The Oxford Book of Death

By Dina Nayeri

Book Overview

"Reading for this anthology," writes D.J. Enright, "I was moved to the thought that on no theme have writers shown themselves more lively." A survivor of Belsen voiced the same sentiment when, reflecting on the concentration camps, he wrote, "When in death we are in the midst of life." By turns poignant, tragic, comic, and inspiriting, this anthology of thoughts about death ranges from ancient times to the present day and includes quotes from philosophers, scientists, literary figures, and common men. Arranged under headings such as "Love," "War," "Last Words," and "Children," these selections show the varied, sometimes surprising, reactions of the dying and the bereaved to the final human act.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0192820133
• ISBN13: 9780192820136
• Release Date: October 1987
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.61 lbs.
• Dimensions: 5.8" x 1.0" x 4.9"

Customer Reviews

Oxford's official contribution to our demise

Enright should be given some sort of award by that lot over the Atlantic lake whom we broke ties with a little over 200 years ago. For his book on death is simply...beautiful. How he managed to cull so many varied and poignant accounts of and perspectives on death from literary (and non-literary) sources is nothing short of astounding. Of course, Enright has already won the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry. Is there also a gold medal for Death over there? If so, he is thoroughly entitled to it. It's rare that a literary work is such a page-turner as this one is. Everyone will have their favorite passages. My two are Bede's comparing life to the quick flight of the sparrow in through one end of the lord's hall and out the other in the twinking of an eye, with ignorance as to its plight both before and after; and the Ashanti saying, "Every time an earth mother smiles over the birth of a child, a spirit mother weeps over the loss of a child."-But, as I say, these are but two drops in an ocean of fine thoughts and sentiments and imaginings.-Recommended reading for all mortals!

The Oxford book of Death

beautiful book for those who ponder the realms and possibilities of death. Opens the mind to intense thought and imagination.