Intellectual, brilliant essayist and staunch atheist Christopher Hitchens talks about the last days of his life.
Christopher Hitchens was an intellectual, a brilliant essayist and a staunch opponent of religion in all its manifestations. But when he was diagnosed with cancer, thousands of people prayed for him — Protestants and Catholics, Muslims and Jews, who did not stop their faith from admiring Hitchens’ talent. He played his part to the end, remaining convinced and implacable. He reasoned that the prayer for help denies itself, since it points out to the almighty creator the errors of his creation. And he was ironic when he found a site on the Internet where they accepted bets: will cancer make Christopher Hitchens turn to God. Hitchens died an atheist. Therefore, it is very difficult to read his book: it is a diary of a painful and absolutely hopeless extinction. But it is even more difficult to understand what the reader will get out of The Last 100 Days, who has the courage to go to the end. Admiration for Hitchens’ unbending atheism and irony — or a desire to pray for the repose of his soul?
Alpina Business Books, 192 p.