Mr. Joe

By: Joseph Barnett, Jane Congdon

Narrated by: Phil Williams

Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's Summary

Do you believe in ghosts? Joseph Barnett didn't until he became a school custodian in a midlife career change. Joe had no idea that during his first assignment, working nights in a school, he'd be forced to confront his darkest fears.

"Ghosts are part of my story," Joe said. "I believe in them; I have no choice. After you've seen one ghost, you can go back and rationalize it. But after you've looked a couple in the eye like I have, you believe. Otherwise, you doubt yourself. I've done that, too, and wondered if I was losing my mind, but I know what I saw and heard. Here's something else I know: there are many ways to be haunted, and not all of my ghosts were dead. That's the other part of my story. It took almost becoming a ghost myself for me to see my life differently. I believe in ghosts, and I believe in myself. But back when this all started, I was just a guy trying to make a living."

©2014 Joseph Barnett, Jane Congdon (P)2015 Bettie Youngs / Bettie Youngs Book Publishers

Ho-him

I really hate giving low reviews , but also rely heavily on other reviews for choosing books , so I appreciate it if someone is honest about a book.
So to be honest, I must admit I didn't finish this and really had no interest in doing so.
I was under the assumption that it'd have a lot more of a paranormal type slant to it. There was a small bit of that in it but nothing to write home ( or a book ) about.
The story was mind numbing , tedious and slow. The author goes on at length about the step by step guide to being a school janitor. I see nothing wrong with doing anything to earn an honest paycheck, so I'm not disrespecting that. I think he just detailed the most mundane things to the point of boredom.
The narrator was so-so. I sometimes don't like to judge a narrator if the material isn't interesting. No narrator on the planet can make certain books worth a listen.
Sorry for the low review but it's only fair to other buyers.

Not what you think

The summary made this sound like a creepy ghost story, but ghosts hardly appear in it at all!

This doesn't detract from the book as I found it really sweet and heartening. Joe saw the ghost of his grandpa when he was wee and copes with it fine, but his home life is awful as his mum is a violent drunk. Joe and his sister stick together as the father copes by staying away from home.

Gradually Joe grows up but has awful results with women and ends up being a single dad of two boys finding it really hard to support them. He tries another relationship but it goes south too, so Joe and his boys carry on as a team through thick and thin.

1 of 2 people found this review helpful