CLICK HERE FOR AN AUDIOBOOK COPY BOOK SYNOPSIS An electric novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling, Booker Prize–winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo, taking place at the bedside of an oil company CEO in the twilight hours of his life as he is ferried from this world into the next...Not for the first time, Jill “Doll” Blaine finds herself hurtling toward earth, reconstituting as she falls, right down to her favorite black pumps. She plummets towards her newest charge, yet another soul she must usher into the afterlife, and lands headfirst in the circular drive of his ornate mansion.She has performed this sacred duty 343 times since her own death. Her charges, as a rule, have been greatly comforted in their final moments. But this charge, she soon discovers, isn’t like the others. The powerful K. J. Boone will not be consoled, because he has nothing to regret. He lived a big, bold, epic life, and the world is better for it. Isn’t it?Vigil transports us, careening, through the wild final evening of a complicated man. Visitors begin to arrive (worldly and otherworldly, alive and dead), clamoring for a reckoning. Birds swarm the dying man’s room; a black calf grazes on the love seat; a man from a distant, drought-ravaged village materializes; two oil-business cronies from decades past show up with chilling plans for Boone’s postdeath future.With the wisdom, playfulness, and explosive imagination we’ve come to expect, George Saunders takes on the gravest issues of our time - the menace of corporate greed, the toll of capitalism, the environmental perils of progress - and, in the process, spins a tale that encompasses life and death, good and evil, and the thorny question of absolution. RECOMMENDED FOR: Grown-Ups OUR BOOKS ARE LISTED BY AGE GROUP to indicate that the content is engaging and appropriate for those selected ages. PLEASE NOTE: They may not be the appropriate reading level for every individual at those ages or may extend beyond the brackets. ADDITIONAL DETAILS: Publisher: Random House Publish Date: January 27, 2026 Pages: 192 Dimensions: 8.3 X 5.5 X 0.5 inches | 0.8 pounds Language: English Type: Hardcover Condition: NEW ------------------------------------------
