The non-existence of the dead is harder to grasp than their recent presence.

Evidence

That dad had been here only three days ago was hard to believe. That he had seen the same view three days ago, walked round the same house, seen grandma as we saw her and thought his thoughts only three days ago was hard to grasp. That is, I could grasp that he had been here recently. But not that he couldn’t see this now. — Karl Ove Knausgaard, A Death in the Family, 2161

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to Ernest Becker’s denial-of-death thesis and to the philosophical ‘problem of the disappearance of the world’ in grief literature. — connects to: Small acts of decorum toward corpses matter more than practical logic — Julien Gracq, Balcony in the Forest, 483; Silent tragedies can be experienced yet remain unseen by others. — Crews, Harry, A childhood the biography of a place, 387; Graveyards serve to bridge gaps between fear and fondness. — Lynch, Thomas, The undertaking-life studies from the…, 367

Broader Connections

• Graveyards serve to bridge gaps between fear and fondness. #expands (0.60) — Lynch, Thomas, The undertaking-life studies from the…, 367
• Small acts of decorum toward corpses matter more than practical logic #expands (0.55) — Julien Gracq, Balcony in the Forest, 483
• Silent tragedies can be experienced yet remain unseen by others. #complicates (0.50) — Crews, Harry, A childhood the biography of a place, 387