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A Brief History of Living Forever
A Brief History of Living Forever: A Novel | Jaroslav Kalfar
6 posts | 3 read | 6 to read
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 lifea story that packs a walloping punch (Esquire). When Adla 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 Adla 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 VITAs alarming activity in the wastelands of what was once Florida, and persuade the Czech brother shes never met to join her in this odds-defying adventure. Narrated from the beyond by Adlas 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 Kalfa?s boundless powers of invention but also exults in the love between a mother and her daughter, which neither space nor time can sever. Kalfa? 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
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
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I didn‘t have time to make a stack this morning so I grabbed these! I LOVE the covers of #Aardvark books! They are so smooth and silky feeling 🧡

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CBee The Drowning Woman was sooo good! 1y
Eggs This is perfect 🤩🎃🧡🤗🍁 1y
62 likes3 comments
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
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I recently added this one to my #Aardvark collection 📚❤️ 💨

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Eggs Brilliantly done 👌🏼 1y
57 likes1 comment
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
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I may or may not have started decorating for Halloween 🎃 🫣

I also bought fresh flowers 💐 this morning!
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dabbe 🤩🤩🤩 1y
Read4life They are beautiful! 1y
72 likes3 comments
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
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#BookMail
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#adayinthelifeoftux
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🖤📚🎊😽🐾🐈‍⬛🤍

tpixie Adorable kitty 🐈‍⬛ 1y
dabbe Hello, Sir Tux! 🖤🐾🖤 1y
Roary47 So cute! 1y
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AlaMich His look seems to be saying, “and whaddya gonna do about it?!” 😂 1y
TheBookgeekFrau 😻😻 1y
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AnnCrystal ♥️😻 1y
KaylasReadingNook Omg how adorable! Love furry reading buddies 😄🥰 1y
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RaeLovesToRead Tux! I love you!!! 🥰 1y
89 likes13 comments
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Hooked_on_books
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Pickpick

In this near-future dystopia, Adéla travels to a hard right, authoritarian US to meet the daughter she gave up at birth. Events gradually get more ?? as the book goes on, exploring life and death as well as functioning as a social commentary. Not only did I dig this weirdness, but I appreciated a man writing such a good, fully realized female character (I kept forgetting the author was male!).

squirrelbrain Somebody‘s tired! 1y
dabbe Dat sweet pup is in doggyland! 🖤🐾🖤 1y
Hooked_on_books @squirrelbrain @dabbe She‘s such a hoot! She keeps me chuckling even when she sleeps. 😍🐶 1y
dabbe @Hooked_on_books My Pippa does that for me. There's no better sound to my ears than hearing her gently snore. 😴🤣😍 1y
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vlwelser
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This has Kundera vibes imo. It's sort of science fiction about a dying woman who goes to meet the daughter she gave up for adoption who just happens to do longevity research. This was my April Aardvark pick.

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TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 2y
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