Vigil

Bloomsbury presents Vigil by George Saunders, read by Judy Greer with Stephen Root and a full cast.
The latest book from the Booker Prize-winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo - a playful, wise, electric novel taking place at the bedside of an oil company CEO, in the twilight hours of his life, as he is ferried from this world into the next
'He will be read long after these times have passed' Zadie Smith What a lovely home I found myself plummeting toward. . .
Not for the first time - in fact, for the 343rd time - Jill 'Doll' Blaine finds herself crashing down to earth, head-first, rear-up, to accompany her latest charge into the afterlife. She soon realises however that this man is not quite like the others.
For powerful oil tycoon K.J. Boone will not be consoled, because he has nothing to regret. He lived a big, bold life, and the world is better for it- isn't it?
As death approaches, a cast of worldly and otherworldly visitors arrive. Crowds of people and animals - alive and dead - materialise, birds swarm the dying man's room, and associates from decades past show up, all clamouring for a reckoning.
In this electric novel brimming with explosive imagination, George Saunders confronts the biggest issues of our time with his trademark humour and warmth, spinning a tale that encompasses life and death, good and evil, and the inevitable question: who else could we be but exactly who we are?
Cast:
Judy Greer as Jill 'Doll' Blaine
Stephen Root as K.J. Boone
MacLeod Andrews as the Frenchman
Kimberly Farr as K.J.'s Mother
Mark Bramhall as K.J.'s Father
Karissa Vacker as Julia
Kirby Heyborne as the College Kid
Danny Campbell as the Cheyenne Country Club Golfer
Barrett Leddy as Mel G
Eric Jason Martin as Mel R
Cassandra Campbell as Miss Eva
Kimberly M. Wetherell as Clyda
Aaron Goodson as William
Fred Berman as Paul Bowman
Marni Penning as the Weaver-Lady
Sunil Malhotra as Mr Bhuti
Ann Marie Lee as Viv
Rebecca Lowman as Carol-Ann
Maggi-Meg Reed as Grandma Gust
Matt Godfrey as Joe, the weaver-lady's husband
Vas Eli as the Russian Nurse
and George Saunders as Dell

George Saunders is the author of thirteen books, including Lincoln in the Bardo, which won the 2017 Booker Prize. Three of his books - Pastoralia, Tenth of December, and Lincoln in the Bardo - were chosen for the New York Times' list of the 100 Best Books of the 21st Century. Saunders hosts the popular Story Club on Substack, and in 2013, he was named one of the world's 100 Most Influential People by Time magazine. In 2025, he received the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from the National Book Foundation. He teaches in the creative writing program at Syracuse University.