Reviews

Overall Thoughts:
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book and so I'm still unsure if it met my expectations or not. It's a great reflection on death, near-death, dying, grief, and life and explores them from the perspective of an individual and society, ranging from death of a family member, a stranger, mass death, and celebrity death. There's even an odd moment where a tree reflects on its death and transformation into a desk. It's a good reminder that everything ends and explores the thought process around that.

That said, I'm not sure I liked the format. It's very experimental I'd say. It centers around Wolf meeting Mrs. Death and writing about some of the deaths she's observed and she tells the story of a number of deaths from Wolf's ancestors. It's a mix of interview-like conversations, poems, stories, observations, and reflections and the tone could best be stated as something like reading a stream-of-conscience, both from Wolf and Mrs. Death. There's also a substantial amount of repetition. Repetition in which words or phrases are repeated either directly or in variation. Repetition to drive home a point or to add a poetical lyricism. Repetition for the sake of repetition. Repetition, repetition. While the book has some great reflections on death, I think the format detracts a lot from it since the book seems to ramble throughout it.

Likes:

The book will make you reflect on a wide range of things related to death and there were a lot of great examples that made me stop to think about.
As weird as it was, I liked the part about the tree reflecting on its death to become a desk and it served as a great example of how death is both a transformation and an essential part of existence.

Dislikes:

The style of the book took me away from it. It felt like a rambling stream-of-conscience and the repeated format change (poem, story, interview, etc) made it feel even more inconsistent.

Other Notes:

This is a fairly quick read. In the introduction it says it's intended to be readable on the train from London to Liverpool and I'd say it succeeds at that since it took me 3.5 hours to read.

Would Recommend To:

Someone interested in reading and reflecting on death, dying, grief, and how society connects to that. You should also be interested in reading about it in an experimental format since the book is a mix of loosely connected poems, stories, observations, and interviews with Mrs. Death and reads like a stream-of-conscience. If you like poetry there are quite a few sprinkled throughout as well.

Do Not Recommend To:

Since this book deals with heavy topics including death, murder, rape, abuse, and suicide, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who would be bothered by any of those. Also it has an unusual format as a bunch of loosely connected poems and stories so if you're looking for a strong overarching narrative this isn't it.

frankensteinscreature's review

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dark hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I read this on my train journey, as it was intended to be read (or so we are told) and I very nearly did cry, I think everyone needs to read this.

merritxreads's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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