Saucy's review
The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier
There are very few authors who write books that haunt me: Neil Gaiman, Kate Chopin. Add to that list Kevin Brockmeier. I didn't think that a book about the end of human civilization would have any affect on me; my ignorance led me into this novel fully unprepared for what I would encounter.
Set in the not-so-distant future, The Brief History of the Dead follows the story of a very big corporate "oops": Coca-Cola unintentionally spreads a virus that kills off the entire human population in a very short period of time. Brockmeier manages to stay within the bounds of satire when addressing the Coke folks, and even dredges up some sympathy for the PR managers who must deal with this tragedy. Of course, they don't have time to deal with it before dropping dead of their own creation.
The heart of the story revolves around one woman, Laura Byrd, an explorer in Antarctica and the lone survivor of the mass extinction. The novel alternates between her story and the story of The...more
Set in the not-so-distant future, The Brief History of the Dead follows the story of a very big corporate "oops": Coca-Cola unintentionally spreads a virus that kills off the entire human population in a very short period of time. Brockmeier manages to stay within the bounds of satire when addressing the Coke folks, and even dredges up some sympathy for the PR managers who must deal with this tragedy. Of course, they don't have time to deal with it before dropping dead of their own creation.
The heart of the story revolves around one woman, Laura Byrd, an explorer in Antarctica and the lone survivor of the mass extinction. The novel alternates between her story and the story of The...more
