The Brief History of the Dead

by Kevin Brockmeier

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. They will reside in this afterlife until they are completely forgotten. But the City is shrinking, and the residents clearing out. Some of the holdouts, like Luka Sims, who produces the City’s only newspaper, are wondering what exactly is going on. Others, like Coleman Kinzler, believe it is the beginning of the end. Meanwhile, Laura Byrd is trapped in an Antarctic research station, her supplies are running low, her radio finds only static, and the power is failing. With little choice, Laura sets out across the ice to look for help, but time is running out. Kevin Brockmeier alternates these two storylines to create a lyrical and haunting story about love, loss and the power of memory.

• ISBN10: 1400095956
• ISBN13: 9781400095957
• Publish Date: 9 January 2007 (first published 1 January 2006)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Imprint: Vintage Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 272
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781400095957

Reviews

[SilverThistle]

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 'afterlife' 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 not the part of 'how' they got there....that was a bit psychedelic).

I was probably more interested in the dead than I was in Laura Byrd, although even the chapters given over to Laura were interesting at the start, just not 'as' interesting. As chapters went by though, I was tempted to skim her sections because there's only so much I need to know about an abandoned woman in the Antarctic with only herself for company and little in the way of resources.

By three quarters of the way in I was finding the afterlife sections disappointing too. The religious zealot's chapters were too 'out there' for me to relate to and some of the other characters were neither hateful nor lovable...they were just filler.

But it's the ending that is the most dissatisfying. It was a letdown of an ending but by the time I'd reached it I was almost past caring what happened anyway.

It was a quick, short read that seemed to be far more 'wordy' than was necessary. It's also quite a deep book, considering it's size, but that's not really what I look for when I read.... I want to be entertained by a story and I'm not necessarily looking for a deeper meaning