… life would be terrible … without death to give it gravitas and shape.
—Jennifer Egan, A Visit from the Good Squad
But it’s a shape that Western society generally prefers not to acknowledge.
… life would be terrible … without death to give it gravitas and shape.
—Jennifer Egan, A Visit from the Good Squad
But it’s a shape that Western society generally prefers not to acknowledge.
Author of SIX DAYS (August 2026), KATHLEEN O’CONNOR OF PARIS (narrative non-fiction), ELEMENTAL and THE SINKINGS (novels) and INHERITED (short story collection). looking up/looking down is an occasional blog about writing, reading and watching the world...

That Jennifer Egan is one wise woman. She sure can put into words the way we live our lives.
Unfortunate, but true …