Casey Jarman

I recieved this book from Netgalley and Pulp/Zest Books in exchange in return for a fair and honest review.

I found this book hard to finish. I'm unsure why I found this as Casey Jarman does excellent work of bringing together different people from divergent backgrounds and walks of life to create an oral history of death that is at times funny, sad, and enraging. It is a look at the effect of death and dying on society today.

The author conducted the interviews himself and included are artists, a social worker, a cartoonist, a video game designer and a former death row warden; among others. One interview that for me didn't quiet fit was from a songwriter. I just found this interview jarring and I really wasn't interested in what he had to say. One of the best interviews was with Art Spiegelman, the creator of MAUS.

I didn't find the book morbid in any way. It treats the topics surrounding death in a respectful way, and keeps the tone light. Death: An Oral History was an interesting book and is worth a read.… (meer)