Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: December Must Read: Umbrella

Will Self's novel, Umbrella, was shortlisted for this year's Man Booker prize but we are still anxiously awaiting it to be published stateside. The wait ends on December 11. This sprawling modernist novel tells the story of life in a 1970s London psychiatric hospital and has been likened to James Joyce's Ulysses. At 400 pages, this unbroken stream of consciousness, is certainly not the easiest book to read but it is well worth the effort!

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

Genre: Adult Non-Fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5

"Being Mortal is about the limitations of what modern medicine can provide for people as their lives draw to a close. Gawande argues that the objective of medicine should not merely be treatment and survival; medical care should also ensure dignity in death and having control over one's final moments. He argues that instead of aggressively fighting the inescapable realities of aging, we should ask the hard questions of ourselves and our loved ones -- What makes life worth living? When should we try to extend our lives, and when should we choose a better quality of our remaining days over extending their quantity?

This book is difficult to read. Not because of the way Gawande writes -- his style is highly engaging, and he never lapses into excessively scientific jargon or overly simplistic explanations -- but because of the tough subject matter. Gawande draws on his own experiences as a doctor and peppers his book with honest and humane stories of his patients, friends, and family; the stories he tells make the book more accessible, and also more heartbreaking. (And that's not a bad thing.)

No one likes to think about their loved ones', or their own, impending mortality. But it's important to have these hard conversations, because as Gawande says, "endings matter." - Amanda

December Must Read: Umbrella

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