“What a glorious mess this living thing is,”
I heard good things about this book and picked up a copy from a local bookshop near me. I thought the premise was really interesting, and while the writing style is very whimsical, it was still a really enjoyable reading experience.
The story majoritively deals with Mrs Death’s interactions with a young man, Wolf, who contends with his own trauma while being driven by creativity to tell the stories that Mrs Death tells him. I was really impressed when I heard that this book was Godden’s debut novel, as there was such a beauty to the writing style that brings the stories to life.
Alongside the stories Wolf writes, there is poetry influenced by real life crime, and I felt the way that the book gave a voice to the voiceless with real life crimes or unsolved murders. While death is a central theme running through the entire book, it is applied in a really interesting way such as when a bit of the story is told from the point of view of a sentient desk owned by Mrs Death.
I think my biggest niggle about this book is that I think the implications of Wolf’s depleting relationship with Mrs Death could have been explored a bit differently especially given how prominent they are in each others lives throughout the book.
This is definitely a book that could lend itself well to a visual medium and I hope it does one day. I might even revisit this book at some point and lose myself in it more in a few days rather than just in hurried moments during work lunch breaks and commutes via bus.
If you’re looking for a book to read, I recommend this one if you want to be surprised but left in a thoughtful, if perhaps a slightly weepy, mood. If anything, it’ll certainly get you thinking about how you contend with death in your own life.
MY RATING: **** / *****
Every Book Is Beautiful 