Finishing a Dead Man’s Book

Monday, June 24, 2024

This week from The Walrus:

I Tried to Finish a Dead Man’s Novel

It is both a gift and a curse to be handed a briefcase containing a life’s work

BY RICHARD KELLY KEMICK

An illustration of man with glasses drumming his hands on a briefcase. Against a black background, many multi-coloured page swirl around him.

There is one notebook (the thickest) that ends with the declaration, “If this is true, it has only happened a few times in the history of life itself. It has marked a turning point both here and on earth.” But at the bottom of that final page—of a scene that seems earmarked for epiphany—there is a concluding footnote: “Continued in previous section.”

All of this—the notebooks, the loose leaf, the worlds—is gathered in the briefcase. The paper is brittle in the open air, and such frailty gives each sentence a sacred weight. Because with every storming of a castle and boarding of a starship, with every flourish of calligraphy and strikethrough of red pen, there is an unspoken yet deafening declaration: I will write a story, and I would sooner die before I let it be incomplete.

Read the story

An aerial view of Montreal with the prices of rentals is white and red bubbles.

Can Montreal Save Its Soul Amidst Gentrification?

Evictions, property flips, and the whims of policy makers and landlords are gutting the city

BY TOULA DRIMONIS

A robot with folded arms looks out onto a map of a city with clusters of blue dots.

AI and Politics Can Coexist

But new technology shouldn’t overshadow the terrain where elections are often still won—on the ground

BY JAY CONNOR

An atmosphere filled with satellites, some of which are crashing into each other.

Are We Going to Mess Up Outer Space Too?

As nations jockey for military edge in orbit, there is a growing threat from above

BY DANIEL MUNRO

An illustration of a bear squinting at a smartphone while sitting on deflated tent marked News.

How to Build an Audience as the Media Crumbles

Editorial judgment, rather than algorithmic whim, is key

BY CARMINE STARNINO

A man checking out using a self-checkout. Robot arms coming out of the machine.

The Scourge of Self-Checkout

The technology promised to make shopping easier. It has done the opposite

BY DAVID MOSCROP

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Senior Editor, The Walrus

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This newsletter was produced by CIBC Digital Journalism Fellow Makda Mulatu. Email us at letters@thewalrus.ca and your letter may be included in a future issue of The Walrus.