BOOK: The Brief History Of The Dead by Kevin Brockmeier

Title: The Brief History Of The Dead
Author: Kevin Brockmeier
ISBN: 0375423699
Publisher: Pantheon
Released: February 14th, 2006
List Price: $22.95

Review: Perhaps it's appropriate that this book is being released on Valentine's day. The Brief History Of The Dead is author Kevin Brockmeier's love letter to memory and what it means to be human. We all remember people from our lives who have passed. In those memories, people live on. Not only loved ones, but every stranger you pass on the street, every passing attraction you see across a cafe, and every beggar who asks you for change. The dead live on... somewhere... but what happens when those who remember you pass on too? Do our regrets and hopes live beyond our memories? Is there any objective afterlife? Brockmeier examines these questions and weaves a memorable story through alternating points of view in his newest novel.

The last remaining person on Earth, Laura, struggles for survival in Antarctica after a deadly virus leaves the rest of the world empty. The dead remembered by Laura inhabit an expansive city much like the world we know where people arrive and disappear with little or no warning. Left with an unknown amount of time in this city, the victims of the virus struggle to learn where and why they are before their time is up, reflecting the idea that mankind's curiosity lives beyond death. But for how long? Laura's memories are fading fast and no one is sure how much longer they have or what will happen to them when they disappear from the world they have come to know after death. This book is a reminder of how many people influence our lives and how seldom we take notice.

Brockmeier has been an author worth watching ever since the release of his first book, Things That Fall From The Sky. With the beautiful prose of The Brief History Of The Dead, he cements his reputation. Brockmeier writes fairy tales for thinking adults. I don't think I am exaggerating when I say that he is the closest living talent to Nabokov the literary world has, weaving playful questions and profound sadness into his insightful narratives.

Brockmeier is a writer to pay attention to. I have a feeling people will remember him for a very long time... even if we don't know what comes next.

Rating: 4.75 / 5

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