Review of
Imaginary Book:
“Both Sides Now: An Afterlife Exposé”
What are we to make of this strange
yet familiar book? Surely no-one has ever taken so odd a stance; yet even
first-time readers feel as if they had heard this story before. Could it be
that this satire tells the true nature of Eternity?
But that would be too simple, too
“linear” a way of thinking. The author is an ironist; he delights in reducing
ideologies to the absurd. The bigger they are, the harder they fall; what
bigger pratfall, what wilder reversal, could you imagine than for Heaven and
Hell to swap places?
For that is the author’s heretical
jest. In this paradoxical morality play, we see the Paradise and the Inferno of
medieval Christian theology set into circular motion. Heaven falls, becoming a
Hell, and Hell rises, becoming a new Heaven; and by book’s end it is clear that
the cycle will repeat forever.
For this is no accident, but inherent
in the nature of the situation. The blessed are corrupted by their pride in
being blessed; the damned are reformed by their humility in being damned. We
see the all-too-familiar class privilege rationalizing power abuse, in parallel
with the inspiring sight of suffering souls redeeming each other through mutual
aid. No wonder this book’s subtitle is “An Afterlife
Exposé”!
Shall
we call this book’s author a cynic? An idealist? Both? Neither? Surely the term
“realist” doesn’t apply; yet this admittedly fantastic fable has a compelling
inner logic. Small details help, such as the slightly orange tint to Heaven’s
golden clouds that deepens as the decline from the peak progresses. It was
inevitable that St. Francis prefer Hell to Heaven, as would Mark Twain,
Gotthold Lessing, and D. T. Suzuki; and just as inevitable that Heaven’s
theocratic bureaucracy have personnel such as St. Torquemada and the Archangel
Goebbels.
In
the book’s first chapter “Summer of our Discontent”, we see Heaven reaching –
and passing – its peak, in alternation with Hell bottoming out. In Heaven, the
coronation of the Godling is completed; the new deity’s first command is to
declare war on Evil. (The clouds turned slightly orange.) Meanwhile in Hell, a
temporary cease-fire is declared.
The
book’s second chapter is “The Purge”. In Heaven, St. Torquemada and the
Archangel Goebbels start expelling suspect blessed; meanwhile in Hell, the
cease-fire holds and peace burgeons.
In
chapter three, “Zeroth Circle”, falling Heaven and rising Hell meet and pass
each other. Separated souls exchange messages; some choose this point to escape
the Wheel.
In
chapter four, “Fallen Spring”, fallen Heaven turns into veritable Hell, and
rising Hell becomes truly Heavenly.
The
last chapter, “Looking Up” sees attain – and pass – Heavenly perfection, just
as the former Heaven bottoms out.
And
that completes the cycle!
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