Being Dead
{{short description|1999 novel by Jim Crace}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{for|the band|Being Dead (band)}}
{{Infobox book |
| name = Being Dead
| title_orig =
| translator =
| image = File:BeingDead.jpg
| caption = First edition
| author = Jim Crace
| illustrator =
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| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| series =
| genre =
| publisher = Viking Press
| release_date = 1999
| english_release_date =
| media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
| pages =
| isbn = 0-14-023975-8
| oclc = 43338733
| preceded_by =
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}}
Being Dead is a novel by the English writer Jim Crace, published in 1999.{{Cite web|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/00/04/23/reviews/000423.23shepart.html|title=Dune|website=archive.nytimes.com}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/1999/sep/18/costabookaward|title=Quivering|first=Carol|last=Birch|newspaper=The Guardian |date=September 18, 1999|via=www.theguardian.com}}
Its principal characters are married zoologists Joseph and Celice and their daughter Syl. The story tells of how Joseph and Celice, on a day trip to the dunes where they met as students, are murdered by an opportunistic thief. Their bodies lie undiscovered for several days, during the course of which their estranged daughter is made aware of their disappearance and, eventually, discovery. The novel dwells heavily on the themes of bodily decomposition and filial bereavement.
Critical reception
The novel was highly praised upon publication and won the 2000 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction. The New York Times selected it as an Editor's Choice of the Year. It was generally well-received among British press.{{cite news |title=Books of the moment: What the papers said |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-telegraph/151614071/ |access-date=19 July 2024 |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=2 Oct 1999 |page=68}}{{cite news |title=Books of the moment: What the papers said |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-telegraph/151614067/|access-date=19 July 2024 |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=16 Oct 1999 |page=72}}{{cite news |title=Books of the moment: What the papers said |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-telegraph/151614070/ |access-date=19 July 2024 |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=23 Oct 1999 |page=72}}{{cite news |title=Books of the moment: What the papers said |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-telegraph/151614248/|access-date=19 July 2024|work=The Daily Telegraph |date=13 Nov 1999 |page=70}} The Guardian gave the novel an average rating of 8.1 out of 10 based on reviews from multiple British newspapers.{{cite news |title=The Review of Reviews|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-guardian/151271891/ |access-date=19 July 2024 |work=The Guardian |date=1 Oct 1999|page=102}} The book was also generally well-received amongst American press. According to Book Marks, the book received "positive" reviews based on 7 critic reviews with 4 being "rave" and 2 being "positive" and 1 being "mixed".{{Cite web |title=Being Dead|url=https://bookmarks.reviews/reviews/being-dead/ |access-date=16 January 2024 |website=Book Marks}}
The Washington Post called Crace "an extravagantly gifted writer" and praised his book as "a rare interleaving of writerly panache and common human feeling."{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/books/2000/05/28/wandering-minstrel/e4593507-bb54-4e49-89e5-18626b4ec8b1/|title=Wandering Minstrel|first=John|last=Crowley|date=May 28, 2000|via=www.washingtonpost.com}}
Film
The film version, directed by John Meyers, stars Linus Roache, Kathryn Erbe, Gavin Peretti, and Elizabeth Marvel.{{Cite web|url=http://www.beingdeadthemovie.com/|title=Being Dead|website=Being Dead}}
References
External links
- {{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/aug/25/fiction.features|title=Death and the optimist|newspaper=The Guardian|first=Sally|last=Vincent|date=24 August 2001}} Interview with Crace from around this time, which references Being Dead
Category:National Book Critics Circle Award–winning works
Category:Picador (imprint) books
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