KEVIN BROOKS: BEING

I have finished the book, Being, by Kevin Brooks. At the end of the story you don't know what Robert Smith, the main character, is, or whether he is human or not. The point of the story is really whether it matters or not if Robert even has to know what he is - human, normal, abnormal. To him, it doesn't really matter.

Even though he learns that he is in some way abnormal, he doesn't care. When he is given an opportunity to get the information about himself from  someone, he chooses not to know. He'd rather just live his life.

It's almost like the concept of being given information about when and where you are going to die - would you want to know? What decisions would it make you make? Robert chooses not to know what makes him different.

The book is about the idea of fitting in - whether one is abnormal or normal. But the author never makes a final statement about it. He leaves it up to the reader to decide. Because the author didn't state a final thought, readers can relate the issues to their own lives, and think about the paths they choose.

As in my example of being able to know when I am going to die, I would decide not to know. As Kevin Brooks said in a Q & A about writing Being, "There are no endings." 

I wouldn't want to know my ending.