The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud

By: Ben Sherwood

My first impression of this book was that it was...well, weird.

It took me about 50 pages to even understand where it was going. But once I passed that little hump, I decided it was a pretty decent story. And by the end, I decided it was actually a great story.

The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud is, in a nutshell, about a guy who can see spirits while they are "in between," or between the stages of dying and moving on to the next level, because of a promise he made to his brother Sam before he died in a car wreck. He works in the cemetery in which Sam is buried and visits his brother's spirit every night at sundown. While working one day he meets a woman named Tess, who agrees to go on a date with him. They begin what seems to be a perfect relationship, when Charlie hears that Tess has been lost in a potential sailing disaster that happened days before Charlie had even ever met her. With the realization that he might be falling in love with a spirit living in the "in between," Charlie must try to find Tess at sea before her spirit moves on to the next level.

This book will make you smile, cry, laugh, cry, tense up, and cry again. In that order.

This is the first book I've read by Ben Sherwood...it was actually the first time I'd ever seen his name. I was a little disappointed to find out that he's only written one other novel. His writing is beautiful, yet simple, and he knows how to work your emotions so well that you actually feel drained (in a good way) by the time you put the book down.

So, I guess I'll grab that one other novel he wrote at some point, since I liked this one so well. It's definitely one I'd recommend.