2004-01-26
Entry tags:
Willis, Connie - Passage
I don't really know what to say about this book. I think I am an immensely non-partial reviewer, especially for this, because I've been thinking about the whole mortality thing recently (brooding, you might actually call it), so a book on near-death experiences and what they mean wasn't really the best thing for me to pick up. This was compounded by the fact that I read it on the airplane, in that gray limboland between actual places, in which everything is just a little too surreal and maddening.
So. The back of the book said it was ultimately enlightening, but I mostly found it scary. It wasn't written to be a scary book, I think, but it was for me. I kind of liked the way Connie Willis was extremely scientific about NDEs (near-death experiences), but I was also a little offput by the rather heavy-handed sneering at New Agers who believed in NDEs as a sign of life beyond death and at the main character's Christian sister. I mean, I don't particularly agree with any view in the book, but I do think it's a bit unkind to have them be raving cariactures who no one would take seriously.
( Spoilers )
So in the end, I was mostly scared because of the subject, and a bit confounded by the ultimate explanation.
So. The back of the book said it was ultimately enlightening, but I mostly found it scary. It wasn't written to be a scary book, I think, but it was for me. I kind of liked the way Connie Willis was extremely scientific about NDEs (near-death experiences), but I was also a little offput by the rather heavy-handed sneering at New Agers who believed in NDEs as a sign of life beyond death and at the main character's Christian sister. I mean, I don't particularly agree with any view in the book, but I do think it's a bit unkind to have them be raving cariactures who no one would take seriously.
( Spoilers )
So in the end, I was mostly scared because of the subject, and a bit confounded by the ultimate explanation.