Conversations With The Dead – Jim Bates

Pages: 335
Released On: 04/08/2023

Jasmine “Jazzy” Jaspers is a ten-year-old albino who lives with his mother, an obese telephone sex worker. When his mother dies, Jazzy is sent to live with his grandparents on their farm in southwestern Minnesota. At his mother’s funeral, he meets and befriends his first dead person and it changes his life forever. Together with his new friend from school, Mona, the two of them begin traveling to cemeteries and befriending people who have died, usually under horrific circumstances.

When Mona is killed and Jazzy is injured in a tragic accident with a semi-truck, Jazzy becomes very withdrawn. Only when he is taken in by Carl and his wife Ellen does Jazzy climb out of his depression. His new home is right next to the cemetery where many of his friends are buried, including Mona. Will this be enough to bring happiness to his life?

*****

Thanks to Jim for the gifted copy of his book in return for an honest review.

One of the things I really appreciate about being a book blogger is when I get emails directly from authors, particularly self-published authors. I have read so many books over the years that I might otherwise have looked past, assuming that they wouldn’t be my kind of thing and getting on with one of my hundreds of books I already own. This is the second book of Jim’s I’ve read (the first was a novella), and it intrigued me right from the off.

I, for one believe in ghosts, always have. When I was a child I used to have conversations with my granddad shortly after he died. And I continued to see lost relatives. Some of you may think that’s completely bananas, and you do you, not a problem. But for me, they give me comfort. And so I was excited to see this portrayed in this book. I know it’s slightly more complicated than just seeing ghosts in this book, but I do enjoy reading about ghosts and the afterlife, regardless of genre, and this is a real success.

I liked the relationship between Jasmine and his schoolfriend Mona. It was beautifully crafted and I really enjoyed seeing the progression in their friendship. For me, they were the two main players in this story, and the other characters served to push their story forward.

In my opinion, it takes some difficulty to have a child as your main protagonist and make them convincingly their age, but well-written and confident enough to hold the attention of the adult reader. And he’s done that well. Jasmine is an interesting main character. An albino, new to the area, grieving; he’s been through soe difficulties. But I instantly felt he was a real person. Intriguing and interesting and my heard went out to him.

It is hard to age. The story and characters feel very YA, but some of the content is quite harsh, so I’d say the older end of the YA scale. There’s some hard topics and difficult scenes: death, violence, bullying, abuse – and so I definitely think it’s a personal choice as to what the reader’s limits are.

I wasn’t sure where it was set, and that interested me. There is a lack of technology and a rural edge that made me feel it wasn’t a modern setting, but it’s also not ancient history. Post-war but pre-turn-of-the-century perhaps. But it was interesting because, on the whole (ghosts aside), it covered themes that could e seen as universal throughout the ages.

My ideal page length is around the 350-400 mark, which this fits in. But even so, if the pacing is wrong, then even a short book can feel like a slog, and with the right pacing, a long book can fly. I didn’t find that this flew, but not did it drag. It’s paced well, enough to keep you hooked and excited, but with enough time, care and attention to ensure you don’t feel short changed.

This is different to his novella in terms of plot and themes. But there were some similarities. They both have this sort of fantastical, magical edge to them which I really enjoyed and I’d be interested to see if he continues in this vein.

I found this a lot more moving and emotional than I thought I would, especially as it went along. I was expecting a fun, whimsy story with some serious elements, but I wasn’t expecting to be so moved. But it really is a lovely story and sentiment.