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Once again, I’ve taken a walk on the literary wild-side and read a book that is outside of my usual comfort zone. It’s safe to say that not only did I survive until the end, I fully recommend Reincarnation Blues by Michael Poore as this week’s New Title Tuesday selection.
Publisher’s Summary: 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. As darkly enchanting as the works of Neil Gaiman and as wisely hilarious as Kurt Vonnegut’s, 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.
While I am not fully versed in this genre, I enjoyed the humor and humanity in Poore’s book. In addition, the intriguing philosophical viewpoint is explored in the life Milo spent as a follower of Buddha. There are lives that Milo lives in a historical age as well as in a dystopian future.
Reincarnation Blues is a book that can be enjoyed for its romance, adventure, and uniqueness. As Jason Sheehan wrote for NPR, “But trust me when I say that Poore sells it. He makes this all make sense. Grounds it in actual emotion and actual risk and reward. Suzie is kind of a mopey emo Death, and when she and Milo are together (something they only get to be in between Milo’s many incarnations) they work like Sid and Nancy — just a couple of punk kids who don’t care very much for how anyone thinks they ought to be spending their (many) lives.”
Regardless of which life you are currently living, Happy Reading, Susan C.
Also by Poore:
Up Jumps the Devil – A novel featuring the Devil himself, John Scratch. He’s made of wood. He cooks an excellent gumbo. Cows love him. And he’s the world’s first love story . . . and the world’s first broken heart. Meet the darkly handsome, charming John Scratch, aka the Devil. Ever since his true love, a fellow fallen angel named Arden, decided that Earth was a little too terrifying and violent, John Scratch has been trying to lure her back from the forgiving grace of Heaven. Though neither the wonders of Egypt nor the glories of Rome were enough to keep her on Earth, John Scratch believes he’s found a new Eden: America. John Scratch capitalizes on the bounty of this arcadia as he shapes it into his pet nation. Then, one dark night in the late 1960s, he meets three down-on-their-luck musicians and strikes a deal. In exchange for their souls, he’ll grant them fame, wealth, and the chance to make the world a better place. Soon, the trio is helping the Devil push America to the height of civilization–or so he thinks. But there’s a great deal about humans he still needs to learn, even after spending so many millennia among them.
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