Book Review: The Brief History of the Dead

What happens when we die? In Kevin Brockmeier's complex and sometimes disturbing novel, The Brief History of the Dead, we cross over to the city of the dead, where we remain as long as someone alive remembers us. When the last person who remembered us dies, we go on to whatever comes next, which is unknown.

The book begins by introducing us to the dead and their city. "The blind man" (the only name he's ever given) and Luka Sims are both dead, the blind man of "old age and neglect," Luka in a car accident. They remain the age they were when they died; Luka is middle-aged, but anyone who died as a child remains a child. They also take up the same occupations of their living years: kids ride skateboards; the blind man walks around the city, navigating by sound and touch; Luka was a newspaper man, so he prints a paper.

Luka talks to the recent arrivals to discover news of the living world, which is some unspecified time in our not-too-distant future. Back on earth, we are introduced to Laura Byrd, a scientist who works for the ubiquitous Coca-Cola company and has been sent on a mission to Antarctica. The company has recently bought the South Pole and is trying to figure out how to purify the water from the melting ice cap.

The story moves back and forth from the living world of Laura to the city of the dead, where the focus shifts among different inhabitants. We learn much about how the recent dead spend their time. They do many usual things, like go to work or out to eat. Some do things they weren't doing in life, like falling in love for the first time, or falling back in love. The big difference between life and the city of the dead is the lack of physical change. No one gets older, no children are born.

We learn a lot about Laura, too - her first love, her best friend in third grade, a million little details that stick in the brain of any one person. We follow her on a trek across the Antarctic ice, with its heroic triumphs and travails.

Article Author: Nancy Fontaine

Nancy Fontaine is a librarian and freelance writer living in New Hampshire with her husband, two cats, and every four years during presidential primary season, the national press.

Visit Nancy Fontaine's author page — Nancy Fontaine's Blog