Reincarnation Blues

A Novel

By: Michael Poore

Narrated by: Mark Bramhall

A wildly imaginative novel about a man who is reincarnated over ten thousand lifetimes to be with his one true love: Death herself.

“This book made me laugh out loud. And then a page later, it made me sob. Reminiscent of Tom Robbins and Christopher Moore, Poore finds humor in the dark absurdities of life.”—Chicago Review of Books

First we live. Then we die. And then . . . we get another try?

Ten thousand tries, to be exact. Ten thousand lives to “get it right.” Answer all the Big Questions. Achieve Wisdom. And Become One with Everything.

Milo has had 9,995 chances so far and has just five more lives to earn a place in the cosmic soul. If he doesn’t make the cut, oblivion awaits. But all Milo really wants is to fall forever into the arms of Death. Or Suzie, as he calls her.

More than just Milo’s lover throughout his countless layovers in the Afterlife, Suzie is literally his reason for living—as he dives into one new existence after another, praying for the day he’ll never have to leave her side again.

But Reincarnation Blues is more than a great love story: Every journey from cradle to grave offers Milo more pieces of the great cosmic puzzle—if only he can piece them together in time to finally understand what it means to be part of something bigger than infinity. Darkly enchanting and wisely hilarious, Michael Poore’s Reincarnation Blues is the story of everything that makes life profound, beautiful, absurd, and heartbreaking.

Because it’s more than Milo and Suzie’s story. It’s your story, too.

Critic reviews

“The most fun you’ll have reading about a man who has been killed by both catapult and car accident.”—NPR

“This book made me laugh out loud. And then a page later, it made me sob. Reminiscent of Tom Robbins and Christopher Moore, Poore finds humor in the dark absurdities of life.”—Chicago Review of Books

“Charming . . . surprisingly light and uplifting . . . It reads like a writer having fun.”—New York Journal of Books

Unique view on life.

This book was worth a credit for entertainment purposes and unique outlook of how life could possibly be. Was a fun read, but was sometimes frustrating to listen to at times, making me want to skip a few minutes from redundancy and obviouse foolishness. The characters where memorable and all unique. the world building and story lines where very well thought of and portrayed. The narrator did an excellent job and had a wide range of voices for each character which were easily decipherable and likeable. I would recommend this to anyone with an open mind that can appreciate a different perspective of life and spirit. I have no books that come to mind that I know are similar.

Good Book, but I had to Push Myself to Finish

Reincarnation Blues was a very interesting take on the afterlife, and I give the book a lot of points for taking an unorthodox premise and actually delivering on its promise. Or mostly delivering. I found myself tuning out by the middle of the book, so I had a ton of stops and starts that made the middle a huge slog to get through. At the end of the day, Milo's development arc came a little too late, and seemed rushed at the end of the book. The big enlightenment moment at the end just seemed... not worth the trip of getting there. But the trip wasn't all bad. If you enjoy your humor with a bit of snarky edge and prefer a plot driven novel, then your mileage may vary with this book. The narration was great!

Great Performance of some great writing.

This book is essentially a collection of short stories with a common them running through each. The book centers around Milo and his quest to achieve perfection in order to become part of the universal soul. Each soul gets up to 10,000 attempts as it learns various things from various lives. Some lives are human, some may be any other living thing.

The story opens with a tale from Milo’s current life, which is number 9,995. The second chapter introduces us to the other theme of the book, which is a relationship that Milo is having with Death. For the rest of the book, the chapters bounce back and forth between a tale from one of Milo’s lives and this purgatorial relationship.

Bramhall’s narration is excellent. Wonderful voice. Great job of breathing life into the words with tone, inflection, and rhythm. I’ve returned many an audiobook because the narration of a literary masterpiece was read like I would have in fifth grade when the teacher called on us to read aloud to the class.

The format of the novel is entertaining. The telling of different lives from Milo’s past in this short story format really keep it interesting and prevent the usual bogging down of a novel. This is really a can’t miss purchase. Buy it. You won’t be sorry.

The Most Important Book I Have Ever Read

Sadly, I am not half the writer Michael Poore is, and so can't express how much this books means to me. Suffice it to say, this book is the most significant piece of literature I have ever come across. The parable of Johnathan Yaya haunts me daily. Everyone should read this book. The world would be a better place.

Much more than star crossed soul mates.

What a story! I honestly can't put how I feel about Milo and Susie into words. Just give it a listen. You won't regret it.