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The Coma Monologues

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The Coma Monologues

By: Mario Milosevic
Narrated by: Michelle Babb
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About this listen

For Gary Hawken, life in a coma comes with few perks. Nurses care for him and people sit by his bed and tell him stories, but the glorious mess of life passes him by. In a world where survival depends on his ability to understand his stories, Gary must recognize the value of his own soul. A hypnotic tale of one man's struggle to find the truth in his own epic life.

©2011, 2014 Mario Milosevic (P)2015 Mario Milosevic

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I really enjoyed listening to this book, a bit dubious at first but I was drawn in and finished it in a couple of sittings. It's original and thought provoking and I'd highly recommend the book. Unlike some other reviewers i thought Michelle made an excellent job of the narration, yes, there were monotonous bit's but for me they fitted the character/subject who was speaking at the time. Definite 5 star listen.

Excellent Listen.

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What a great book. I was drawn to it, having been fascinated by the idea of a series of monologues by people talking to a person in a coma. Loved ones and people from his past and present life, the characterisation by Michelle Babb was excellent: clear and well-paced.
But something happened and I got sidetracked, and put it down to concentrate on another detail of my life, and I didn't get round to starting it back up for about a year. I'm really glad I did. I picked up where I left off, but then I got so engrossed in all the different characters being presented to me, that I decided I needed to go back and listen to the previous characters (even though I knew who they were/what their aspect was) - and it kinda renewed it for me.
The range of characters is intriguing, and Mario Milosevic brings them to life and justifies their existence in a very creative way, he's used some interesting devices to create "characters" and the plot even took a very interesting turn that made me go wide-eyed at the same time as one of the characters (!) In places it made me ache for the sadness and the humanity of people with such dramas in their lives. It was fascinating. All the monologues, skilfully voiced by Michelle to make them all very different, including a truck driver, a crow, the house where the coma guy used to live, and even "the voice of the author" himself, are woven by Michelle Babb's narration into the fabric of the book, all desperate to bring the coma guy back to life, it draws you right along to the very last sentence. This is the first time I've listened to an audiobook that brought a tear to my eye. But you'll have to listen to it to find out why. Well worth it. Fantastic book. Incredibly thought-provoking and so very aware of the physicality of the human condition.

Interestingly devised and brilliantly narrated

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Listener received this title free

Wow this was different, really interesting. I listened to this in the relaxing time in bed before going to sleep so was lying down but not in a coma. So many different people got involved in telling the stories, so well imagined - what a mind.

I would never have thought I would have listened to this sort of book but it worked and I am glad I did.

The narration was brilliant as normal and really brought the stories to life.

Really interesting story

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Where does The Coma Monologues rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Not a great audiobook, would have preferred to read this on paper.
It has a fantastic premise, it is well written and very distinct, but as an audiobook I'm afraid I wouldn't recommend it. The narrator is ABSOLUTELY ROBOTIC - she speaks sooooooooo slowly and sometimes without emotion. I had to listen on double speed to keep the flow going and my temper down.

What did you like best about this story?

The unusual changes in 'voice', from the coma patient's family, to his house, a crow, Death!

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of Michelle Babb?

Almost anyone...
I would have preferred different actors for each chapter, suited to the gender/background of the character being portrayed.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not especially, the different narrators/speakers each spoke in chapters so pausing between them felt like a good point for a pause.

Any additional comments?

I would read more by this author, I just had a very negative reaction to this narrator, a strange choice.
The book ends very nicely, I liked the build-up and a few surprise along the way.

With thanks to the author for the complimentary copy, provided for review purposes.

Original story let down by terrible narrator

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Listener received this title free

Gary Hawkins was in a car accident. It happened while he was on his way to work he was watching a crow fly in the air. The accident put Gary in a coma and everyone from long lost high school friends to former students even the crow and the one true God makes an appearance. Those are just a few bales mini mini more like the guy who hit him some queen even visit him and I still have no clue why she’s in the book but having said that I’m sure there’s a reason and I just didn’t get it the point is all these voices are done by Michelle Babb and what a phenomenal job she’s done. It must’ve been so hard coming up with all those different voices but she did it OMG what a great job! I already loved Michelle Babb narating and I knew she was top shelf talent but she has blown me away. A truly great book with truly great narration! Please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

What in original way to tell a story!

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Where does The Coma Monologues rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This book is different in its own way, thus rendering it impossible to answer this question. So instead, I'd write of how different this story was. A story of a man trapped in a coma, who is spoken to by a selected bunch of people (by his own conjuring, and in some cases by his wife's design). The originality of the tale struck me, and I commend Mario on his intelligent way of developing a character. We even learn that the victim of the coma is murderer. This was most surprising.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Coma Monologues?

I adored the romantic sentimentality within the monologues, when we hear his wife, Melanie, as well as Mother Nature and Death.

Have you listened to any of Michelle Babb’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Not yet, but I do plan on it. More so, after hearing her with this. Her performance was impressive, I'd have rated it 5 were it not for the robotic voice attributed to some of the characters. Also, with all the different voices this was quite a feat. I commend her for that.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, but only because after hearing some of the characters I felt that it became a little dragging, and slightly repetitive with all the characters beginning their monologues in a similar way.

Any additional comments?

I felt compelled to write how this novel was absorbing, I kept thinking if that were me - in that state- what would I do? Who would I conjure up, who would be willing to speak to me? Or if I were Melanie, would I have her patience?

This book is based on a truly insightful idea!

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Sorry this was so not my cup of tea. Basically it is lots of short stories or a one sided conversation about life, which would have been okay but they didn't have any point to the stories and just felt like a way to vent. The characters were varied from old school friends, to teachers, to school girl crushes and family members but it was when it veered into the weird that it began to lose me and by weird I mean the house was talking to him, a dead twin and even a centaur. The book also contained swearing which I wasn't expecting. The idea was good, a man trapped in a coma and his wife arranges for people from his past to come and talk to him and I did like some of the stories but the story as a whole just didn't work for me.
The only reason I kept listening was because I enjoy the narrator's work.

Much ado about nothing

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Listener received this title free

Took a while for me to settle into the story, but I did find it quite interesting.

Interesting idea

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Listener received this title free

Gary Hawkin has been in a coma ever since his car collided with a lorry. Since his doctor has suggested that, shou!d he fail to wake up within three to four months, he is u likely to ever return, his pregnant wife tries to bring him back with stories: old friends and aquaintances, family members and even mythological voices visiting him in hospital and talking. So we hear from Gary's wife and son, old school chums and his mother, but also a crow, a Centaur Death, the author, and even God, amongst others. Through their monologues the reader learns about their pasts and ideas, about Gary himself, and a more generalized philosophy on life itself. It is left to the reader to determine if these voices are, in fact, real or existing mainly in Gary's imagination.

The book is cleverly devised and the individual monologues are, mostly, fascinating, with the exception of that of God, which felt laboured and clumsy. Even the otherwise excellent narration by Michelle Babb, was, for this section, more mechanical and monotone, which was, almost certainly, deliberate but made that chapter difficult to engage with or enjoy. This book could easily benefit from a different reader to give a varied texture with each individual monologue although Ms.Babb is so versatile a voice actor that her performance was outstanding.I

The Coma Monologues is an unusually conceived way to not oily tell a story but to bring in various ideas about humanity, guilt, love and other various concepts without being preachy or overly contrrived. It is a very human story of life and love and the shadow of death. I was fortunate in being freely gifted with a complimentary copy, at my request, by the rights holder. Thank you. It is a book which will stay with me into the future and one I would recommend to other readers.

You must want to wake up.

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