Passage

De: Connie Willis

Narrado por: Erin deWard

A psychologist specializing in near-death experiences, Dr. Joanna Lander has spent two years recording the experiences of those who have been declared clinically dead and lived to tell about it.

A new doctor has arrived at Mercy General, one with the power to give Joanna the chance to get as close to death as anyone can.

A brilliant young neurologist, Dr. Richard Wright has come up with a way to manufacture the near-death experience using a psychoactive drug. Dr. Wright is convinced that the NDE is a survival mechanism and that if only doctors understood how it worked, they could someday delay the dying process, or maybe even reverse it.

When his key volunteer suddenly drops out of the study, Joanna finds herself offering to become Richard's next subject. After all, who better than she, a trained psychologist, to document the experience?

Her first NDE is as fascinating as she imagined it would be-so astounding that she knows she must go back, if only to find out why this place is so hauntingly familiar. But each time Joanna goes under, her sense of dread begins to grow, because part of her already knows why the experience is so familiar, and why she has every reason to be afraid . . .

©2001 Connie Willis (P)2023 Tantor

Long and repetitive

There aren't many books I don't like but I wasn't crazy about this story. Long listen, very repetitive I'm many places, I was thinking please just let it be over.

The near death experience theme

It is a Very well written book and had me hooked for the beginning to the end

interesting listen. Different from her other books.

The dynamics of the recording made it difficult to catch everything that was said. The softer portions need to be raised so that one doesn't have to constantly change the volume.

Poor recording quality

I love this story. Unfortunately the recording is frustratingly inconsistent. The volume goes from blaring to very quiet. It is difficult to listen to.

NDE looked at from a scientific point of view.

I listened at 1.4 sped otherwise a bit of a slow narrator. Great character building, story keeps you hooked.

Tunnel, bright light, an NDE or something else?

Psychologist Dr. Joanna Lander is a medical researcher desperate to provide answers to one of life's greatest questions, "What really happens when we die?" At Mercy General where she works, Joanna spends her time interviewing patients who have coded, died and been revived.

Dr. Richard Wright has developed a method whereby he can chemically simulate NDE's. Joanna joins his research team, volunteering to be one of his subjects.

"Passage" was a disturbing and frightening alternative theory on NDEs with a perfect ending. Narration was a bit shaky during the first few chapters but Erin deWard quickly found her grove and the rest of the story was smooth sailing.

WORTH THE CREDIT!

Not my favorite narrator, but a thoroughly satisfying story

I’m clearly the target audience for this story; I couldn’t put it down and went through it in just two days despite its length. If you’re into neuroscience, jungian dream analysis, or metaphor, it’s a delight. It does go on a bit longer than I felt was really necessary, as Willis does her usual excellent job of leaving breadcrumbs that point the story’s direction to any half-aware listener, but I was enjoying it so much I didn’t care. The characters are compelling & multifaceted (with the exception of the love-to-loathe-him Mandrake, who appears to have no redeeming qualities whatsoever.) The plot, while intricate, keeps its thread; subtle hints of romance give it depth without distracting. I didn’t vibe with the narrator — she mostly sounded to me like she was trying too hard and it left everybody sounding a little unnatural. But it wasn’t ultimately enough to mar my enjoyment of the book. Really glad I picked this one up.

I could not put this book down

The narrator was not my favorite. One of the characters kept sounding like eeyore and it was hard to tell if it was supposed to be male or female. In spite of that, the story was worth it.

Such a hard book to review.

First of all the narration was terrible. If the story itself weren’t so compelling I’d have never continued to listen. But it was compelling. So compelling in fact I was able to overlook not only the awful narration but the fact that the book was entirely too long. It could have been cut in half and still been just as good. Maybe even better. I could have done without all of the talk of the cafeteria and whether it was open or closed, the constant wandering through the maze of the hospital trying to avoid people and the repeating of the same hamlet quote over and over. It all seemed so unnecessary that I wonder if it was intended to be a metaphor that I somehow missed. I still give the story a solid 4 stars because even with all of the annoyances I could not put this down.

flawless reading!

Look, if there's anyone who's a fan of Passage, it's me. I've read it probably more than ten times. I bought a copy for nearly every one of my friends (only one, to date, has read it). it never fails to make me laugh, and cry, and everything in between.
I wanted to say this so you can know how much i mean it when I say this audiobook is perfect. I started it suspicious, almost hostile, waiting for the moment the narrator makes a decision I don't agree with, fumbles a voice or an accent. she didn't. the acting is inspired enough to lift the story without being too heavy and distracting. every line is said with thought and (i'm guessing) honest appreciation for the story.
this is the first time an audiobook managed to make me cry. I was so immersed for all of it, and there's a LOT of book. this is probably how i'm going to consume Passage from now on. I'm so glad I gave it a chance!