Monday, February 29, 2016
Drew Magary's The
Postmortal is one of the many books that I added to my list as soon as I
read the blurb. You know, the little paragraph on the Amazon page that tells
you about the story and gets you interested? Well this one pulled me in right
away. I'll try to touch upon some of the major points without giving too much
away.
The Postmortal
attempts to answer a question that I'm sure many have pondered in the wee
hours. Namely, what would happen if man discovered the key to immortality?
Imagine a not-too-distant future where scientists stumble upon a method by
which the mechanism that ages our bodies can be permanently switched off. The immediate
question that faces the population is "Do I get the cure?" That
particular aspect of the story intrigued me. On the one hand, you would never
have to watch your body slowly decay over the decades and your time on this
earth could go on indefinitely. On the other hand, you would not be invincible,
and your death would most likely come about from illness or severe injury.
Either way, it's going to be a lot messier than passing peacefully in your
sleep. I like books that cause me to contemplate these sorts of theoretical but
quite interesting questions, so that's one for the plus category.
The overall plot of the novel, however, left something to be
desired. It suffered from a syndrome I've come across in many works of fiction
in which the story just seems to go on and on without much direction or rising
action. As I worked my way through it, I felt little desire to know what
happens next. There was no building toward a climax, and although there was
undoubtedly a climax, it arrived without much excitement because I honestly
didn't feel attached to the characters. The main character, like the story
itself, had no direction and seemed to wander aimlessly through a depressing life
seemingly without end. Though I admit his eventual occupation was of interest,
I found I was not personally invested in his wellbeing; there was honestly nothing
to like about him.
One of the story's strengths is in its journal entry-like
format. Speckled throughout the entries are chapters of media reports that show
what is going on in the world. This adds a certain level of realism and
intensity that makes up for the weak main plot. The book portrays a dystopian future
where the rising problems of world conflict, global warming, and resource
scarcity are compounded by an ever-growing population. Strange groups of
idealists arise, one whose members value nothing more than to be kind to their
fellow man, and another who are so against the cure that they enjoy carving
people's birthdates into their skin. The government's bright idea to solve the
overpopulation crisis is to hire "end specialists" to professionally
end people's lives, first voluntarily, but later against their will.
Overall not a bad premise, and certainly an interesting
question to contemplate. But I quickly lost interest in the story and forced
myself to get through the ending in the chance that it redeemed itself at the
end, but it really didn’t. Perhaps it's just not my type of book, but don't let
that deter you from at least giving it a shot.
