Book Review: The Dead Are Gods by Eirinie Carson

Today is my spot on the blog tour for The Dead Are Gods by Eirinie Carson. Thank you to Nikki Griffiths and Melville House for sending me a copy of this debut memoir.

In this deeply moving meditation on love, friendship, grief, and Black identity, Eirinie Carson traces her relationship with her best friend, Larissa, from their teenage years in London. When Larissa dies alone in her apartment in Paris in 2018, at the age of 32, Carson’s life is altered forever.

The Dead Are Gods is an intimate portrayal of life after a tragic loss, the complex nature of grief, and a deeply moving tribute to the enduring power of female friendships. “You were such a doorway to so many aspects of my adulthood, you facilitated so many moments that caused me to reassess who I was, who I wanted to be,” Carson writes of Larissa, who she also affectionately called ‘Larry’, ‘Smoo’ or ‘poo poo’ in text messages. “You were a good listener. In fact, you still are.”

Carson’s memoir vividly depicts the stages of grief and the obsessive soul searching that often accompanies the loss of a loved one. As Carson uncovers secrets about Larissa’s life and death, one of the complexities of friendship is revealed. While love can surpass death, you can never fully know someone, no matter how much you care for them.

—Moyette Gibbons