The Inevitable: Contemporary Writers Confront Death

by David Shields, Bradford Morrow (Introduction)

What is death and how does it touch upon life? Twenty writers look for answers. Birth is not inevitable. Life certainly isn't. The sole inevitability of existence, the only sure consequence of being alive, is death. In these eloquent and surprising essays, twenty writers face this fact, among them Geoff Dyer, who describes the ghost bikes memorializing those who die in biking accidents; Jonathan Safran Foer, proposing a new way of punctuating dialogue in the face of a family history of heart attacks and decimation by the Holocaust; Mark Doty, whose reflections on the art-porn movie Bijou lead to a meditation on the intersection of sex and death epitomized by the AIDS epidemic; and Joyce Carol Oates, who writes about the loss of her husband and faces her own mortality. Other contributors include Annie Dillard, Diane Ackerman, Peter Straub, and Brenda Hillman.

Genres: Essays, Nonfiction, Anthologies, Death, Psychology, Memoir

334 pages, Paperback

First published February 14, 2011

About the author

David Shields is the author of fourteen books, including Reality Hunger (Knopf, 2010), which was named one of the best books of 2010 by more than thirty publications. GQ called it "the most provocative, brain-rewiring book of 2010"; the New York Times called it "a mind-bending manifesto." His previous book, The Thing About Life Is That One Day You'll Be Dead (Knopf, 2008), was a New York Times bestseller. His other books include Black Planet: Facing Race During an NBA Season, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award; Remote: Reflections on Life in the Shadow of Celebrity, winner of the PEN/Revson Award; and Dead Languages: A Novel, winner of the PEN Syndicated Fiction Award. His essays and stories have appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Harper's, Yale Review, Believer, Village Voice, Salon, Slate, McSweeney's, and Utne Reader; he's written reviews for the New York Times Book Review, Los Angeles Times Book Review, Boston Globe, and Philadelphia Inquirer. His work has been translated into fifteen languages.

Reviews

[MJ Nicholls]

Sampled. David Gates’s opening piece is a personal reminiscence of his parents’ passing and a self-pitying look at his own lugubrious domestic circumstances. Christopher Sorrentino touches upon the differences between public and private grieving with reference to Gilbert. Geoff Dyer’s ghost bikes essay was almost interesting. Quite a heavygoing read—too many maudlin essays about the writers’ families dying and attempts at philosophastering to maintain full-book interest. Safran Foer’s clever essay with symbols is here in all its splendour, and here too.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book, despite the topic being confronting death.
Learned that in Tibetan monasteries, one learns to practice a "death meditation" at dawn. Upon waking, instead of joining others for sitting meditation and chores, one lies in bed with eyes closed and says to oneself:
"I'm going to die tonight. What shall I do with the rest of my time?" This isn't meant to be a rare occurrence in the otherwise smoothly slathered hours of one's life, but a regular practice over months or years - b/c it might be true of any day, and certainly will be true one day. Cuddled up with my loving dear? Looking at photos of my mother? Strolling down the street and feeling the sensations of being alive and in motion? Admiring the beauty of the natural world from sunrise to sunset? Writing a poem? Doing good for the loved ones who remain on earth? I begin to appreciate and schedule my allotted hours to what matters most, and that's a tonic to carry into waking life.
Knowing I have a terminal illness, I do this quite frequently. I am not going to be on my deathbed wishing I had cleaned the house...that is a fact. I will be content that I have lived my life with meaning, spending my time with those I love and cherish, and trying to make the most of every day.

[Jill · Rating 2 out of 5]

As with any anthology, there are going to be essays you like and essays you don't. Unfortunately, most of them were in the latter category. It was a slog and I almost gave up multiple times.

I deal with death (or the threat, or contemplation of it) regularly in my role as a hospital social worker, so I was looking forward to reading things that expanded my ideas. But I think I prefer "The Sun" magazine style essays / Readers Write where the author captures a moment in time related to the subject, rather than try to pack in a lifetime of every possible meaning. (I think there is a reason why I don't read most of these authors' works...)

My favorites were Sally Tisdale's ode to flies, Melissa Pritchard's dance with Shakespeare and ghosts, Kevin Baker's discovery of Huntington's disease, and Margo Jefferson's Black suicide. The worst was Lance Olsen basically just name dropping (literary) celebrities and their last words. (I coulda Googled that, thanks.) Maybe if you're into these writers you'll love this - I hope so.

[Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started reading this on the bus and the first essay Deathwatch by David Gates had me in tears. When I finished I had to put it down for when I was alone. Nothing was as moving as that first essay was to me. The Inevitable is like many other collections in that some are very powerful and others I could not wait to get to the end of because I couldn't understand the point. Overall a very forgettable read with the exception of a few standout pieces.

[Ronald Wise · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some powerful essays in this collection by David Gates, Kyoko Mori, Sallie Tisdale, Diane Ackerman, Melissa Pritchard, Joyce Carol Oates, Robin Hemley, Kevin Baker, Margo Jefferson, Greg Bottoms, Lance Olsen, and Mark Doty. Some of these were almost too much for this 66-year-old reader who has finally been convinced that he’s not invincible, and who has been hearing with increasing frequency of the demise of his contemporaries. What a strange mixture of philosophical and emotional reactions came from reading the repeated emphasis on inevitability and finality herein.

[Dr. Sabrina Molden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although many of the stories were interesting, I kept finding that I had to force myself to finish most of them, thinking “When am I going to get to the good part?” Plus, I do not think some of the authors really confronted death per se. I am such purist. I highly recommend “The Art of Death” over this one.

[Ariel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the essays in this book were misses, but overall I thought this was a really thoughtful collection. I read it right around Yom Kippur and it gave me some good things to think about going into my fast/meditation.

[latner3 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well we are all going to fall off our perch at some point so why not a little easy reading to lead us on our way.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

meh.

[Linda Barlow · Rating 2 out of 5]

Annie Dillard, best essay of the bunch.

[Kent Winward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uneven.

[Donna Gabbard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Essay by Joyce Carol Oates gets a 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

I skipped a couple of the essays because of the vulgar content…..not wasting my time on trash.

[Blair Emsick · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's rare to love every essay in collections like these but every essay in here was so damn good wowowowow

[Mercedes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I would try these essays and ditch them if they got too religious or maudlin. I was delighted to find instead a fascinating look at death, and inevitably life, and our collective ways of dealing with the inevitable. The essays are not sad and depressing but insightful. My favorites pieces were by Peter Straub and Joyce Carol Oates and I learned from Geoff Dyer's piece about the Ghost Bike project of placing white bikes in memorials for people killed in biking accidents.

[Jules Vilmur · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with any book of essays, some spoke to me more than others. In particular, the pieces by Christopher Sorrentino, Jonathan Safran Foer and Joyce Carol Oates were brilliant. Overall, the book is full of well-crafted and thoughtful pieces.

[Lu Yawen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought the book after a death of someone close and the short stories gave me some sense of hope that someone's been here before. And of course, the myriad of interesting and intimate ways you can choose to deal with the heavy taboo of death.

[Mark Bennett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just started it and am looking forward to taking my time, savoring the individual essays.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was sometimes depressing, but mostly forgettable.