, Rachel has been noticing the same golden-haired young man sitting at her Brooklyn bus stop, staring off with a melancholy air. When, one day, she finally musters the courage to introduce herself, the chemistry between them is undeniable: Thomas is wise, witty, handsome, mysterious, clearly a kindred spirit. There's just one tiny problem: He's dead.

Stuck in a surreal limbo governed by bureaucracy, Thomas is unable to "cross over" to the afterlife until he completes a 90-day stint on earth, during which time he is forbidden to get involved with a member of the living - lest he incur "regrets". When Thomas and Rachel break this rule, they unleash a cascade of bizarre, troubling consequences.

Set in the hallucinatory borderland between life and death, The Regrets is a gloriously strange and breathtakingly sexy exploration of love, the cataclysmic power of fantasies, and the painful, exhilarating work of waking up to reality, told with uncommon grace and humor by a visionary artist at the height of her imaginative power.

©2020 Amy Bonnafons (P)2020 Little, Brown & Company

Critic reviews

"A surreal love story about the courtship between a living woman and a dead man... It is a plot that could be - that should be unbearably twee, oppressively quirky, in love with its own melancholy. Instead, Bonnaffons' first full-length novel is a rare pleasure: a philosophical rom-com too weird, too bodily, too precise, too fun to get bogged down in trembling sentiment. Deep and deeply funny." (Kirkus Reviews starred review)

"Bonnaffons's wonderful debut novel is a tale of ghostly love and passion.... The tension of an ephemeral romance and impending loss will keep readers turning the pages, and the luminous prose is vibrant with penetrating observations, whether about moments that are a 'crucial node in the universe's vast plan' or about dying - with or without regrets. This sexy, witty novel about life, death, and love's power will enchant readers." (Publishers Weekly starred review)

"Amy Bonnaffons gives an entirely new meaning to the term 'ghosting' with her clever debut novel. It's a high concept she\ngrounds with insightful, sometimes painfully accurate observations aboutdating, skewering a particular brand of millennial dirtbag boyfriend while tenderly examining the heart of a woman who falls for him... Bonnaffons makes the\nfigurative literal to charming effect." (USA Today)

Really different

sardonic, gratuitous-erotica, dark-fantasy, noir

Thomas is a deeply disturbed young man who had a transformative experience with a slipshod death angel when he was a grade schooler. He can't really connect with others and is basically without direction. Very interesting.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Little, Brown and Company via NetGalley. I know the review looks a bit underdone, but it's the best I can do. However, I did pay for the audio on the basis of what I'd read.

Disappointing

I liked the premise of the story but couldn't wait to finish. Having 3 narrators was good.

Great Premise, Non-Thrilling Falling Action

I think it’s a great setup. The first three chapters, focusing on Thomas and Rachel, told a great story. As the story in and of itself is weird all around, that added to the charm of the story and the characters they surround themselves with. However, I think Mark’s inclusion, while needed, was underwhelming. His character kind of came out of nowhere and felt a bit awkward from time to time as his storyline gave us some useless information. It did not help how he felt static the entirety of his chapters when his own roommate had more growth than him. Rachel’s conclusion made sense and the last five minutes were monumental but the lead up to it could have been played up a little more. Overall, I would give this a 7/10, it was a good read and would recommend it.

Great story - inventive and clever

Loved the quirky story. Hated the narration of Rachel. I struggled to get through listening to her and probably couldn’t have if she’d narrated the whole book. She’s terrible! But the other two aren’t bad and the story made up for it.

Just....Eh

The concept of the story was interesting and unique, but the story itself was kind of flat. I was just bored through most of it.

No true Narrative

The story premise had promise, but devolved into a summer romance novel without a plot. Still don’t know what regrets are or what happened to the main character when he fully disappeared. Extremely disappointed by plot.

very original story, fun!

I enjoyed this story, never heard anything quite like it. the characters are great, and the narration is well done. the story moves quickly and is easy to get lost in. excellent authentic dark humor. if you are boring or unimaginative, then this isn't a book for you.

Disappointing

Was initially intrigued but grew disillusioned & slightly bored. It had a very interesting premise —too bad the follow through was flat.

I do not recommend it.