Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
A long-lost brother and sister embark on a mission to reclaim their mother from oblivion in this epic, exhilarating novel set in a near-future America manipulated by technology and surveillance.
When Adela discovers she has a terminal illness, her thoughts turn to Tereza, the American-raised daughter she gave up at birth. Leaving behind her moody, grown son, Roman, in their native Czech village, she flies to the United States to find the long-lost daughter who never knew her. Yet the country, in the year 2029, is steeped in surveillance and has adopted an unapologetic nationalism--a very different place from the open and accepting one Adela experienced decades earlier, when, as a teenager high on the promise of America, she eloped with a filmmaker and starred in his cult sci-fi movie.
Now, in New York City, with time running out, Adela reunites with Tereza, who is working as the star researcher for two suspicious biotech moguls hellbent on developing a "god pill" to extend human life indefinitely. But before Tereza can find a cure for Adela, her mother dies mysteriously. Unbeknownst to Tereza, her body is whisked away by the American government to a mass grave for undocumented immigrants in the swampy wastelands of what was once Florida. Distraught, Tereza travels to the Czech Republic to convince Roman, the brother she's never met, to join her in rescuing their mother's remains from oblivion, with the intent of bringing her home to rest in Czech soil.
Narrated from the beyond by Adela, A Brief History of Living Forever is a high-wire act of storytelling that demonstrates once more Jaroslav Kalfar's endless powers of invention. By turns insightful, moving, and funny, the novel blends an immigrant mother's heartbreaking journey through the American dream with her children's quest to reclaim her from a country that would erase any record of her existence. Above all, it is a reminder that neither space nor time can sever our connection to the ones we love.
Synopsis
In a nativist near-future America obsessed with eternal life and under the increasing threat of technological surveillance, a long-lost brother and sister risk everything to reclaim their mother from oblivion.
"Kalfař is a wise, rapturous, and original writer . . . Eloquent, heart-stunning, and rich in awe-inspiring prose."--San Francisco Chronicle
"Relentlessly inventive . . . His writing has the same hyperactivity and fidgety contempt for generic boundaries as that of the young Safran Foer."--The Guardian
When Ad la contracts a terminal illness, her thoughts turn to Tereza, the daughter she gave up at birth, forty years earlier. Leaving behind her moody, grown son, Roman, in their rural Czech village, she tracks down her daughter in New York City. But the America of 2029, with its authoritarian government and closed borders, is a different place from the country she experienced as a young woman, when she eloped with a filmmaker and starred in his cult sci-fi movie.
Tereza, the star researcher for a secretive biotech company hellbent on discovering the key to immortality, is overjoyed to reunite with her mother. But before she can find a cure, her mother dies mysteriously and is whisked away to a mass grave for undocumented immigrants in the swampy Florida wastelands. Distraught, Tereza travels to the Czech Republic to convince Roman, the brother she's never met, to defy the law and the odds and return their mother's remains to Czech soil.
Narrated from the beyond by Ad la, the world's first digital soul, A Brief History of Living Forever is a high-wire act of storytelling that confirms Jaroslav Kalfař's boundless powers of invention. By turns insightful, moving, and funny, the novel is a reminder that neither space nor time can sever our connection to the ones we love.
Synopsis
In a nativist near-future America obsessed with eternal life and technological surveillance, a long-lost brother and sister risk everything to reclaim their mother from oblivion.
When Ad la discovers she has a terminal illness, her thoughts turn to Tereza, the daughter she gave up at birth, decades earlier. Leaving behind her troubled son, Roman, in their native Czech village, she flies to New York in hopes of a long-awaited reunion with her daughter. But the America of 2030, with its authoritarian government and closed borders, is a different place from the open country she experienced as a young woman, when she eloped with a filmmaker and starred in his cult sci-fi movie.
Tereza, the star researcher for a secretive biotech company hellbent on discovering the key to immortality, is overjoyed to meet her mother. But when Ad la dies before they can make up for lost time, her corpse is whisked away to a shadowy warehouse in the Florida wastelands, where the bodies of immigrants are being stored for uncertain purposes. Distraught, Tereza travels to the Czech Republic to convince Roman, the brother she's never met, to defy the law and the odds and return their mother's remains to Czech soil.
Narrated from the beyond by Ad la's restless spirit, A Brief History of Living Forever is a high-wire act of storytelling that confirms Jaroslav Kalfař's boundless powers of invention. By turns insightful, moving, and funny, the novel is a reminder that neither space nor time can sever our connection to the ones we love.
"Kalfař is a wise, rapturous, and original writer . . . Eloquent, heart-stunning, and rich in awe-inspiring prose." --San Francisco Chronicle
"Relentlessly inventive . . . His writing has the same hyperactivity and fidgety contempt for generic boundaries as that of the young Safran Foer." --The Guardian
Synopsis
In an authoritarian near-future America obsessed with digital consciousness and eternal life, two long-lost siblings risk everything to save their mother from oblivion.
When Ad la discovers she has a terminal illness, she leaves behind her native Czech village for a chance at reuniting in America with Tereza, the daughter she gave up at birth, decades earlier. But the country Ad la experienced as a young woman, when she eloped with a filmmaker and starred in his cult sci-fi movie, has changed entirely. In 2030, America is ruled by an authoritarian government increasingly closed off to the rest of the world.
Tereza, the star researcher for VITA, a biotech company hellbent on discovering the key to immortality, is overjoyed to meet her mother, with whom she forms an instant, profound connection. But when their time together is cut short by shocking events, Tereza must uncover VITA's alarming activity in the wastelands of what was once Florida, and persuade the Czech brother she's never met to join her in this odds-defying adventure.
Narrated from the beyond by Ad la's restless spirit, A Brief History of Living Forever is a high-wire act of storytelling from a writer "booming with vitality and originality," whose "voice is distinct enough to leave tread marks" (New York Times). By turns insightful, moving, and funny, the novel not only confirms Jaroslav Kalfař's boundless powers of invention but also exults in the love between a mother and her daughter, which neither space nor time can sever.
"Kalfař is a wise, rapturous, and original writer . . . Eloquent, heart-stunning, and rich in awe-inspiring prose." --San Francisco Chronicle
"Relentlessly inventive . . . His writing has the same hyperactivity and fidgety contempt for generic boundaries as that of the young Safran Foer." --The Guardian
Synopsis
In this "ingenious, funny, and chilling" novel (Publishers Weekly, starred review) from the author of Spaceman of Bohemia, two long-lost siblings risk everything to save their mother from oblivion in an authoritarian near-future America obsessed with digital consciousness and eternal life--a story that "packs a walloping punch" (Esquire).
When Ad la discovers she has a terminal illness, she leaves behind her native Czech village for a chance at reuniting in America with Tereza, the daughter she gave up at birth, decades earlier. But the country Ad la experienced as a young woman, when she eloped with a filmmaker and starred in his cult sci-fi movie, has changed entirely. In 2030, America is ruled by an authoritarian government increasingly closed off to the rest of the world.
Tereza, the star researcher for VITA, a biotech company hellbent on discovering the key to immortality, is overjoyed to meet her mother, with whom she forms an instant, profound connection. But when their time together is cut short by shocking events, Tereza must uncover VITA's alarming activity in the wastelands of what was once Florida, and persuade the Czech brother she's never met to join her in this odds-defying adventure.
Narrated from the beyond by Ad la's restless spirit, A Brief History of Living Forever is a high-wire act of storytelling from a writer "booming with vitality and originality," whose "voice is distinct enough to leave tread marks" (New York Times). By turns insightful, moving, and funny, the novel not only confirms Jaroslav Kalfař's boundless powers of invention but also exults in the love between a mother and her daughter, which neither space nor time can sever.
"Kalfař is a wise, rapturous, and original writer . . . Eloquent, heart-stunning, and rich in awe-inspiring prose." --San Francisco Chronicle
"Relentlessly inventive . . . His writing has the same hyperactivity and fidgety contempt for generic boundaries as that of the young Safran Foer." --The Guardian