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Buy The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier available and for sale on Brightsurf
| View Larger Image | The Brief History of the Dead
by Kevin Brockmeier
| | List Price: | $13.95 | | Price: | $11.16 | | You Save: | $2.79 (20%) |  | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours | | | | | Sales Rank: | 87221 | | Studio: | Vintage | | | Binding: | Paperback | | Number Of Pages: | 272 | | Publication Date: | January 09, 2007 | | Publisher: | Vintage |
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product 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. 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. |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 3.5 based on 120 reviews)
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Stunningly imaginative 
I highly recommend this book. It absolutely blew me away -- the originality, the fantasy-without-outlandishness, and even the totally expected ending that somehow became tear-jerkingly touching. The first chapter alone, published as a short story in the New Yorker, is thrilling by itself. This novel was a joy.
June 27, 2008 | |
Well written, well conceived, but deeply depressing 
I don't have any new critique of this novel to add but I want to mention that several of the themes and certainly the ending, have left me feeling deeply sad and hopeless. I was drawn in by the first few chapters and an admiration for the creative undertaking. The last quarter of the book is perhaps the most depressing thing I've ever read -- not something I typically walk away with from a book. Maybe not a good book to take on if you're not in the mood.
June 23, 2008 | |
Interesting Concept 
I am reviewing the audio version of this book. I found the concept to be so interesting and I really enjoyed the relationships between the people in The City. I loved Laura's story and reading about her finally realizing what was going on in the outside world,and her desperate attempts at trying to save herself. HOWEVER! I was disappointed in the ending, only because it was so.... bleh. Even though I finished the book about a week ago, I still keep thinking about the book and wondering what happened. There could have been so much more to the story and the characters. I wonder about the plague - how it happened, where it came from. I wonder if Laura was the last sole survivor of the human race. I wonder what happens to the inhabitants of The City when they move on. I wonder what happens to The City itself after everyone leaves. I wonder about all the unanswered questions that the ending leaves. Now, I realize that sometimes not having a story tied up in a neat little bow is a better ending. But for some reason, the unexplained and unanswered parts of this story bother me. I would recommend the book because it is a good read and very interesting. Plus, it is thought provoking and unique. I only wish the ending had satisfied my need to know more about what happened AFTER the ending, and more about what was going on in the "real world" during the story.
June 18, 2008 | |
Interesting premise, dull story 
The problem with this book isn't with the writing, it's just that the writing is not good enough to sustain a complete lack of tension in the plot. The ultimate fate of all of the characters becomes clear more or less after about 10 pages. And the characters themselves are not very interesting. Flashbacks galore, but very dull. The little blurb at the beginning that explains the basic idea of an intermediate kind of heaven for people who still exist in the memories of the living is about as interesting as it gets. But Brockmeier doesn't do anything with it, I'm afraid.
May 04, 2008 | |
Let's not jump to conclusions... 
I think some people are being too harsh in their criticisms of this novel. While the book is by no means a literary stunner, it is worth the read because of its interesting subject matter and point of view. A lot of 1-star reviewers said the novel was boring and plotless, but in a book about the last person left on earth... alone... with nothing and nobody to distract them, how much of a plot can you really be expecting? The novel is an interesting look into the mind of a person who is completely alone, and the connections that Laura makes in her own head are fun to watch. Similarly, the lives of those already passed hold some interest, we observe how their new lives are different from or similar to the ones they previously led. All in all, this is not one of the most memorable books I've ever read. In fact, I had to do some searching to find it on Amazon because the name of the novel was on the tip of my tongue and all I could remember was a researcher in the frozen tundra and Korean women playing Mahjong (already passed). That being said, I did enjoy it and it's worth a casual read when you have the time.
April 15, 2008 | |
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