I really thought I was going to like this but instead was ambivalent, bordering on hostile.* It's like Brockmeier read Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino and thought, as we all did, that any one of those haunting and delightful cities would make a great setting for a full book. And then went off and ...
The premise is wonderful and exactly the kind of story I usually love. I suppose it's an apocalypse book...kinda. It's more an 'aferlife' book though, if such a genre were to exist. I thought the beginning few chapters were great and I loved hearing all about the world of the departed (although no...
Rating: 3.9* of fiveThe Book Description: From Kevin Brockmeier, one of this generation's most inventive young writers, comes a striking new novel about death, life, and the mysterious place in between. The City is inhabited by those who have departed Earth but are still remembered by the living. Th...
3.5 stars Set sometime in the not too distant future, The Brief History of the Dead is a mixture of post-apocalyptic and fantasy, with alternating chapters between The City and the real world. Normally I'm not a huge fan of this structure, but here I thought it worked quite well. I loved the idea an...
This is such a great premise, executed beautifully by Brockmeier. The story is based on the traditional African concept of the zamani or "living-dead". The idea being that as long as someone who is living remembers you, you will note truly die. Brockmeier expands on this concept by creating a city f...
This reminded me rather a lot of Graham Joyce's The Silent Land, which I just read recently. It contains a lot of the same themes and motifs; solitude, a transitory(?) afterlife, etc, using some of the same symbolism (cold, snow, finite and dreamlike realities).This book is much more explicitly apoc...
After you die you get set down into ordinary city life, and there you carry on much as usual until the last living person who knew you is also dead. Then you move on...Betcha you won't ever drink this again
Strange book. I found it interesting yet not captivating. Life after death is an interesting topic for me and I do like to read other people's interpretations. While I realize this is Mr. Brockmeier's vision (and it is a unique one), it was just to easy and fantastical. I know that this kind of ...
A moving story that explores the power of memory, the significance of loss, and the meaning of our existence. While reading this novel I was constantly reminded of Berkeley's "If a tree falls in the forest" question. Certainly many of us want to know that our life have meaning, perhaps even remember...
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