Declare Books Concering Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives
| Original Title: | Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives |
| ISBN: | 0307377342 (ISBN13: 9780307377340) |
| Edition Language: | English |
David Eagleman
Hardcover | Pages: 110 pages Rating: 4.14 | 14326 Users | 1969 Reviews
Commentary Conducive To Books Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives
At once funny, wistful and unsettling, Sum is a dazzling exploration of unexpected afterlives—each presented as a vignette that offers a stunning lens through which to see ourselves in the here and now. In one afterlife, you may find that God is the size of a microbe and unaware of your existence. In another version, you work as a background character in other people’s dreams. Or you may find that God is a married couple, or that the universe is running backward, or that you are forced to live out your afterlife with annoying versions of who you could have been. With a probing imagination and deep understanding of the human condition, acclaimed neuroscientist David Eagleman offers wonderfully imagined tales that shine a brilliant light on the here and now.
Identify Regarding Books Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives
| Title | : | Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives |
| Author | : | David Eagleman |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 110 pages |
| Published | : | February 10th 2009 by Pantheon |
| Categories | : | Short Stories. Fiction. Philosophy. Fantasy. Religion. Adult. Death |
Rating Regarding Books Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives
Ratings: 4.14 From 14326 Users | 1969 ReviewsCritique Regarding Books Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives
A charming little thought-experiment conducted by a writer of rich yet limited imagination. This book has received rave reviews in a number of journals over the past few months, and I was on a waiting list at the library for weeks before I had a chance to check it out myself. Meh.Clearly influenced by the structured, dreamlike musings of Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities, Sum: Fory Tales from the Afterlives dances neatly through a series of post-life possibilities. Some are clever, some areSome of these stories were indeed imaginative scenarios of what the afterlife is like or what God might be like. But because his Heaven or God is always imagined as some inversion of a human hierarchy or scale...it gets repetitive very fast. God always lacks some human quality that intrinsically keeps him as God and us as humans, or...he's just like us, but just a smaller or larger scale. Because his Heaven is always some rearranged variation of the human life, all the stories start to sound the
I absolutely loved reading this book. Ran through it like a glutton gobbling every story, giggling with delight. This is one book I'll buy hard copy and keep it lying around for occasional browsing. I'd like to dwell and investigate a few of the vignettes. I'm sure they've permeated my sub-conscious and will pop up in my own imaginings. Oh -- and yes, I highly recommend it to anyone willing to explore the possible options in the afterlife.
Now I've read Sum twice. First on a plane flight in one big sitting, then years later one story a day for 40 days. Honestly, the first way was better. The stories that are good are really, really good. But none of them have much staying power, so the emotional rollercoaster of reading them one after another was more fun and more resonant than taking my time.5 stars on my first reading, 4 stars on my second.
I was pleasantly surprised right after reading the first story itself. A really easy read yet so happening for the imaginative!Sum is written by the neurologist, David Eagleman. In his mini tales from the afterlife melancholy is mixed with a peculiar sense of humor. He creates different backdrops for the stories and takes them as they would proceed in the Afterlife. One would expect a pleasant life definitely. But each of them is touching in their own way. It also turns out that not every
Such a quaint little read! I didn't know what to expect when going into this book but I was pleasantly surprised. Eagleman takes the reader to mystical and dark places as he contemplates what the afterlife may hold. From a heaven where Mary Shelley (author of Frankenstein) is Queen to an afterlife where you act as the extras in living peoples dreams - this book is a real look into an incredible imagination. Although each tale is only a couple of pages long I was fully transported to each ghostly
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