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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
challenging
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I would gladky follow a feed on [your social media platform of choice] that was an afterlife a day. 40 of them, back to back, is a bit much - like a platter of dimsum. (Yes, I could have read it slower, but it seems reasonable to expect books to be read in a few sittings, front to back.)
Several of the stories are deeply heteronormative - the gender binary comes up repeatedly as an inviolable thing built into the universe. I'd like to think these days an early reader would have given the author a nudge.
Several of the stories are deeply heteronormative - the gender binary comes up repeatedly as an inviolable thing built into the universe. I'd like to think these days an early reader would have given the author a nudge.
challenging
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Forty pieces of flash fiction each exploring a a different type of afterlife - these were inventive, and full of interesting ideas. Some were funny, with the few pages of the tale almost a set up for a punchline at the end. Others were poignant, sad, and reflective upon some part of the human experience. Overall, there were a good mix to make this easy enough to read spread over a few days, reading a few in each session without getting them mixed up. My one critique would be that while not all stories contained a god, most of the ones that did included a very human god, rather than ineffable and unfathomable one. This included god being typically gendered - and while this gender did switch between stories, this still showed the author's struggle to imagine beyond the binary and their monotheistic default (although there were a couple that included many gods, where there was a creator there was typically one). However, beyond the representation of god, the other ideas were varied and interesting enough to suggest this for sci-fi (Black Mirror?) or Fantasy fans, as well as the literary fans this was more likely marketed to.
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
I wish I could rate it higher than a 5!
challenging
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Some of these were amazing - when you get to heaven you see Mary Shelley! But it got a little repetitive. Glad I checked this out.
Like a vignette version of Italo Calvino's Cosmicomics from a slightly different angle
Once again I'm stuck between ratings--do I give three stars or four to David Eagleman's Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives, a book of short vignettes that mix philosophy and science fiction to imagine different scenarios that may play out once we shuffle off this mortal coil. Sometimes silly, sometimes somber, but always imaginative, I really did enjoy reading each of them.
Still, these are no rosy images of chubby cherubs and pearly gates, where all one's afterlife dreams come true. Actually, the tales tend more toward the dark--full of rude reawakenings for the recently deceased and often less-than-all-powerful Makers disappointed in their creations. In "Will-o'-the-Wisp" (maybe my favorite of the collection, tied with "Reversal"), we're treated to the ability to monitor the world as it continues without us, keeping track of our descendants--but is this a gift or a curse? In "Mary," God relates all too well with the tortured protagonist of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The titular story, "Sum," imagines that we relive all our life's experiences, only now organized categorically rather than chronologically (seven months of nonstop sex; thirty years of sleeping), and even this one betrays some rather pessimistic views of how we spend our lives--we accrue twenty-seven hours of pain to be endured at once, but only "fourteen minutes experiencing pure joy"? Many of the stories carefully reveal the blurred (or even nonexistent) line between Heaven and Hell.
In the end, Sum serves to consider not the afterlives, but the current lives we're living--or, as many stories emphasize, not living. Anyone with half an interest in philosophy, science fiction, or creative writing will no doubt enjoy this satisfying little collection. In the one year of my afterlife that Eagleman speculates I'll spend constantly reading books, I certainly won't mind when this one crops up again.
Still, these are no rosy images of chubby cherubs and pearly gates, where all one's afterlife dreams come true. Actually, the tales tend more toward the dark--full of rude reawakenings for the recently deceased and often less-than-all-powerful Makers disappointed in their creations. In "Will-o'-the-Wisp" (maybe my favorite of the collection, tied with "Reversal"), we're treated to the ability to monitor the world as it continues without us, keeping track of our descendants--but is this a gift or a curse? In "Mary," God relates all too well with the tortured protagonist of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The titular story, "Sum," imagines that we relive all our life's experiences, only now organized categorically rather than chronologically (seven months of nonstop sex; thirty years of sleeping), and even this one betrays some rather pessimistic views of how we spend our lives--we accrue twenty-seven hours of pain to be endured at once, but only "fourteen minutes experiencing pure joy"? Many of the stories carefully reveal the blurred (or even nonexistent) line between Heaven and Hell.
In the end, Sum serves to consider not the afterlives, but the current lives we're living--or, as many stories emphasize, not living. Anyone with half an interest in philosophy, science fiction, or creative writing will no doubt enjoy this satisfying little collection. In the one year of my afterlife that Eagleman speculates I'll spend constantly reading books, I certainly won't mind when this one crops up again.
I read a review of this little book that said it is more about life than death. I agree. That said, there are so many more possibilities brought up here than I'd ever dreamed of. My favorite chapter/section is "Subjunctive" - it posits that "in the afterlife, you are judged not against other people, but yourself," against what you could have been. It makes me want to be more careful, work harder, love fiercely, and never stop questioning.
My other favorite was "Metamorphosis" which discusses three deaths: first, when your body doesn't work, second, when you're buried, and third, when your name is said for the last time.
My other favorite was "Metamorphosis" which discusses three deaths: first, when your body doesn't work, second, when you're buried, and third, when your name is said for the last time.