• The Life We Bury

  • By: Allen Eskens
  • Narrated by: Zach Villa
  • Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (65,582 ratings)

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The Life We Bury  By  cover art

The Life We Bury

By: Allen Eskens
Narrated by: Zach Villa
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Publisher's summary

College student Joe Talbert has the modest goal of completing a writing assignment for an English class. His task is to interview a stranger and write a brief biography of the person. With deadlines looming, Joe heads to a nearby nursing home to find a willing subject. There he meets Carl Iverson, and soon nothing in Joe's life is ever the same. Carl is a dying Vietnam veteran-and a convicted murderer. With only a few months to live, he has been medically paroled to a nursing home after spending thirty years in prison for the crimes of rape and murder.

As Joe writes about Carl's life, especially Carl's valor in Vietnam, he cannot reconcile the heroism of the soldier with the despicable acts of the convict. Aided by his skeptical neighbor, Lila, Joe throws himself into uncovering the truth. Thread by thread, he begins to unravel the tapestry of Carl's conviction. But as he and Lila dig deeper into the circumstances of the crime, the stakes grow higher. Will Joe discover the truth before it's too late to escape the fallout?

©2014 Allen Eskens (P)2015 Tantor

Critic reviews

"More complications ensue, until the novel's satisfying resolution." ( Publishers Weekly Starred Review)

Editorial Review

The plot of The Life We Bury is obviously intriguing. But what brings this character-driven mystery to a new level is the narration by Zach Villa. His voice perfectly conveys the protagonist's mentality with a delivery that exemplifies the 'too-cool-to-care-but-actually-cares-a-little' attitudeLaura M., Audible Editor

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What listeners say about The Life We Bury

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    42,810
  • 4 Stars
    17,571
  • 3 Stars
    4,166
  • 2 Stars
    712
  • 1 Stars
    322
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    43,276
  • 4 Stars
    13,214
  • 3 Stars
    2,834
  • 2 Stars
    465
  • 1 Stars
    156
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    38,463
  • 4 Stars
    15,751
  • 3 Stars
    4,393
  • 2 Stars
    839
  • 1 Stars
    341

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good, easy read

This book had a little bit of romance,, little bit of a twist, good plot and the author was never confusing. Generally a good read, except two dark sub-plots that distrubed me as a reader. It had to be in the story, but was just a little darker than I like to be exposed to. A little foul language which might offend some people.

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157 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Entertaining

A good story. Well written. I enjoyed it. Started the audio book. Then purchased the paperback to share with others.

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

WOW! Best story I've heard in a long time!

I loved it! I look forward to hearing more from Mr. Eskens and will look to see if there are other books by this author as soon as I post this review. Narration was excellent, a true performance! I will remember the name Zach Villa as well as Allen Eskens. Big thanks to both gentlemen! This book would make a great movie!

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fun Story

Enjoyed listening. Good writing. Not too surprising an ending but still really liked it. Great characters who were well developed.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Engrossing

Suspenseful with realistic characters that make you feel a whole range of emotions. Narrator was excellent.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Predictable but kept my interest

I was hoping for a different ending, it was too predictable. However, it was a good story, good,albeit stereotyped, characters and kept me listening.Narration was excellent.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • N
  • 04-12-16

Awesome

I will be back for more. This book was very exciting and well performed. Kept you guessing at every page.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A wonderful and surprising read.

Would you listen to The Life We Bury again? Why?

Yes

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes

What about Zach Villa’s performance did you like?

Clarity

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

Couple of tears.

Any additional comments?

Unused to reviewing by answering questions, let this old physician share his thoughts directly. Allen Eskens has written a gem of a book here, which encompasses the joys and tragedies of life, and deals with the misconception of "popular truth" by showing the foibles and strengths of human beings at their best and their worst. Narration sounded like a high school student, but adequate. Recommend highly.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

The Life We Bury

Very pleasant surprise is what I found with this book. I thought it was well written, the story was a good one, the characters interesting and realistic, and the narration was just good enough.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Riveting Story

Any additional comments?

A very satisfying book. I was enthralled from the first chapter. Joe is a very likable young man. He has a train wreck of a mother (I would like to wring her neck) and a sweet autistic teenage brother. Joe is in college, no thanks to his mom, and if fact in spite of his mom. He has an assignment for English class to interview an elderly person and write a biography of that person. Joe doesn't know any elderly people so he goes to the nursing home to find one and he finds a very unique person - Carl Iverson. Carl is a convicted murderer living out his last few weeks in the nursing home after 30 years in prison. Carl has quite a story to tell. It is a riveting story and Joe doesn't know whether or not to believe Carl. He begins to investigate and it leads him into more than he ever bargained for. The reader/performer is excellent - the characters are excellent (some are wicked) and the story is fast paced and exciting. I highly recommend this book as an interesting and gripping adventure.

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1 person found this helpful