I’m not really sure what it says about this class that the book that is closest to our true, modern-day lives is filled with incredibly dysfunctional characters. Nearly every character we meet is over-sexualized, emotionally distraught, whacked out of their minds, or mentally distant (if not a combination of two or three of those things). The interesting part about Almanac of the Dead is that though it is set in a world similar to true modern surroundings, everything about it seems to push readers away and create distance between the audience and the characters. The beginning of the book’s chapters are in a removed, distant third person limited point of view that enables readers to access the thoughts of the emotion, and yet still not be given access to their inner thoughts; the narrator still acts as a intermediary. Examples of these chapters include Exile and The Ranch, following Sterling, and TV Talk Show Psychic following Seese. The chapters switch from one point of view to another sharply, jumping into new characters without giving a background on them. In the beginning of the novel, we are both there, present in the time and minds of the characters, and removed, separated by unfamiliarity and abrupt introductions.

The style choice functions as putting audiences in the mind of Seese; as she begins to reclaim sobriety, so does the audience through improved clarity and detail in her thoughts and experience. Even after the novel begins to stylistically lighten up, the retold vignettes still describe incredibly removed behavior. For example, the retelling of Eric’s suicide and David’s reaction reflect an extremely impersonal and clinical approach to living.

The larger meaning of the distance between characters and their emotions imply a larger crisis in the realm of race relations. How can characters who are so extremely flawed relate to others when they can’t even understand themselves? When their own emotions are so alien, how can they appreciate or interact with people of drastically different backgrounds? Are Almanac’s drugged out characters even worth figuring out?