Captivating ... The Book Against Death advances a stray argument every so often, but for the most part it is one long shriek ... If death involves fixity, then life demands movement. The Book Against Death refuses finality by remaining forever on the cusp of transformation.
The book is an extraordinary performance of magical thinking that stems not just from profound grief but from obdurate ethical principle ... Canetti’s enduring commitment to a hopeless cause energizes this unusual, and unusually stirring, work.
