The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier

The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier

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.

Kevin Brockmeier is the author of several books, including The Short History of the Dead, The Truth About Celia, Things That Fall from the Sky, and two children's books. He is a former instructor at the Iowa Writers' Workshop. His pieces have appeared in The New Yorker, McSweeney's, and Oxford American, among other journals, and have been anthologized in The Best American Short Stories, The O. Granta's Best of Young American Novelists and Henry Prize Stories He is a resident of Little Rock, Arkansas.