The Brief History of the Dead: Book summary and reviews of The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier

The Brief History of the Dead Summary

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.

First published by Pantheon in 2006

The Brief History of the Dead Reviews

"Starred Review... Other subplots are equally convincing and reflect on relationships in a beautiful, delicate manner." - Publishers Weekly

"Adult/High School..Brockmeier's haunting reminder of how connected people are to one another will appeal to readers of fantasy yearning for a bit more to think about than the usual fare offers." - School Library Journal

"Although it never quite lives up to its promising premise, the novel's Borges-like spirit will appeal to select readers." - Booklist

"Beautifully written and brilliantly realized, this imaginative work...delivers a startling sense of what it really means to be alive." - Library Journal

"It's a striking premise and, for much of the novel, deftly told through hints and rumors. But as Brockmeier alternates between Laura's story of survival in Antarctica and the daily lives in the afterlife, he uses Laura's memories as a transition between the two worlds. As Tolstoy said, art is in the transitions, and here Brockmeier's seams are showing." - The Washington Post

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Kevin Brockmeier Author Biography

Kevin Brockmeier is the author of the novels The Brief History of the Dead, The Truth About Celia, The Illumination (2011), and the children's novels City of Names and Grooves: A Kind of Mystery, and the story collections Things That Fall from the Sky and The View from the Seventh Layer. His work has been translated into fifteen languages, and he has published his stories in such venues as The New Yorker, The Georgia Review, McSweeney's, Zoetrope, The Oxford American, The Best American Short Stories, The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, and New Stories from the South. He has received the Borders Original Voices Award, three O. Henry Awards (one, a first prize), the PEN USA...

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