This little book is an accompaniment to Marion Winik's book titled The Glen Rock Book of the Dead. This second book is comprised of people the author knew who died between 2008 and 2017.
I was having a bad day when I first picked this up and I didn't immediately connect to it. Who wants to read about a bunch of dead people that someone else knew?, I thought. However, the next day I picked it up again (it's tiny after all, and that cover is so cute). I approached it with a fresh attitude and ended up being really intrigued.
The subjects themselves are not identified by their names, but by little nicknames that the author's bestowed on them. Only about two pages are devoted to each person, but the author manages to sum up what they each meant to her in such a succinct way that even though we aren't given a great deal of detail, a clear image of each person and how much they meant to her comes through.
The summaries almost reminded me of haiku in their precision: each person's essence is distilled down to carefully worded anecdotes and each one ends with a pithy final sentence or two that perfectly sum up the stories and the characters.
These mini eulogies aren't just limited to people, though that's the case for the majority for most of them. There are relatives, mentors, professors, friends, celebrities, a body of water and tales of a goldfish so special one would think it's made up if this book wasn't clearly non-fiction.
This book made me think of the very small number of people I've lost along the way and realize how grateful I am that I haven't lost very many in my lifetime. It's clear how much these people meant to the author, though, and just how lucky she is to have met most of them even though they're no longer on this earth.
Judge the cover: 5/5
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