In Flies; or, the Last Days, D___h and Putrefaction of Mr. Sam Jeden as Narrated by Eight Generations of Musca Domestica, John Surowiecki’s fourth collection of poems, flies do all the talking. Eight generations of them narrate the funny and unusual story of Sam Jeden. But underneath the jokes and the puns there is a serious theme—the loneliness of old age—for the flies are waiting for Sam to die. Sam’s passing is actually something of a religious experience for the flies. Death is their god, their food giver. In fact, flies cannot speak death’s name. This is not a black comedy of despair and nihilism, but a comedy of a distinctly lighter shade that ultimately embraces the world and all the good and bad in it. The book ends with a long Salut au Monde, half Whitman and half Goodnight Moon.