Does what it says on the cover: forty (extremely short) tales of possible afterlives. These are philosophical rather than theological exercises, and the afterlives in question are exclusively modern Western – no Valhallas here, no Gehennas, no meetings with the Hindu pantheon, or with the Chinese gods, no Elysian Fields; there are Heavens and Hells, or nothings and neithers. There is a Heaven where Mary Shelley is venerated, there are afterlives where we are cogs in a machine (not the most original of concepts, that one), there are afterlives where we finally move on only after our name is spoken for the last time – the famous fare particularly badly here – there is an afterlife where everything exists in all possible states at once, and another where everything in your life is repeated in blocks rather than as individual events … The author is a neuroscientist, and you'll find a little of everything here. Everything except actual faith. As to whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, I decline to comment. ( )

What happens after we die? I can't believe that there is any 'semi' intelligent person on the planet who hasn't wondered about this at least once in their lives?

David Eagleman seems to have thought about it a lot! Sum, which is subtitled 'Forty tales from the afterlives', is a collection of short essays telling about different afterlives that could possibly be.

Maybe you become part of the background cast in someone else's dream? The characters who populate dreams, but who we never meet or see clearly. Sometimes you take centre stage, but most of the time you'll be waiting in the wings.

Or perhaps death is a three part process; firstly the body ceases to function, then the body is consigned to the grave, and then the final death is when you are forgotten by those who remember you. So, until that happens you wait in a sort of 'lobby area'. For those who have no family or friends the wait might be short, but for those who have achieved much, done great deeds, or have large families, the wait can be long and extremely boring!

How about getting the chance to live your life again - but you can change one single thing? What would you choose?

Or maybe you get the chance to met God - but what or who is he or she - there are so many different possibilities.

This little book is so thought provoking - each story sets you off thinking in a different direction. Don't try to read it in one sitting, each essay is worth taking the time to think over afterwards. It's got to be one of the most original books I've read - and I have a feeling I'll be going back to it again and again. ( )

Quirky, thought provoking, but best taken in small doses lest these very short stories (2pp or so) blend into one another. ( )

"In the afterlife..."

Great things come in small packages in David Eagleman's fiction debut Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives. A neuroscientist at Baylor College, Eagleman, who already hasseveral work of nonfictin to his name, took 7 years to write this 100 page wonder of 40 vignettes (which was originally 70 stories).

But don't let the number of pages fool you. This is a metaphysical literary achievement told with wit, intelligence, and a complete understanding of human nature. Among the afterlives Eagleman envisions are a life where you relive all of your events, but reshuffled ("Sum"), a life where you play the background characters of other people's dreams ("The Cast"), a quiet afterlife that is merely put on pause, as humanity sleeps till its death ("Conservation") Eagleman's meditation on god, life, the nature of the universe and human nature are poetically written to make you all at once cry and laugh at how wise and honest it is.

One of the hidden gems of the year, Stephen Fry recommended it on Twitter, and even without his applause, this book is an absolute must read. ( )