The Postmortal by Drew Magary

The Postmortal by Drew Magary – 5 stars

Summary: This novel depicts a dystopian future where human beings obtain access to a cure for aging. The book is comprised of journal articles written by one man over the course of 60 years when the cure is discovered, introduced into society, legalized, misused, etc. Topics directly covered in the book include: mortality, aging, genetic engineering, and assisted suicide. Overarching themes in the book include: politics, debate, various societal issues, right/wrong, altruism, selfishness, etc.

 

•  Positives:
  • This book is an exciting, easy read. I finished it within 2 days and I bet many of our incoming freshman will read it quickly, as well.  It matches their level, in my opinion.
  • The opportunities for discussion, critical thinking, and creativity from this book are endless. This can easily apply to a wide variety of majors, interests, etc.
  • I heard Drew Magary speak at the First Year Experience conference last February.  Honestly, I wouldn’t have read the book if I hadn’t enjoyed his speech so much. He focused his speech on how the book reflects the importance of (and often the lack of) self-awareness in one’s life. He tied self-awareness in beautifully with examples from the book and examples from his life as a college student. He is gritty, sarcastic, and probably curses a little too much.
  • Politics and social issues are an important focus of the book. Not directly connected to the upcoming debate but related conversations can easily be framed/connected.
  • There are multiple facilitation guides for this book in connection with FYRE programs. This book is one of the most widely used FYRE books across the country. Lots of resources for faculty and Peer Mentors to use.
• Negatives:
  • fiction—doesn’t tell a true story for our students to connect with. At the same time, however, the book is told from the perspective of one character so it is easy for the students to connect with a (fictional) person/story.
  • Drew Magary is just as expensive as Wes Moore to bring to campus.
  • This book is very popular as a FYRE book—this means there are probably plenty of summaries and student papers online for our students to snag (just like they have done with Wes Moore).
  • Maybe the front cover is intimidating/disturbing for some?
• 

Overall, I highly recommend this book for FYRE. Even if we don’t use it this year, I think we should keep it on the table for future years.

 

-Rachel

 

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