The Brief History of the Dead
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
2 journalers for this copy...
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. A deadly virus has spread rapidly across Earth, effectively cutting off wildlife specialist Laura Byrd at her crippled Antarctica research station from the rest of the world. Meanwhile, the planet's dead populate "the city," located on a surreal Earth-like alternate plane, but their afterlives depend on the memories of the living, such as Laura, back on home turf. Forced to cross the frozen tundra, Laura free-associates to keep herself alert; her random memories work to sustain a plethora of people in the city, including her best friend from childhood, a blind man she'd met in the street, her former journalism professor and her parents. Brockmeier (The Truth About Celia) follows all of them with sympathy, from their initial, bewildered arrival in the city to their attempts to construct new lives. He meditates throughout on memory's power and resilience, and gives vivid shape to the city, a place where a giraffe's spots might detach and hover about a street conversation among denizens. He simultaneously keeps the stakes of Laura's struggle high: as she fights for survival, her parents find a second chance for love—but only if Laura can keep them afloat. Other subplots are equally convincing and reflect on relationships in a beautiful, delicate manner; the book seems to say that, in a way, the virus has already arrived.
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This is an extra copy of this book that my mother read while visiting and didn't want to take back with her. I'll find it a new home soon. My original review is here.
Starred Review. A deadly virus has spread rapidly across Earth, effectively cutting off wildlife specialist Laura Byrd at her crippled Antarctica research station from the rest of the world. Meanwhile, the planet's dead populate "the city," located on a surreal Earth-like alternate plane, but their afterlives depend on the memories of the living, such as Laura, back on home turf. Forced to cross the frozen tundra, Laura free-associates to keep herself alert; her random memories work to sustain a plethora of people in the city, including her best friend from childhood, a blind man she'd met in the street, her former journalism professor and her parents. Brockmeier (The Truth About Celia) follows all of them with sympathy, from their initial, bewildered arrival in the city to their attempts to construct new lives. He meditates throughout on memory's power and resilience, and gives vivid shape to the city, a place where a giraffe's spots might detach and hover about a street conversation among denizens. He simultaneously keeps the stakes of Laura's struggle high: as she fights for survival, her parents find a second chance for love—but only if Laura can keep them afloat. Other subplots are equally convincing and reflect on relationships in a beautiful, delicate manner; the book seems to say that, in a way, the virus has already arrived.
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This is an extra copy of this book that my mother read while visiting and didn't want to take back with her. I'll find it a new home soon. My original review is here.
Releasing into the Bizarre Fiction Bookbox. I think copies of this have circulated in the box before, but I like this one so much that I'm adding this copy to find new readers.
I already read this and loved it! To be released.
Journal Entry 4 by time-traveler at Doubletree Tarrytown Hotel in Tarrytown, New York USA on Saturday, April 16, 2011
Released 13 yrs ago (4/16/2011 UTC) at Doubletree Tarrytown Hotel in Tarrytown, New York USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
On a big comfy chair at the bottom of the stairs near the Awaken Wellness Fair entrance.
Welcome to Bookcrossing! Please make a journal entry just to let us know this book's been caught. Maybe you'll want to read it but if not, just pass it along to a friend or wild release it again. Thanks - I hope you enjoy this site.
Welcome to Bookcrossing! Please make a journal entry just to let us know this book's been caught. Maybe you'll want to read it but if not, just pass it along to a friend or wild release it again. Thanks - I hope you enjoy this site.
