Swimming in a Sea of Death: A Son's Memoir
Simon & Schuster - Simon & Schuster
Release date: 2008-01-08
Hardcover
Author: David Rieff
Cancer (Psychosocial Aspects), Sontag, Susan - Prose & Criticism, Biography & Autobiography, Biography / Autobiography, Biography/Autobiography, Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs, Death, Grief, Bereavement, Family & Relationships / Death, Grief, Bereavement, Personal Memoirs, 20th century, Authors, American, Biography, Cancer, Mothers and sons, Patients, United States
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Swimming in a Sea of Death: A Son's Memoir
Date undefinedI love morbid, psychologically minded books, but was not a fan of this one. I did not like his writing style, which felt much too fragmented and the sentences did not flow well at all. Someone else mentioned rereading sentences and I found myself doing the same thing. Also this book was lacking insight and was very repetitive. I felt like I did not come away with anything after reading this, except a bunch of good quotes. That was one plus in this book: its collection of marvelous quotes, perhaps to make up for the author's lack of insight.
Also I was curious to learn more about his mother. I think that's where the book could have had substance, if he was better able to translate what she was going through. But he didn't seem to know her well enough to do so. Maybe after longer time passes and he is able to process some of his guilt, he will be able to write a more insightful memoir.
Swimming in a Sea of Death: A Son's Memoir
Date undefinedA somewhat digressive but nonetheless penetrating essay dealing with the philosophy and reality of terminal illness. Namely--should a patient whose condition is almost certain to be fatal, be told diplomatically the "truth" about their prognosis, so that they can come to terms with their mortality and use their remaining time to deal with the unresolved issues in their lives. Or should they be encouraged to nuture the "hope" that they might survive or gain some extra time through some experimental treatment or perhaps an expensive procedure known to offer minimal success in most cases? The advantage of the latter aproach, of course, is that is offers some degree of peace of mind and makes one's last days more palatable. On the other hand, it involves deception--which is always a slippery slope. My own conclusion--it depends on the value system and psychological makeup of the patient and the family. In the author's case, his mother's will to live was so strong that the "truth" would have been torture.
Swimming in a Sea of Death: A Son's Memoir
Date undefinedThis book takes 180 pages to repeat the same theme over and over:his mother was dying of a blood cancer,and she was in denial about it being incurable.There is little in the way of inspiration or insight since almost the entire book consists of the author's thoughts as he trys to decide whether to foster his mothers unrealistic expectations.Since the book is essentially about the author's thoughts(we hear almost nothing from his mother),we feel more sympathy for him.To make matters worse,the sentences are long and complex,forcing the reader to read and reread them.This book would have been better as a nice short story in a magazine.
