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Beforelife
- Narrated by: Ash Rizi
- Length: 15 hrs and 15 mins
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Beforelife
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Publisher's Summary
It’s okay if you don’t believe in the afterlife. The people who live there don’t believe in you, either.
What if you went to heaven and no one there believed in Earth? This is the question at the heart of Beforelife, a satirical novel that follows the postmortem adventures of widower Ian Brown, a man who dies in the book’s first moments and finds himself in an afterlife where no one else believes in “pre-incarnation”. The other residents of the afterlife have mysteriously forgotten their premortem lives and think that anyone who remembers a mortal life is suffering from a mental disorder called the “Beforelife Delusion”.
None of that really matters to Ian. All he wants to do is reunite with Penelope, his wife. Scouring the afterlife for any sign of her, Ian accidentally winds up on a quest to prove that the beforelife is real. This puts him squarely into the crosshairs of some of history’s greatest heroes and villains, all of whom seem unhealthily obsessed with erasing Ian’s memories and preventing him from reminding anyone of their premortem lives. Only by staying a step ahead of his enemies can Ian hope to keep his much-needed marbles, find Penelope, and restore the public’s memories of the beforelife.
What the critics say
“Finally, a hitchhiker's guide to the hereafter. Making a debut as stellar as it is hilarious, Randal Graham proves himself a true Canuckian heir to the magnificently pun-happy merriment of literary pranksters Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, and Jasper Fforde. At once a raucous comedy, thrilling adventure, and meta-commentary on the nature of storytelling, Beforelife is an afterlife to die for.” (Corey Redekop, author of Husk)
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What listeners say about Beforelife
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Doug Wallace
- 2019-12-29
Brilliant first novel
A smart, funny, fast-paced novel that will appeal to fans of Douglas Adams among others. Randal’s keen intellect is evident throughout, as is his penchant for wry observation. An amazing first novel by an academic who makes the transition from legal scholar to storyteller appear seamless.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Joe Mahony
- 2018-08-25
Brilliantly Written and Entertainingly Strange
This is not the kind of book I would normally read or listen to. I'll qualify my review with an explanation: The reason I downloaded this book is that I knew the author in high school. I remembered him as a very smart kid with an unusual sense of humor. Knowing that he's become accomplished law professor and now a published author, I was intrigued.
The last time I read something even remotely like Beforelife was as a youth reading the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. Both have ridiculous characters, impossible settings, ludicrous plots and abundant satire. But Beforelife is better written and more thoughtful.
For me the best aspect of Beforelife is the way in which the book itself is part of the story in a delightfully recursive manner (if recursive is the word I am thinking of). One character is somehow aware that he is a character in a novel, and that the omniscient and omnipotent author has control over the actions and fates of himself and his companions. The narration and the characters routinely measure time in paragraphs, pages, and chapters. And the author has a way of explicitly referring to the literary techniques he is attempting to employ, and explaining the desired outcomes. I don't recall ever reading anything that does this, but the technique is effective not just at achieving the original intent but also inserting humour and creating an inside joke between reader and author. It's brilliant!
The audiobook performance by Ash Rizi is simply superb. The character voices fit perfectly, and the narration precisely captures the author's complex sense of humour.
As someone who normally prefers his fiction to be more grounded in the real world, I was surprised how much I enjoyed Beforelife. In another delightful bit of self-reference to the book, the outline of the sequel was announced by the characters during the epilogue, and I understand the sequel will be available soon. I can't wait!
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Loriel
- 2022-03-08
A Bizarre Read
Bizarre, even the author would say so. If bizarre is the word I am thinking of.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Sylvia
- 2022-03-23
clever!
A little long-winded but worth it for the clever turn of phrases and chuckle worthy analogies throughout! Great performance and a fun, action-packed ride! 👏
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2021-11-17
SOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOD
Really well written, fantastic wordplay. starting the second book now. Reminiscent of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2022-08-09
delightful
Delightful sense of humour in a witty and sometimes intellectual way.
For me it was a mix of Douglas Adams and P. G. Woodhouse. I was not surprised when one of the main characters (who sounds like Bertie Wooster actually called someone Jeeves and voila proved me right). Totally delightful. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series- "Afterlife Crisis".
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- A. Savage
- 2021-12-10
Predictable
The idea is unique and I really wanted the follow through to work but it just didn’t. There are so many clear hints at the coming plot ‘twist’ that it becomes frustrating. The writing style is at times pretentious and condescending to the reader. Great idea poorly executed.
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