The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier

It was true that most of the city’s occupants went away after sixty or seventy years, and while this did not prove the theory, it certainly served to nourish it. When the last person who had actually known them had died, they would pass over into whatever came next. More and more people came to adopt the theory that was an extension of life itself-a sort of outer room-and that they would remain there only so long as they endured in living memory. (I don’t usually quibble over page count, but I have 19 books to go, so I am.) In a way, it’s a spoiler to give you the back of the book, but don’t worry-it’s all here on page 7 too: The plot is too one-note to adequately fill 252 pages. The narrative doesn’t advance beyond this trim summation until the final chapters, at which point it’s too little too late. This premise, rather than being the foundation of a story, is the story. With little choice, Laura sets out across the ice to look for help, but time is running out.

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. Others, like Coleman Kinzler, believe it is the beginning of the end. Some of the holdouts, like Luka Sims, who produces the City’s only newspaper, are wondering what exactly is going on.

They will reside in this city until completely forgotten. But the City is shrinking, and the residents clearing out. The City is inhabited by those who have departed Earth but are still remembered by the living. And we’re off to a less than excellent start… Kevin Brockmeier’s The Brief History of the Dead is not the introspective, suspenseful powerhouse it sounds from the back cover:

Book 1 of the 20 Books of Summer 2015 reading challenge.

The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier