Ms. Frizzle Takes the School Bus to a Morgue

Would you listen to Smoke Gets in Your Eyes again? Why?

In the name of all things unholy and weird, yes! I listened to this book at work and found myself snorting with laughter at irreverent and socially unacceptable times. It is wonderfully informative, thought provoking and hilarious.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The dead. Doughty has a distinct and alarming ability to animate the dead in a way that demands that we respect them, but allows us to laugh with them at the absurdities of death and dying.

What does Caitlin Doughty bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Doughty's narration is a bit forced at first, but listening to her settle into the reading is kind of like watching a friend get over stage fright and slowly take command of the audience. As one would expect, Doughty brings a certain honesty to the more personal anecdotes in the book that I may not have appreciated as much without hearing them told by the author. The narrative does take on a slightly detached tone overall, which is what creates the dry humor, but it makes the personal moments of sadness a bit disarming. I'm sure that's the point, but I am glad that I got to hear them from Doughty herself. Her narration takes on a different cadence and a lower decibel when she recounts some episodes from her childhood that caused the images to stick in my memory of this book.

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

No, I enjoyed looking forward to listening to a chapter or two a day. The pacing is steady and unhurried. The format is such that each chapter can almost stand alone so it does not lend itself to binge listening. This is a story you can enjoy in small chunks.