Sum- Tales from the Afterlives
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| Cannongate Press |
David Eagleman
2009
2009
“And once again the Rewarder and the Punisher stalk off, struggling to understand why knowing the code behind the wine does not diminish its pleasure on your tongue, why knowing the inescapability of heartache does not reduce its sting, why glimpsing the mechanics of love does not alter its intoxicating appeal.”
The phrase 'don't judge a book by its cover'; I've never understood that one. If you decide specifically not to judge book by their covers then you place serious limitations on what you'll buy. It's fine if you see a book that you've heard has a great reputation and you're willing to buy because of the author or the title alone, but if you go book hunting and don't find one of these examples then you have no other alternative but to go home and cry into a bowl of cornflakes. Judging books by their covers is great fun, I do it all the time, and sometimes it helps uncover an absolute gem.
David Eagleman is a neuroscientist, originally from New Mexico, currently working in Houston, Texas. His name on the front of a book, any book, would not attract my attention by itself. Nor would the title; Sum- Tales from the Afterlife, which could be any kind of esoteric new age hippy spiel. Put this title in the center of the book surrounded by a sparkling galactic arc of stars, and then place a glowing quote by Stephen Fry underneath and you're guaranteed to catch my attention.
In addition to this, other quotes of complete positivity from broadsheet newspapers, Phillip Pullman (His Dark Materials) and Brian Eno for some reason sold it. I completely and totally judged this book by its cover, making an educated gamble based on the information I had. I've done this with other books in the past, and a few of them were a bit of a waste of time, but on this occasion I found an absolute gem, because Sum- Tales from the Afterlife is one of the most uniquely interesting, compelling and memorable books I think I've ever read.
The book is essentially a collection of forty different micro-stories (I've made that phrase up) all emanating from the same simple theme; the afterlife. These forty stories consist of no-more than four pages each, resulting in a book that only just makes it past the one-hundred page mark; culminating in what isn't really a novel, but instead a collection of philosophical introspective wisdom. In each story, Eagleman describes to the reader through an extended summary the details of an individual (though generally Christianity-based) afterlife, where events have contrived to create a scenario far different to typical depictions of Heaven. For example, in the opening, title-track story Sum, Eagleman details an afterlife where the individual relives every moment of their life through experiencing every job, every sensation grouped together ('you spend two months driving the street in front of your house, seven months having sex. you sleep for thirty years without opening your eyes).
The story Absence tells of an afterlife where God has vanished, leaving his spiritual charges alone in heaven to spend endless years warring over Him, as they do on Earth. My favourite story is Quantum, telling of an afterlife where for each individual every possible action or thought they can have exists and occurs at the same time. This story is merely a lead-up for a joke about relationships. As becomes clear very quickly on with each different example, this book is about the world we live in today, simply turned upside down and shaken about a bit so Eagleman can make his point.
At times funny, inspiring, and very poignant this book was very enjoyable. I'm hesitant to describe it as a curio because it's more than that; it's a book that could be returned to as a whole, or in segments to provide a moment of interest. I shot through this book very quickly, reading it in two short sittings because I found it so compelling, so I have a suspicion that I didn't even get as much out of it as I could've. Before I do get around to looking at it again, I'm going to have to look at everything Eagleman's done since.
David Eagleman is a neuroscientist, originally from New Mexico, currently working in Houston, Texas. His name on the front of a book, any book, would not attract my attention by itself. Nor would the title; Sum- Tales from the Afterlife, which could be any kind of esoteric new age hippy spiel. Put this title in the center of the book surrounded by a sparkling galactic arc of stars, and then place a glowing quote by Stephen Fry underneath and you're guaranteed to catch my attention.
In addition to this, other quotes of complete positivity from broadsheet newspapers, Phillip Pullman (His Dark Materials) and Brian Eno for some reason sold it. I completely and totally judged this book by its cover, making an educated gamble based on the information I had. I've done this with other books in the past, and a few of them were a bit of a waste of time, but on this occasion I found an absolute gem, because Sum- Tales from the Afterlife is one of the most uniquely interesting, compelling and memorable books I think I've ever read.
The book is essentially a collection of forty different micro-stories (I've made that phrase up) all emanating from the same simple theme; the afterlife. These forty stories consist of no-more than four pages each, resulting in a book that only just makes it past the one-hundred page mark; culminating in what isn't really a novel, but instead a collection of philosophical introspective wisdom. In each story, Eagleman describes to the reader through an extended summary the details of an individual (though generally Christianity-based) afterlife, where events have contrived to create a scenario far different to typical depictions of Heaven. For example, in the opening, title-track story Sum, Eagleman details an afterlife where the individual relives every moment of their life through experiencing every job, every sensation grouped together ('you spend two months driving the street in front of your house, seven months having sex. you sleep for thirty years without opening your eyes).
The story Absence tells of an afterlife where God has vanished, leaving his spiritual charges alone in heaven to spend endless years warring over Him, as they do on Earth. My favourite story is Quantum, telling of an afterlife where for each individual every possible action or thought they can have exists and occurs at the same time. This story is merely a lead-up for a joke about relationships. As becomes clear very quickly on with each different example, this book is about the world we live in today, simply turned upside down and shaken about a bit so Eagleman can make his point.
At times funny, inspiring, and very poignant this book was very enjoyable. I'm hesitant to describe it as a curio because it's more than that; it's a book that could be returned to as a whole, or in segments to provide a moment of interest. I shot through this book very quickly, reading it in two short sittings because I found it so compelling, so I have a suspicion that I didn't even get as much out of it as I could've. Before I do get around to looking at it again, I'm going to have to look at everything Eagleman's done since.
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