A review by stanro
Mrs Death Misses Death by Salena Godden

dark hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

The last audiobook I finished was said to be narrative poetry. As an audiobook, I couldn’t tell. This, however, at times is clearly poetic in its repetitive rhythmic prose built around wordplay. I mean, the title gives that away, after all. 

Mrs Death is no “Grim Reaper.” She’s something else - though I’ll leave the reader to discover just what or who. The book is a report by the early-twenties would-be writer Wolf, on what Mrs Death gets up to. Wolf first saw Mrs Death while surviving an apartment block fire as a child, a fire in which her mother (and many others) died. 

It’s a strange book. I can’t decide whether the author, Salena Godden, lost her authorial conviction or if it was always headed where it went. I feel some dissatisfaction when the direction changes. Then there’s the poetry. If you look her up as I just did, you find she is an already-established poet and this is her first novel. “I blow smoke, and talk fluent fire.”