Everyman

I recently finished reading a rather unsettling novel by Philip Roth. Everyman is as well written and profound as it is frightening and unnerving. The main theme is human mortality. It starts at the funeral of the main character and from there slides into a type of disjointed collage of flashbacks. Even though these episodes do not occur in chronological order they do not make the overall story difficult to follow. In fact, in some ways it helps to reinforce the main theme and draw out a number of related ones. Each slice of life further explores how mortality is intrinsic to our sense of self and to our humanity. Roth manages to pack into a short novel a life time of experiences so realistic that you can't help being emotionally drawn in. It is virtually impossible to fully explain the novels impact. It is one I would highly recommend.

Mortality's Impact on belief

"Belief in God is highest among older people and increases with age, perhaps due to the growing realization that death is coming closer." This opening to the brief  April 18th Reuters piece is not exactly shocking. Atheists like myself have pointed out on various occasions that both fear and wishful thinking have always played a significant role in religious beliefs. Most of what follows in "Belief in God grows as mortality nears, survey says" is also pretty well established. It is, however, nice to see that such things do from time to time get some media attention.