Laura Byrd is in trouble. Three weeks ago she and her friends found themselves alone in one of the coldest, most remote places on earth. Her friends set out in search of help, and now Laura realises that they are not coming back. So she gathers her remaining supplies and sets out on an extraordinary journey.

Meanwhile in another city, more and more people arrive every day. Each has a different story to tell, but their accounts have one thing in common - it was their final journey. For this is the city of the dead. And the link between this city and Laura's journey lies at the heart of this remarkable novel.

The Brief History of the Dead tells a magical story about our lives - about our place in the world, our connections with each other, and what happens to us all after our deaths. It is a story of spellbinding power and imagination, which resonates long after the final page.


An excellent read, but difficult to describe. Interesting, different, thoughtful and moving. A story of life, of death, and of memories . . . and of Antarctica.


Offered on greenbadger's "One book a month offered 2016" thread for September.

Off to Nepal to lils74 as my September RABCK. Enjoy!

Also released for Week 40 of the Never Judge a Book by its Cover 2016 Release Challenge: Autumn colors (yellow, brown, red, or orange).

This arrived in Kathmandu yesterday - thank you for sending it so far, crimson-tide! It looks like a fascinating, unusual book and I'm looking forward to reading it.

Finished reading this book this week - in fact I'd started it several months ago when I read half, and stopped. A week or so ago I picked it up again and this time I finished it. It's a fascinating story… I particularly enjoyed the parts that tell the story of the daily life of the city's residents - I don't know why, but even the mundane details were fascinating for me. The parts with Laura in Antarctica were slower reading for me - still interesting, but I flag when there's that much description for pages on end, and often lost interest in those chapters. And the way the book ended was - unexpected. I don't really know what to say more than that, but I think that was the author's intention, perhaps. The descriptions of the way the world was then were interesting both for what was said and what was implied. How did the world get to be that way? Let's hope it never does…

I passed this book on to ApoloniaX yesterday - we had a mini-BC-meetup (unofficial) over tasty handmade udon - yum!

ETA: #33 in the 2017 KTM Challenge

Thanks a lot - got it yesterday, when we met for yummy Japanese food. Seems very interesting.

A fascinating central concept for a dystopian novel, with two intertwining storylines. All the people you ever met and remember in your life in one city.... The ones remembered live on, and if there is only one person alive, she’s the one who connects them. While they just carry on with their lives.
It made me think a lot. What if it was me, still alive, and there was this city peopled with everybody I kept in my mind? How long would it take them to find out it was me? Who would guess? Probably not the French guy who lived down the street when I still lived in Bremen. Or the owner of that bookshop I frequented when I was around 14. It might be you, lils74. You’d first realise there’d be loads of Germans, at the same time you’d notice all the Nepalese, some you’d even know, and when you’d find out that there were hundreds of BookCrossers (all those I met at many (Un)conventions and meet-ups) you’d know for sure. Don’t know if you ever met any other German BCers, but then the many Cambodians would give me away.
It’s written in an immensely beautiful poetic and sad way that got me hooked right away. But the ending... The last two chapters were a drag. I wondered why Brockmeier couldn’t have found a better way out. I didn’t mind the not very realistic idea that Laura was the last one living – no pockets of people living hidden away in some jungle or mountain village that Coco-Cola and the rest of the world couldn’t reach? I skimmed the chapter about the crazy street preacher, so what. Some flaws of plausibility and open questions didn’t matter to me, but the last two chapters... Unsatisfying. Of course she dies, I didn’t mind what happened, just the way it was written.
What surprised me is that the Coca-Cola Corporation didn’t sue him or something – at least I guess it didn’t, otherwise the book might very soon have been out of print. Brockmeier is quite open about their unethical advertising campaigns, even though he leaves out murdered union members and other Coca-Cola crimes.

Released somewhere around the Peace Pagoda... Happy reading!