If death is a part of life, does it stand to reason that life is a part of death?
That seems to be the theme of George Saunders’s work, or at least the two books of his I’ve read.
Since Lincoln in the Bardo was so good on audio, I decided to listen to this one on audio as well, and I highly recommend it. It’s not as much like a script as Lincoln in the Bardo, but it does have a substantial cast voicing the various characters, and all the actors do a great job.
I should warn you there’s a French character, so if you’re not good with accents, you might want to read this one yourself.
Most of the book is told from the perspective of a spirit who was named Jill when she was alive.
After her death, rather than moving on, she decides to stick around and act as a guide helping other souls come to peace with what’s happening as they are dying so they can let go and move on.
Vigil is a short book that takes place over one night while Jill watches over her current charge, K.J. Boone, who came from humble origins, but worked his way up to becoming a wealthy and powerful oil baron. Boone insists he has no regrets and is not in need of consoling as he lies in his bed, dying of cancer.
Jill sticks around anyway because it’s her job, but her vigil keeps getting interrupted by a Frenchman determined to make Boone see the error of his ways, which is distinctly at odds with Jill’s goals.
The book explores Boone’s life in the form of people from his life who keep appearing as figments of his imagination so he can “face them” in a way, and come to terms with his life and death.
The book goes back and forth between Boone’s life and death and Jill’s life and death as she starts to remember who she was and the life she lived before it was tragically cut short decades ago.
We see the destruction wrought upon the earth and its inhabitants, and we see bits and pieces of the role Boone knowingly and willingly played in that destruction.
He’s really not sorry about any of it, but the Frenchman is determined to turn that around.
Oddly enough, I wasn’t particularly interested in the parts of this book that dwelt on the slow and painful death of our planet.
But I love Saunders’s take on death and the process of dying. I loved watching Boone wrestle with his conscience, first staunchly denying any wrongdoing, then gradually starting to admit he may have done a little wrong.
And I loved watching Jill slowly remember her life and death and try to come to terms with it.
Wherever Saunders wants to take me, I’m here for it.