“Remember me when I’m gone”

just took on a whole new meaning.

The City is inhabited by the recently departed, who reside there only as long as they remain in the memories of the living. Among the current residents of this afterlife are Luka Sims, who prints the only newspaper in the City, with news from the other side; Coleman Kinzler, a vagrant who speaks the cautionary words of God; and Marion and Phillip Byrd, who find themselves falling in love again after decades of marriage.

On Earth, Laura Byrd is trapped by extreme weather in an Antarctic research station. She’s alone and unable to contact the outside world: her radio is down and the power is failing. She’s running out of supplies as quickly as she’s running out of time.

Kevin Brockmeier interweaves these two stories in a spellbinding tale of human connections across boundaries of all kinds. The Brief History of the Dead is the work of a remarkably gifted writer.

Kevin Brockmeier

凯文•布罗克迈耶（1972- ）

生于阿肯萨斯州小石城。2007年凯文被《格兰塔》列为“美国最佳年轻小说家”之一。他已出版过多部小说和小说集，包括《西莉亚的真实故事》、《从天而降》等。他的作品还收录在《纽约客》、《全美最佳短篇小说》等杂志和书中。他曾获伊泰洛•卡尔维诺短篇小说奖、詹姆斯•米切纳-保罗•安格尔奖学金和美国国家艺术基金会奖学金，并三次获欧•亨利奖短篇小说奖。现常在衣阿华作家工作坊授课，同时也在阿肯萨斯大学和格林内尔学院教授创意写作课程。