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Adult Books - Fiction - General Fiction
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The Brief History of the Dead.
Brockmeier, Kevin (author).
Feb. 2006. 256p. Pantheon, hardcover, $22.95 (0-375-42369-9).
REVIEW.
First published January 1, 2006 (Booklist).
The fictional metropolis known as “The City” has two requirements for residence: citizens must be recently deceased, and they must “exist” in the memory of at least one living soul. Among The City’s inhabitants are a nervous newspaperman, a homeless prophet, and an elderly married couple falling in love for the second time. Brockmeier’s uneven novel oscillates between this world and the real one, specifically Antarctica, where Coca-Cola scientist Laura Byrd is stranded with failing equipment and dwindling supplies. Braving the arctic tundra, she eventually comes upon a research station only to discover that her colleagues--and much of the world, for that matter--have succumbed to a deadly virus distributed through the company’s namesake soft drink. Three-time O. Henry Prize winner Brockmeier (The Truth about Celia, 2003) cleverly reveals the relationships between his characters, but he spends too much time on earthbound Laura (whose proximity to death unleashes a flood of maudlin memories) and not enough on the eerie and infinitely more interesting afterworld. Although it never quite lives up to its promising premise, the novel’s Borges-like spirit will appeal to select readers. — Allison Block
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