The group met at Joanna's on 2/11 to discuss Kevin Brockheimer's Brief History of the Dead.
Hannah was obviously geared up to lead the discussion, but she was suffering from a stomach bug on the night of the meeting, so she emailed us the following questions for discussion.
HANNAH'S QUESTIONS
1. What was your reaction upon learning that the "city" empties out during famine/war/epidemic? It seems counter intuitive, but really speaks to how interconnected we all are.
2. What is the point of the blind man's proselytizing, as they're all dead and they haven't seen hide nor hair of Jesus? Is it simply done out of habit, and if so, what kind of critique of religion is the author trying to make?
3. Did you think the author went too far in demonizing Coca Cola by having the company spread a virus that wipes out humanity? Is this believable, or not?
4. How did you react to the idea that Laura remembered so many people and that they could live in "the city" only if she remembered them?
We started by working through Hannah's questions, but much of the discussion at the group centered on whether Brockheimer had created a believable world. Although the book had its fans and critics among us, everyone agreed that he left too many questions unanswered: Was there money in "the city"? If not, what made "the city" run? How did objects like Luka's mimeograph machine, or food, or that Coca Cola memo get there?
A quick Google search during our talk revealed that Brockmeier is essentially a short story writer, and this seems to explain a lot of the books shortcomings. It reads like a carefully crafted first chapter (writer's workshop?) awkwardly linked to a series of character studies. I'm thinking about starting a list of books that have a brilliant first chapter followed by the author driving off a cliff. I'll call it "Begun in Workshop."
Most people seemed to have enjoyed reading A Brief History of the Dead for its underlying ideas, but we didn't have many who felt like the book was satisfying overall. Personally, I'm kicking myself for not talking the group into reading the beautifully restrained The Road instead, but nobody who had seen the movie No Country for Old Men could handle another Cormac McCarthy work so soon. I'll bet even Oprah had a tough time pushing that title to women.
