Kella's review
The Thing About Life Is That One Day You'll Be Dead by David Shields
I had first heard David Shields on This American Life. At first I thought it was another frequent contributor and then I realized I hadn't heard of this David. Then I forgot about Mr. Shields until I found myself at my campus library. His book was short and sky blue and I found myself instantly drawn to it, much like Miranda July's No One Belongs Here More Than You. Unlike Ms. July, Mr. Shields writes nonfiction, the story of him and his 97-year-old father and their disparate beliefs on death. What results is part aphoristic adventure, part unsentimental love letter to Dad before he eventually dies. I also learned a lot of facts about the human body that I then spouted off about at work. I'm not sure anyone listened though. Nonetheless, a beauty of a book: acerbic, concise, and mysterious. A lovely little meditation on life and death.
