I tend to move in pretty regular cycles of reading fiction and non-fiction, despite my previously stated goal of trying to keep one of each going at all times. The past week or two has definitely seen the pendulum swing toward lighter non-fiction, in large part because I’m resting up my more imaginative brain cells for NaNoWriMo. Spook, Mary Roach’s followup to last year’s successful Stiff (which I’ve not read), fit in nicely.
Roach is clearly a talented researcher and amusing writer. She approaches the subject of scientific studies of the afterlife with a skepticism and bemusement that border very close to mockery — you get the feeling that Roach is the type of person who cracks a joke whenever confronted with any remotely uncomfortable situation. Reserving my own judgment about the appropriateness of her skepticism, the wise-cracky tone gets to be a bit much at times, and I sometimes wished she’d let at least one droll remark slide by unsaid.
Despite that complaint, I smiled outwardly a few times and inwardly quite often. Spook is a quick, enjoyable read full of the bizarre anecdotes and quirky trivia that have endeared Bill Bryson to so many (myself included). It probably goes without saying that the book offers no conclusions about the afterlife, or the balance of science’s take on what happens after we die. That, after all, would probably spoil the fun.
Here’s what (more qualified) others have to say about Spook:
