Rules for Being Dead
By Kim Powers
3.5/5
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About this ebook
“Kim Powers's haunting and spellbinding novel Rules for Being Dead reads like an intoxicating blend of the best of Shirley Jackson, Alice Sebold and Fannie Flagg." —STARRED Review, Shelf Awareness
It's the late 1960s in McKinney, Texas. At the downtown theater and the local drive-in, movies—James Bond, My Fair Lady, Alfie, and Dr. Zhivago—feed the dreams and obsessions of a ten-year-old Clarke who loves Audrey, Elvis, his family, and the handsome boy in the projector booth. Then Clarke loses his beloved mother, and no one will tell him how she died. No one will tell her either. She is floating above the trees and movie screens of McKinney, trapped between life and death, searching for a glimpse of her final moments on this earth. Clarke must find the shattering truth, which haunts this darkly humorous and incredibly moving novel.
Kim Powers
Kim Powers is the author of Rules for Being Dead, Dig Two Graves, Capote in Kansas, and the critically acclaimed memoir The History of Swimming. He has also received two Emmys for his work at both Good Morning America and 20/20, where he is currently senior writer. He splits his time between New York City and Asbury Park, New Jersey.
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Reviews for Rules for Being Dead
8 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Another solid three star read: not bad, but not particularly gripping either. In 1960s Texas, a young mother dies in mysterious circumstances and 'haunts' her family until she and they can put together the memories of her final days and establish how she died. Creola (what a name!) can't remember, her husband is ashamed that she killed herself, her eldest son Clarke believes that his father is a murderer, and youngest son Corey takes the blame himself. But who is right?My issue with the story is what I consider to be a plot hole but could be demoted to a literary device: why wasn't an inquest held to determine why a young woman in her forties died suddenly? The father tells the police that he doesn't want an autopsy and they go along with him! I know that law and order was a bit shady in 60s Texas - the Kennedy assassination and death of Lee Harvey Oswald, referenced in the story, for instance - but surely this isn't realistic. However she died, Creola's unreliable narrative and Clarke's youthful interpretation of events were enjoyable to read, and I liked how the clues started falling into place with chapters from the perspectives of the boys' violent father L.E., his kind-hearted girlfriend Rita, Creola's gay friend Maurice and even young Corey, who suffers from epilepsy. The differing insights made me feel both angry and sorry for everyone, especially Creola who was going through some kind of breakdown before she died, and brought all of the characters to life. Ten year old Clarke, in love with the silver screen and starting to learn about his sexuality, was the best of the bunch.I'm not sure why reading this quirky yet heartfelt novel took so long but I could only get through a few pages before losing interest. The story is introspective, relying on Creola's patchy memory and Clarke's gathering of 'evidence', but I still struggled to engage with the writing even though I usually enjoy character-based fiction. The weird clash of religion - Creola is waiting to gain her 'wings' - and ignorance in suburban Texas was typically disturbing, however, so perhaps I was simply suffering a negative reaction to the setting!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Right away, the title grabs your attention making me think: what...a book about being dead? I had to read it.
The book starts with the mother, Creola, who has just died in Texas, 1966. It's not clear right away what has happened but she's flying above her family watching them at their favorite place: the drive-in movies. She's trying to figure things out. Her ten-year-old son, Clarke, is motivated to also find out what happened. He feels like one of the spies in the movies. He has a younger brother, Corey, who faces the trauma in his own way. And then there's the husband and father: Lloyd Edwin (LE). He works at an appliance store with a drinking problem on the side. There's more: he's having an affair.
Clarke loves movies and goes all the time. "Movies take your mind off things." His mom was an Elvis fan which he admired as well. Creola watches her sons from the afterlife and says: "they spend all their time sitting in the dark, watching movies up on a screen, living the lives of those characters instead of their own lives. This is what I did." While there's some humor, the book is filled with a lot of emotional sadness and drama.
The author is a good story teller with an original plot. I read it quickly.