In a small, whitewashed village in Andalucia, Juan Rodrigo is a gravedigger. The job was handed down to him by his father, as was the ability to hear the voices of the dead, and to tell their stories to the living.

Rodrigo is a respected member of the community, encouraging people to understand and to forgive, though the unexpected details and scandalous revelations of his accounts aren't always well received. When Rodrigo's daughter, on the brink of adulthood, falls in love with a gypsy boy he doesn't approve of, Rodrigo finds his own tolerance and acceptance are put to the greatest test.

The Gravedigger is a heart-warming, magical first novel about a world where joy and pain, the past and the present, all find a way to exist together.

Reviews:

"Peter Grandbois writes with the energy and imagination of a Garcia Marquez, and the intelligence of a Borges. His book is a charmer at every level, and its story and characters remain in the mind long after the book is put down."

–Elizabeth Cox

"The Gravedigger is an extraordinary novel. Peter Grandbois combines magical realism and masterful storytelling to tell a passionate tale that holds the reader enthralled from beginning to end. A brilliant debut."

–Jill McCorkle

About the Author

peter grandbois holds an MFA in fiction from Bennington College and is currently a PhD student in creative writing at the University of Denver.  He has lived in Denver, San Francisco, Chicago, Malaga, and Barcelona, but presently resides in Boulder, Colorado, with his wife and three children.  This is his first novel.

Visit Peter's Website