A Mass for the Dead
by William Gibson
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Description
This is written in remembrance of Gibson's deceased parents and in honor of their lives. In reflecting on them he in turn makes it a tribute to parenthood and a dedication to his own children. Gibson's language is striking in its poignancy. Despite the title, this is not a religious work, but a work of love from a child to parent and from the child-become-parent to his own children. Interspersed between the reminiscences of his parents and his childhood, Gibson inserts achingly beautiful show more epistles to his children for their guidance about life and parenting. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Gibson's elegy for his parents is a rare book that aims to weight itself down with emotion and language, yet achieves through the sheer force of storytelling delivers a book to cherish. In the telling the story of his Depression-era childhood and his optimistic hard luck parents, the author does more than simply paint a vivid picture of a lost world. Gibson is positing a religion of the family. The family, Gibson believes, with its pain, joy, constraints, challenges and triumphs, is the most, if not only, humanizing force in the universe.
Gibson's method of storytelling is unconventional but effective. Despite being a playwright by trade, he does not set elaborate scenes. There is scant dialogue. He favors anecdotes and tells a tale the show more way you would to someone at a funeral or on a barstool. He never goes for a cheap effect, never dresses up his story or character to make them funnier or more interesting or more philosophical. The result is a tale that is devastatingly authentic. show less
Gibson's method of storytelling is unconventional but effective. Despite being a playwright by trade, he does not set elaborate scenes. There is scant dialogue. He favors anecdotes and tells a tale the show more way you would to someone at a funeral or on a barstool. He never goes for a cheap effect, never dresses up his story or character to make them funnier or more interesting or more philosophical. The result is a tale that is devastatingly authentic. show less
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Author Information
29+ Works 2,674 Members
Playwright and novelist William Gibson was born on November 13, 1914. He graduated from the City College of New York in 1938. He wrote numerous plays including A Cry of Players, Dinny and the Witches, Two for the Seesaw, Golda, and Monday after the Miracle. He won the 1959 Tony Award for Best Play for The Miracle Worker. His novel, The Cobweb, was show more made into a movie in 1955. The Miracle Worker and Two for the Seesaw were both made into movies in 1962. He died on November 25, 2008 at the age of 94. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Awards and Honors
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- A Mass for the Dead
- Original publication date
- 1968
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 105
- Popularity
- 308,233
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (4.06)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 3
- ASINs
- 7
