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A Novel
by John Kenney
The Office meets Six Feet Under meets About a Boy in this coming-of-middle-age tale about having a second chance to write your life's story.
Bud Stanley is an obituary writer who is afraid to live. Yes, his wife recently left him for a "far more interesting" man. Yes, he goes on a particularly awful blind date with a woman who brings her ex. And yes, he has too many glasses of Scotch one night and proceeds to pen and publish his own obituary. The newspaper wants to fire him. But now the company's system has him listed as dead. And the company can't fire a dead person. The ensuing fallout forces him to realize that life may be actually worth living.
As Bud awaits his fate at work, his life hangs in the balance. Given another shot by his boss and encouraged by his best friend, Tim, a worldly and wise former art dealer, Bud starts to attend the wakes and funerals of strangers to learn how to live.
Thurber Prize-winner and New York Times bestselling author John Kenney tells a funny, touching story about life and death, about the search for meaning, about finding and never letting go of the preciousness of life.
What are you reading this week? (7/2/2025)
I really liked I See You've Called in Dead. I thought John Kenney did a great job of surrounding a not so likeable protagonist with some deeply insightful characters.
-Barbara_B1
"Razor-sharp, darkly comedic, and emotionally piercing. With the satirical bite of Richard Russo's Straight Man, the introspection of Fredrik Backman's A Man Called Ove, and the reinvention of Andrew Sean Greer's Less, Kenney's vivid prose transforms the mundane into unexpected hilarity. I See You've Called in Dead is a witty and heartwarming reminder of the bottomless despair, limitless absurdity, and undeniable joy of the human experience." ―Booklist (starred review)
"Kenney's touching, provocative novel ... alludes to the idea that life's richness comes from spending time with people you love, and that those relationships are built on mutual respect, truth, and love. A touching ode to the people who make life worth living." ―Kirkus Reviews
"Readers get the beauty of Thurber Award winner Kenney's writing, with descriptions of the everyday that feel like poetry. Book clubs will find much to discuss." ―Library Journal
"There are writers I turn to when I need a guaranteed laugh, and John Kenney is certainly among them. But John is also on a shorter, more rarified list of writers who can evoke a laugh and make you feel alive. That's no small feat given the title of his breathtaking new novel is I See You've Called in Dead. But that's John. And you will love him."
―Steven Rowley, author of The Celebrants
"I See You've Called in Dead is a riotously funny, poignantly introspective novel that dives headfirst into the absurdity of existence. Bud Stanley is an obituary writer who gets everything wrong―including accidentally publishing his own death notice. From botched blind dates to philosophical musings about life and death, Bud grapples with love, legacy, and the existential (and satirical) weight of being alive. But seriously ... read this, it is laugh out loud funny. Perfect for fans of dark, heartfelt comedy." ―Weike Wang, author of Rental House
This information about I See You've Called in Dead was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
John Kenney is the author of two novels and four books of poetry. His first novel, Truth In Advertising, won the Thurber Prize for American humor. He is also the author of Talk to Me, which received a starred Kirkus review, and the New York Times bestseller Love Poems for Married People. He is a long-time contributor to The New Yorker.
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