Zero K

The image on the cover of Don DeLillo’s book, Zero K, makes me think of Greek or Roman statuary, the idealized human form.  In the world of Zero K, people (wealthy people, to be sure, or test subjects) go to a highly-secretive private facility to go through a “process” during which they die, but have their bodies rejuvenated in preparation for being cryogenically preserved.  This is not a new idea; there are already people trying to cheat death.  The value in this book is the impetus to think again about the purpose of death in our lives–the shape given to our lives by the fact of death.  What happens in a world where there is no death?

Something that I found particularly mesmerizing was DeLillo’s idea of what it would be like to get inside the head of a person who had been through the process and, while waiting, has a low, low level of brain activity.  Chilling…in more than one way.  I think this book would be appreciated by those who like science and a bit of science fiction.

Yes, this was another audiobook.  Not cheating, I hope, to include the audiobooks.  I’ve started reading a book that was in my original reading stack:  Nine Gates:  Entering the Mind of Poetry, essays by Jane Hirshfield.