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Life Interrupted: The Unfinished Monologue Audiobook
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(3.03) - 172 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Life Interrupted was the monologue that Spalding Gray was working on when he died in the early winter of 2004. Famous for his often manic and always humorous monologues, Gray was, by the late 1990's, in a happy marriage living in Long Island, doing yoga every day. But his life became unhinged after a devastating car accident in Ireland in 2001, which fractured his skull and crushed his hip. It sent Gray into a deep and unremitting depression. But the fact that Spalding had begun performing a new piece in October of last year gave his friends and family reason to hope that he was emerging from his despair. The monologue recounts the story of the accident and Gray's hospitalization in Ireland with gallows humor: "The following day I slipped into a depression and I didn't know whether to tell the Irish about it, whether they would acknowledge this depression. I mean, does a fish know it's swimming in water? It's indigenous to the rainy culture." The last time Gray performed his work-in-progress "Life Interrupted" at PS 122, he also read a short story called "The Anniversary," about the afternoon he spent with young Theo at the Carousel in Central Park on the tenth anniversary of the day he met his wife, Kathie Russo. Like the unfinished monologue, this piece is also much darker than Gray's early work. The third piece in this collection is a very short, remarkably poignant letter Spalding wrote about the terrorist attacks of September 11, titled "Dear New York City."
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"What can I say? How do you replace a man like Spalding Gray? I'm just sad that he didn't get to finish this before he died. All the same, I truly enjoyed it."
— Kye (5 out of 5 stars)
Life Interrupted Listener Reviews
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" the work that Spalding Gray wrote in this book is a good read, but the rest...not really my style. If this is a favorite author of yours then this book would be a good way to say goodbye, since the last 1/3 of the book are excepts of readings from his memorial service. "
— Mary, 8/22/2013 -
" really depressing. It was the last book he was writing before he killed himself. But it did make me understand why he did and where the depression came from. It was a form of closure for a great author. "
— Meghan, 4/20/2013 -
" Only a portion of this book was by Spalding Gray - more than half were reminiscences of friends. Overall a good read - but don't expect an entire volume of Gray's writing... "
— Jeff, 1/5/2013 -
" A long introduction - a few pages of his last monologue and "Anniversary" both quite good - and then the second half consists of eulogies (many self-serving). I'm glad it's available because it does bring closure but the "extra" material takes away from Gray's. "
— Karlton, 12/7/2012 -
" I loved watching him and hearing the monologues. His suicide was a huge loss to us all. He was a truly unique talent and I'm very glad I was able to see him perform live years ago on Lincoln Road in Miami. "
— Nancy, 3/25/2011 -
" Saddly, incomplete. "
— Aaron, 5/24/2010 -
" It's Spalding, I love him. "
— Karen, 8/16/2009 -
" He was awesome. And I miss him. "
— NYLon, 7/22/2009 -
" Not enough Spalding in this one and it felt kind of unedited, being unfinished and all. I still felt glad I had read it. The eulogies at the end were just heartbreaking. Love the wry look on his face shown on the cover - a picture from better days. A brilliant guy. "
— Mark, 12/6/2008 -
" I just like this guy. He knows that light hurts your eyes in the morning sometimes. I couldn't read all the eulogies though, just silly for the most part. "
— Andy, 5/13/2008 -
" Life Interrupted: The Unfinished Monologue review "
— Claire, 2/5/2008 -
" I enjoyed the actual monologues more than the info behind them. "
— Jess, 1/7/2008 -
" Oh, Spalding. "
— Jessica, 9/19/2006
About Sam Shepard
Sam Shepard (1943-2017) was an American playwright, author, actor, screenwriter, and director. He wrote forty-four plays as well as several books of short stories, essays, and memoirs. He received the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Buried Child. As an actor, he appeared in more than sixty films and received an Oscar nomination in 1984 for his role as Chuck Yeager in The Right Stuff. In 2009 he received the PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award as a master American dramatist. He was a finalist for the W. H. Smith Literary Award for his story collection Great Dream of Heaven. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, he was awarded the Gold Medal for Drama from the Academy and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.