“A Brief History of the Dead” by Kevin Brockmeier– Veto #3

Back in January, the random number generator gave us #1, 167. This number corresponded to a Cuban novel by Guillermo Cabrera Infante entitled Three Trapped Tigers. None of the cast had heard of it.

Research ensued, and the following information was discovered:

1. A paperback in English was going to cost $73.85.
2. The cheapest editions were either in Chinese ($17.85) or on Kindle in Spanish ($9.99) and no one but Rebecca can read Spanish.
3. There is an audiobook version of Three Trapped Tigers on Audible but that doesn’t do anyone any good but Rodney.
4. The book is well-known for its punning, wordplay, and excessive use of Cuban street slang and has often been jokingly referred to as “the Cuban Ulysses.”

All of these things combined led to Rodney vetoing a novel for the very first time. His replacement? A Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier. This novel and its vision of a unique afterlife– a purgatory fueled by the memories of the living– is one of the first books that Rodney and Aaron can remember discussing back when their friendship first formed. Both of them are very excited for Rebecca to read this novel for the very first time.

Press PLAY on the media player below to hear what she thought!