Book Review: The Postmortal by Drew Magary
The Postmortal by Drew Magary. © 2011 Penguin Books. ISBN 9780143119821. Trade Paperback. Dystopian. 369 pages. Source: review copy provided by the publishers.
“Imagine a near future where a cure for aging is discovered and—after much political and moral debate—made available to people worldwide. Immortality, however, comes with its own unique problems—including evil green people, government euthanasia programs, a disturbing new religious cult, and other horrors.” — from back cover
This book is speculative fiction but at the same time, it’s eerily real. But I suppose that’s the purpose of dystopian literature: to entertain us and make us wonder but also scare the pants off of us. In The Postmortal, in the year 2019 a cure for aging is discovered. People beg and plead for the government to legalize it so they no longer have to suffer the affects of mortality.
Drew Magary takes us on a whirlwind ride through the eyes of our narrator, 29-year old John Farrel (through his text files located in 2093), who journeys from his overbearing pride wanting nothing more than to escape death to embracing mortality with every fiber of his being. It’s definitely not an easy journey for John, as he makes some massive mistakes and does a lot of wrong things, but ultimately he learns his lesson: we are here to live, and die. That is what life is about.
If you enjoy thought-provoking, dystopian books that traverse the scope of human nature then I suggest you add this one to your list. 3.7/5.
