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.
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Community Reviews
This was not nearly as imaginative as I had expected. A few of the tales were funny or interesting, but most fell flat.
This was a charming and thought provoking set of vignettes about the afterlife. What is it? Nobody really knows but Eagleman poses some intriguing possibilities. My favorite is Metamorphosis. (Your final death is when you're forgotten by those you've left) Although Blueprint (there's an equation for everything) appeals to the mathematician in me. And I'd prefer not to think about Subjunctive (co-living with all the possible versions of yourself) as a possibility.
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