How the Dead Live

Rating:
Summary: interesting viewpoint
Review: Blurb (or foreword, I can't exactly remember) of this book, presents it as a satire...In a certain way, it is right. But, in some other way it lacks few imortant imformation.
When one think of a satire, one think at instant of political attacks towards rulling caste, towards media, and towards every aspect of life that you can think about. Here you will find only an old, overweight women, whose thought resemble our own in a scarry manner... All wordly struggle of good and evil does not make a sense once you are dead, all that is left s longin...longing for daughters, longing for sex, longing for food, longing for everything that makes life what life actually is... and in a ceratin way that is all satirical that this book has. Of course you'll find sarcastic remarks, of course you'll find critique of society, but that does not make this book outstanding... What does is feeling of timeliness you suddenly feel upon completing final pages. Suddenly you start to wonder - 'where have all the good times gone'

Rating:
Summary: No plot
Review: I've never read anything by Will Self, so I had no preconceptions going in. I thought the premise sounded interesting and some of the reviews I encountered on this site made the book appear promising.

Briefly, the writing is brilliant. The book is filled with insightful thoughts. The descriptions of the dead and how they live are intense, and quite gruesome. The concept is inventive, to say the least.

Let's see, what's wrong with the book? Oh, that's right. No plot! This book is really a great piece of descriptive imagination. It's powerful and fascinating. I just don't really understand what the point of fiction is, however, unless it also includes some semblance of a plot.

I wish I had read ALL the reviews more carefully before reading How The Dead Live. It gave me everything that was promised, but a lot less as well.

Rating:
Summary: Caustic and Poignant Post-Death Masterpiece
Review: If you enjoy Self's surreal mindscapes and jackhammer wit, you will appreciate this addition to his literary canon. All of the Self trademarks are here: the awesome imagination, the caustic commentary and the subtle and ingenious wordplay. And, for me at least, there were several added bonuses that make this easily my favorite Will book: a fully drawn character (narrator and protagonist Lily Bloom) with whom to identify and empathize; and a certain level of authorial compassion for the character that wasn't evident in previous works like "My Idea of Fun" or "Great Apes." The result is that, as a reader, I found myself drawn to the character rather than simultaneously fascinated with and repelled by her...which is a more typical response to previous Self characters. The "plot," such as it is, is described ad nauseum here, so another summary isn't necessary. Let me just say that as a reader, I was captivated from start to finish, and find myself recalling certain bits of narrative and imagery even as I've moved on with my life and read other books. I'm actually looking forward to attaining a little bit of objective distance from this book and reading it again, maybe in a year or so, with the hope of discovering new insights and nuances I didn't catch in my first reading.