Life is Big

by Kiki Denis

Alma-Jane, an impossibly curious 11-year-old girl who lives in NYC and the most genetically happy person alive, is about to die due to a rare mutation. Ayrton, Alma-Jane’s older brother and a math prodigy, declares war against Death, “the destroyer of Life,” and then suddenly takes off to Oxford, UK, to examine Albert Einstein’s brain. Meanwhile, Death and his younger brother, O.M. (Obituary Man), are overworked and in desperate need of a short vacation.
At the heart of all this, a motley crew of “Minor & Major Immortals” mingle: Socrates, Alma-Jane’s dead grandfather. Dr. Harvey, a neuroscientist who conducts research on “Pure Mighties,” lab engineered mice that lack a fear gene. Sabina, Einstein’s Kunderian mistress. Alfred Butts, Sabina’s best friend and the inventor of the Scrabble board game. Pablo Neruda, who builds bridges for a living and loves kite flying. And, finally, ΩNING, a 7-year-old humanoid who loves playing the piano.
What connects all these characters is the belief that “wise-thinking” leads to a longer and happier future, and that it’s the only way to guarantee a “Life bigger than Death.”

216 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 6, 2020

About the author

Kiki Denis, originally from Greece, has lived in the US since 1990.
She holds a BA from Mount Holyoke College and an MA from Exeter University, England.
Her first novel entitled THE LAST DAY OF PARADISE won the Gival Novel Award and was resealed by Gival Press in print in 2006. In the 2019 the audiobook of the same title was resealed on audible by amazon and had been reviewed as “one of the most original, funny reads". LIVE IS BIG, Ms Denis's new novel, was released on kindle in April of 2020. To download a copy of LIFE IS BIG go to the Kiki's website or go directly to amazon (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086CDQXZX).

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kiki Denis's novel 'Life is Big' contains a plethora of bizarre and imaginative concepts that will excite some and puzzle others. It's a fine example of a book in which the whole is so much LESS than the sum of all its parts. It just bounces about in so many disparate directions, introduces ideas that go precisely nowhere, and then sledgehammers together some coincidences with zero subtlety. When I reached the end I thought "What did I just read?" - but not in a good way.

It starts well with an 11-year-old girl, Alma Jane, contemplating her inevitable demise from a rare genetic disorder, but just as you're getting your head around that - and the concept of websites to challenge war and death - the book detours off to a strange afterlife in which famous and not so famous people create their own hierarchy of worthiness with differing castes of immortality. Einstein plays Scrabble with the inventor of the game whilst a fictional character from Milan Kundera's 'The Incredible Lightness of Being' gets jealous that Albert is more interested in his new friend than in her. I've not read TILOB and don't feel I should have to, just to be able to understand Life is Big. Then we're off to meet death and his brother who writes obituaries (I quite liked those two) then back to the sort of real-world to get to know the girl's brother and an extended class of doctors, computer scientists and people with an interest in both death and perfection.

20% of the way in, I hated it and thought it totally pointless. Around 70% of the way in, when various plotlines started to coalesce and we learned of the genetic breeding of fearless super-mice, I was fairly intrigued, and then it all headed back downhill again.

There's a potentially really good story in here that seems - to me, at least - to have been sacrificed to the gods of 'style' and 'trying too hard to impress'. It's an intellectually snooty attempt to play with the reader's preconceived ideas about death and the need for imperfection in a far from perfect world but for too much of the book, I felt like I was a spectator in somebody else's very strange dream that didn't seem intended to make much sense.

A brave and worthy attempt to be 'different' but ultimately rather a futile one.

I received a free e-copy from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Life is Big
by Kiki Denis

I'll just say it upfront, this book is bizarre. There are characters and places with names that are seemingly unpronounceable and there is a jumpiness about the plot flow that, while sometimes annoying, does seem fitting for this story. I felt like the author went a little overboard with the exclamation points and the dialogue was wanting here and there. Another reviewer said it was like being in someone else's dream, and I agree. The oddities in our own dreams are subliminally understood through personal knowledge and experiences, but here the reader has no such clarification to help decipher the meaning. I think Life is Big is a clever and insightful read if you have the fortitude to focus through the absurdity and confusion.

Death and his brother, the obituary writer, among many others, are brilliant characters, in my opinion. It's not that Death hasn't been a character before but that brother... nice move, Mrs. Denis, you can write.

[Anastasios Denis · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me, it is a perfect example of how people should not give up on difficult circumstances. There is hope for everything. Highly recommended, will motivate you.

[rann_ssy · Rating 5 out of 5]

First and foremost, I was truly overwhelmed by the summary of this book. I actually thought that I'd get lost and confused somewhere once I start reading this, however, it was actually quite the opposite. Though I was quite overwhelmed by the amount of characters I'd be introduced in with this book, I was actually able to keep up with the story. Kiki Denis' pace and creative writing made the story easier to understand and keep along, and it was such a great read and inspiration finding out the unexpected connections the characters have with each other. The depth of each background stories of the characters is very interesting yet emotional. The story overall is such a rollercoaster ride of emotions.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alma Jane is a curious 11-year-old living in New York who is about to die from a rare mutation. Her brother is so distraught with grief he declares war against Death and sets out to meet Albert Einstein in the UK. In this book, Death is a character who we can interact with and see how weary he is of his job. Death’s brother, O.M. was also weary and they two decide they need a vacation desperately. We are also introduced to a variety of other characters, a neuroscientist, Almas grandfather, Einstein’s mistress and many more. Towards the end of the book, we finally see what the common denominator for all the characters is and how they approach life.
This book was certainly “out there”. I was hard to read through and keep track of the many characters and follow along with how their interactions became more meaningful through the book. I did not start to become less confused until the latter portion of the book. While I am glad I stuck through the end, it was a bit too puzzling for my taste to be read again.

[Jenny Goff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book’s storyline was quite unique and thought provoking. It really made me think differently about life, death, happiness, and immortality. My favorite characters in the book were Alma-Jane, her brother Ayrton, and her friend Alejandro. Alma-Jane is eleven years old and has a genetic mutation that is going to cause her to die unless her brother or her doctor can figure out how to cure it. This part of the story really kept my interest as I read along to see if a cure would be discovered or not. I also liked that the author mixed in other story lines and characters along with Alma-Jane and her story. At first, the different story lines and characters seem separate but as you read along, you start to see the connections between the different people and stories. My only complaint was that there were times throughout the book where the material was a little difficult for me to understand. However, I was still able to enjoy the story as a whole. Also, the last two chapters in the book appeared to have some duplicate information so that was a little confusing. Overall, I thought this was a good book and I really enjoyed the author’s creativity.

[Melissa Caudle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fabulous story.

[Julie Porter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spoilers: Kiki Denis' book Life is Big is not an easy book to categorize. It's a fantasy that focuses on life after death. It's a science fiction because it explores scientific and technological achievements and how researchers quantify our everyday existence, even thought and emotion. It's a satire in which many characters' discoveries and theories are so extreme that they become ridiculous. It's a tragedy that discusses death and how connected we are to each other in strange but meaningful ways. It's bizarre, weird, and sometimes confusing. But most of all, Life is Big is a book that is unforgettable and hard to get out of your mind.

Because Life is Big is such a difficult book to categorize, it is also a difficult book to summarize the plot. It's neither long nor unwieldy, but it takes the point of view of 11 characters all with their own stories, pursuits, beliefs, and agendas. It seems to tell 11 different stories, but the chapters reveal that they are somehow connected to each other in different ways.

The first character that we meet is Alma-Jane, AKA A.J. A.J. is a brilliant 11-year-old girl who is the most genetically happiest person on the planet. (Seriously, she took a test for it.) Unfortunately, because of a genetic mutation, she is dying. A.J., her brother, Ayrtron, and friend, Alejandro have declared war on death. The trio use their mighty brain power (and these kids are geniuses so that brain power is mighty), to find a way to beat death or at least give A.J., a few more years of life. A.J. and Ayrtron have created a website which if successful could help change A.J.'s gene color (which is a contributing factor to her illness.). A.J. also is using the brief time that she has left researching other people who have genetic happiness and consoling a woman whose genetic happiness is zero.

Ayrtron also has another project going on. In cyberspace, he assumes the identity of a 42 year old scientist and gives advice to adult geniuses. (They wouldn't listen to advice from a kid, but maybe from another adult, he reasons.) He calculates heartbeats and thoughts in a person's lifetime. During his studies, he communicates with another scientist, Lazslo, who claims to have part of Einstein's brain in a jar. Ayrtron may be a genius kid, but he is still a kid. He recklessly books a flight to London to visit Laszlo and the brain so he can continue his studies.

Their buddy, Alejandro is also studying the behaviors of an iCub, Qining particularly while it interacts with him and A.J. He wants to study "the little brain people", how the mind works. He asks Qning questions such as whether it is alive and how it feels not to have a father.(Qning was created by a female inventor.)
In their own way and through their private studies, the trio are trying to find some meaning in their lives, and answer questions about the overall key to existence. Maybe through their researches, they are not only hoping to save A.J.'s life, but find something lasting, recognition that will outlive them.

The kids aren't the only ones who are doing bizarre scientific research. Ayrtron's online friend, Laszlo, also has his own studies, creating the Potentiality Puzzle, which measures happiness, delight, and fearlessness in a person. He was inspired by his late girlfriend, Sonia who was the smartest and most fearless person that he knew. Sonia had a mentor, Dr. Maurits Harvey, who created genetically modified mice so he could study their thought patterns and emotions. Sonia was on her way to meet Dr. Harvey when she booked a flight on September 11,2001, so her research remained unfinished. The once self-conscious, Laszlo is determined to continue her work, ironically becoming more fearless in his pursuits.

Another of Harvey's protegees, Lila, is also interested in studying happiness. In fact, she created the Overall Happiness test that determined A.J's score. This book contains a great deal
of interconnectivity between characters, mostly through their reasearch. Names are dropped that become prominent later. One person's research proves beneficial to another.
The connection between Lila and A.J. is particularly compelling. Lila was given up for adoption by her birth mother, Raduska. A.J. got the highest score on Lila's happiness study and consoles a woman online whose happiness level is zero. The woman whose happiness level is zero is, ta da, Raduska, Lila's birth mother. A.J.'s research not only gives her recognition and meaning, but it also provides answers to Lila and Raduska.

Oh yes, Dr. Harvey's scientific work has continued beyond his death as well. His chapter is told not from his perspective but from that of one of his mice, Mighty-11. Mighty-11 and the other mice, called the Mighties, have created their own society inside Harvey's lab,where the elder mice educate the younger. Yes, a talking mouse narrates one of the chapters. Did I mention this book was bizarre?

This book is almost satirical in describing the various theories that these geniuses create and study. They demonstrate how scientific minds analyze and quantify everything, even that which cannot be necessarily quantified. How do you measure things like Happiness, Contentment, or Love? What is the process in measuring emotions, intuition, things that by definition resist being measured? What would the results prove, that some people are happier than others? How? Many people in real life do study behaviors and there are lists about the "happiest countries" or "happiest states". But, this book takes those studies to the extreme by giving us characters who live to find a solution to everything, even that which cannot be truly measured.

As if the dying happy little girl, the oddball research, the sentient AI, the talking mice, coincidence of a mother and daughter being linked through the dying happy little girl, and Einstein's brain didn't make this book weird, things get even weirder. We meet Albert Einstein (yes that one) who now lives as one of the Great Immortals with his girlfriend, Sabina, the female protagonist of Milan Kundera's novel, The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Yes, a deceased historical figure and a fictional character have shacked up in the cyberspace equivalent of the Afterlife. It's that kind of book. However, as anyone who studied Einstein's life knows how troubled his real-life marriages to his wives, Mileva and Elsa were, it makes sense that he would not want to spend eternity with either of them. He is attracted to Sabina's "lightness," and ever the scientist, he is fascinated by and studies it.

Einstein is also friends with Alfred Butts, the creator of the board game, Scrabble and Pablo Neruda, the poet who spends his time after death flying kites. These three are considered Great Immortals, people who are missed by many because they left something behind from a scientific theory that changed the world, to Nobel Prize winning poetry, to a board game played by millions.

Then there are people like Socrates, no not the philosopher (I am actually surprised he's not), but A.J. and Ayrtron's grandfather and his wife, Sofia. They are concerned Minor Immortals, because they are only remembered by friends and family, the people that they loved.

Meanwhile, Death and his younger brother, Hypnos AKA Obituary Man or O.M., also get their two cents in. They argue over who to push The Button on, i.e. who is going to die. Death still is ticked off with O.M. for making an unauthorized switch by trading one person's life for another. Death who is pretty cranky also has a conversation with the soon to be late, Grandma Sofia that indicates that he doesn't always like his job but rules are rules. It takes a lot of convincing to persuade Death to bend the rules one more time.

Reading about Denis' version of the Afterlife is similar to the one in Thomas Milhorat's Melia in Foreverland, where famous and average people are strutting around doing their own things, forming friendships, pursuing new interests, even researching new things, and seeing how their achievements affected those left behind. They achieve immortality through their legacies that others follow and remember.

Ultimately, that's what Life is Big is about. How one achieves immortality, not by literally and physically living forever. Immortality is achieved by the things a person leaves behind: their research, their art, their philosophies, their ideals, their actions, and of course by their friends and family. It's not how and when they died. It's who they affected emotionally and what their lives meant to others.

This theme is prominent in a phrase that is carried throughout the book, a phrase that inspired the title of the book: "Life is Big. Immortality exists, although it doesn't apply to humans (yet)."
This book shows that in a way immortality does exist for humans.

[Yiannis Tsiounis · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you think of the best movies you’ve seen, they have a little of everything and it’s all integrated so seamlessly you barely notice: witty, funny, sad, ecstatic, prophetic, and so on. Life is Big manages that feat and leaves the reader thinking... indeed, there are so many aspects of life. It really is big! Can’t go wrong with this book

[Valery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life is Big by Kiki Denis is a fun and entertaining book, one that will have you examining your life. This book is a great amalgamation of historical figures, fictional characters, and even the dead. Death himself is a character. This is a well-crafted book with an overarching message, that an unexamined life is not worth living. Plenty of fun characters, each on their own journeys. When you have Albert Einstein playing Scrabble with none other than the inventor of Scrabble, you know you have a fun book and one that carries within it copious amounts of wit and humor. A fun and fascinating book that helps you not take life quite so seriously, we are here to explore, learn, and even have fun. Well written, insightful, and compelling, this book is highly recommended.

[B.S. Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Release Date: 6th April 2020
Genre: Young Adult / Fiction


I'm not really sure what I just read - and I mean that in a wonderful way.

'Life is Big' follows an 11-year old girl named Alma-Jane, the happiest girl in the world who is very close to dying dur to a terminal condition and her brother Ayrton a mathematical genius with a cyber alter-ego and very good big brother. Together, the two of them decide to declare war against Death and run away to Oxford to examine the brain of Albert Einstein himself (who apparently, spends his afterlife baking and playing scrabble) At the same time, Death and his own little brother Obituary Man, or O.M. for short, are getting a little bit sick of their jobs and the constant stream of souls needing ferrying off.

This entire book was one giant puzzle that I wasn't sure I'd solved - it read like some type of dreamscape sequence where nothing quite fit together until you figured out one more thing. This was odd, it was unique, and it was most definitely different to many other things I've read.

The blurb itself felt overwhelming, and I was sure I was going to get lost in the noise of this story but it was surprisingly easy to follow, even with the erratic jumping of places and peoples constantly. One of my favourite characters being an immortal jellyfish who jumps in and out of the story to remind people that time is short, love is amazing and life is very big indeed.

Life is hard to describe; and that's also very true of this book. It was full of meaningful reflections on mortality and death, on love, on kindness. It dealt with technology and science and knowlege. But it was also full of what felt like wonderfully absurd nonsense.

If you're happy to have your brain ache for a little while and be patiently waiting for the last few peices of a puzzle, this book is definitely something you should read.



RATING; ⭐⭐⭐⭐



Thank you to NetGalley and Kiki Denis for providing with this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Please note that all opinions contained within are my own.

[Pegboard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Life is Big by Kiki Denis is a contemporary work that makes the reader think about what little Alma-Jane is going through. An eleven year old, who is genetically a happy person, yet faces death soon if her brother or doctor cannot come up with a cure. She wonders if life is just a vacation from non-existence. We meet many fascinating people on her journey. There are those who are living and those who are no longer.

If Life is Big was a painting, it would be a Picasso. Kiki Denis pieces the story together for a full work of art. There are parts of the story you may wonder where it fits into the plot. I think this novel either speaks to you, or you are unsure how it fits together. Overall, I really liked Alma-Jane and her brother, Ayrton.

[Graham Vingoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a bit torn on this as I don't think I was necessarily the target audience for the book. It s well-written and I read it quite quickly but I did find it just a little too absurd for my taste , which runs a bit darker than Kiki Denis writes. Good if you want to read a light-hearted book dealing with serious issues.
Thanks to Kiki herself for following the fact that I was reading it on Goodreads, and to her and the publishers for the chance to read and review

Note to publishers This happened:
Unable to find book with ISBN "9781913545307" on Goodreads.

[Mia C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life is Big: For Life’s sake, Death has to meet, Alma-Jane, the happiest girl alive! by Kiki Denis is a work that made me think, empathize with the characters, think again and reflect. The author writes with depth, feelings and makes the reader feel them too. There is no doubt this book stands out.
The development of the character, their feelings and dialogues are so well achieved that I was hooked to the pages. I will recommend it no doubt to those who like reading about existence and life with a mix of philosophical ideas.

[Santiago Flores · Rating 5 out of 5]

This middle length book is called “Life is Big: For Life’s sake, Death has to meet, Alma-Jane, the happiest girl alive!” and was written by Kiki Denis, Greek author. This book was different from anything I have read before. I don’t know if it was the narrative, the topic or the author’s style what hooked me the most.
This novel is entertaining and the author touches so many topics that make you think and reflect on many aspects of life.
I would undoubtedly recommend reading it if you are looking for a thought provoking read with a mix of interesting topics.

[Sir Wamba · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life is big enough to seek, love and enjoy. Kiki’s “multi-dimensional” writing reminded us that Life, in all its complications, is profoundly simple, “Based on PP’s protocol: Someone reaches his optimal state of being/happiness when this person’s desires are in complete alignment with this person’s duties.”

The Guy Upstairs could not have provided a better momentum for us to be reminded that.

[paul Sweatt · Rating 1 out of 5]

terrible

[Emily Shaw · Rating 2 out of 5]

A novel filled with exciting ideas and concepts perhaps not the best execution for my taste. While grasping with concepts that are opening, they are provoked through small chapters about individuals. This is good in theory however just as you start to understand what is being talked about it moves onto the next chapter. Each chapter is good as small stand-alone pieces of information and gradually mentions something from other chapters, but it does feel a bit like information overload. From the 11-year-old in the first chapter that wasn’t written to feel like an 11-year old’s thinking which was difficult to fully adapt to as it was hard to relate to this 11-year-old as she didn’t seem to be one.

The range of characters included do vary and provide an interesting discussion point however there are that many that the novel jumps between that it can get very confusing. There are multiple references to “The Incredible Lightness of Being†this may be because Denis felt that it works well with the topic but references mentioned I did not fully understand and were lost when reading.
I like the premise of the novel with the discussion of death and topics of the afterlife, but I didn’t find the plot as well planned as I would of hoped and did not get long enough to dwell on the thoughts that were generated.

This novel was written with a good idea in mind however I felt that the execution fell short for my expectations.


Thank you to #NetGallery for the opportunity to read this book. All opinions expressed are my own.