An obituary writer makes a grave error in John Kenney's 'I See You've Called in Dead'

John Kenney's I See You've Called in Dead is about an obituary writer named Bud Stanely. One late night after a particularly bad date and too many glasses of Scotch, Bud drunkenly writes his own remembrance – and hits publish. The newspaper where he works wants to fire him, but can't legally terminate a dead person. But the error sets off a change in Bud's life as he begins to attend the funerals of strangers. In today's episode, Kenney joins NPR's Scott Simon for a conversation about the college journalism assignment that sparked the idea for the novel, the author's experience of male friendship, and a nugget of dark humor from Kenney's late brother.

To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy