Being DeadJim Crace
Here's another depressing book clearly apropos of the holiday season. Jeez, no wonder I've been down lately. Kinda like the 90s, when all I listened to was Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana, and Marilyn Manson -- and yet for the life of me, I couldn't figure out why I was such a downer.
Anyway, Being Dead is the backwards tale of Joseph and Celice, brutally murdered one morning at the beach. The novel begins with their deaths and works backward in time, just like the quivering that would be performed by the dead a hundred years ago.
A quivering is a form of mourning that lasts all night as friends and family of the departed both laugh and cry over the deceased. Crace writes, "Their memories, exposed to the backward-running time of quiverings in which regrets became prospects, resentments became love, experience became hope, would up-end the hourglass of Celice and Joseph's life together and let their sands reverse." Being Dead does just that.
Beginning with their deaths, the novel works backward to describe their last hours, their last morning, their last day, week, and so on. It's an interesting formula, and one that works for the novel. Gradually, the deceased live again, and become fleshed out with histories and complexes that reach beyond their deaths.
Being Dead is a fast read, and one that is both thought-provoking and engaging. I enjoyed reading about how this couple arrived at their deaths through various "inconsequential" decisions over the years.
In a nutshell: Although perhaps not the most uplifting of novels, Being Dead ponders the nature of love and time, and reminds us that all is never what it seems.
Bibliolatry Scale: 4 out of 6 stars
Anyway, Being Dead is the backwards tale of Joseph and Celice, brutally murdered one morning at the beach. The novel begins with their deaths and works backward in time, just like the quivering that would be performed by the dead a hundred years ago.
A quivering is a form of mourning that lasts all night as friends and family of the departed both laugh and cry over the deceased. Crace writes, "Their memories, exposed to the backward-running time of quiverings in which regrets became prospects, resentments became love, experience became hope, would up-end the hourglass of Celice and Joseph's life together and let their sands reverse." Being Dead does just that.
Beginning with their deaths, the novel works backward to describe their last hours, their last morning, their last day, week, and so on. It's an interesting formula, and one that works for the novel. Gradually, the deceased live again, and become fleshed out with histories and complexes that reach beyond their deaths. Being Dead is a fast read, and one that is both thought-provoking and engaging. I enjoyed reading about how this couple arrived at their deaths through various "inconsequential" decisions over the years.
In a nutshell: Although perhaps not the most uplifting of novels, Being Dead ponders the nature of love and time, and reminds us that all is never what it seems.
Bibliolatry Scale: 4 out of 6 stars
1 comment:
I really like Jim Crace, so I'll have to add this one to my list. Thanks.
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