Ghosts

The Story of a Reunion

By: Adrian Plass

Narrated by: Adrian Plass

It has been just six months since David Herrick lost his beloved wife, Jessica. The grief is still an open wound. So when he receives an invitation to a reunion of long-lost friends, David’s first impulse is to refuse. After all, two decades have passed since he was in the same youth group with these people. But the invitation comes from Angela, one of his wife’s oldest friends—and mysteriously, she claims she has something for him from his late wife. Reluctant but curious, David arrives at Headly Manor, an ancient house with an unsettling reputation. But life’s most haunting specters are not a matter of location. In this honest, deeply moving novel of the heart, David and his friends search their souls for the courage to exorcise the ghosts of their own pasts.

God gets his hands dirty

If there is a God, then Adrian Plass is a gift from him! Adrian Plass plies far more interesting and REAL territory than the usual Christian writers. He, much like the Jesus he believes in, seems far more at home with the people who haven't got all the answers, than with the fundamentalists. While my beliefs differ from Plass', his writings have done more than any other author to keep me from completely dismissing Christianity.
Onto the story....while the premise of the re-union that the story uses as a device to gather the protagonists together is a little hard to imagine happening in real life, it does set up a series of conversations and interactions that are in turns, warm, awkward, searching, and real. The story has very little real narrative, it is mainly a series of conversations in varying settings between old friends. The main character, David, has recently lost his wife, and has yet to reconcile life without her. The ending of the book is probably best described as a tearjerker, but there is nothing sappy or sugary about it, just sadly touching.
Died in the wool atheists would probably not want to sit through the very few but intense references to religiosity - there are a few fervent prayers throughout the story, but they are relevant to the story, as it is told from a believer's point of view. And for those who haven't worked out yet what exactly they believe, this audiobook will not provide any Road to Damascus moments, BUT it most likely will encourage you to keep seeking.
Thanks Adrian Plass!

More spiritual than I thought it would be

That does not make it bad - it was extremely well-written and captivating. I thought by the title that there would be some contact from the beyond, but there was nothing paranormal. It reminded me of the "Big Chill" - old friends reuniting, secrets revealed, however, the way individuals responded was more down-to-earth, with the slant coming from their common Christian background.

rediscovering an old friend

I found this book while searching for Father Gilbert Mysteries. Plass, who voices Gilbert in the radio dramas, reches his full hieghts here and the results rival Christie Doyle or Stout. As a mystery buff, I highly recomend this and Plass' other works including the Father Gilbert series

Ghosts

well done, draws you right in and makes you think..