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Death: A Life
 | Character Development (1)2.5 Plot & Story Arc (1)2.5 Writing Style (1)2.5 Originality (1)2.5 |
Author: George Pendle
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Categories: Horror
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Death: A Life by George Pendle
The mystique of death has been entertaining to mere mortals for centuries, partly because of our miniscule understanding of passing on. Death has numerously been portrayed as a being, yet one thing is clear about George Pendle's witty novel: it's also fun to give Death a little exposition.
The title of Death: A Life is pretty straightforward in terms of summing up the book. Death travels from Hell to Earth, where God places him in charge of gathering souls to send on to the afterlife. Death finds a satisfying eternity with this never-ending job, constantly conversing with the souls he collects. But after a while, Death begins to mull over what it would be like to have a Life, especially after an enigmatic woman named Maud keeps being reincarnated on Earth and wooing Death into killing her. The journey that Death takes is a long one, and he soon finds himself faced with an ironic dilemma which threatens his existence. Pendle's novel is filled with creative appeal to those tired of reading about death. The biography that Pendle writes is full of historical and biblical references, even "explaining" religious events in humorous or intentionally sarcastic ways. It's interesting to see your favorite Bible passage skewed out of context, and Pendle does it with panache.
Another concept that Pendle implements into the scheme of things is his upbeat take on dying and passing over. Rather than create a brooding, melancholy atmosphere, Pendle keeps it light and fluffy, skipping over cause of death and choosing to focus on the lighthearted motif of how souls pass over into the better life. When a person dies, Death takes their soul and flings it into the Darkness for God to judge, and the souls have no problem with their, well, death. Even towards the end of the novel, the creatures of Earth rebel against God's decision to get rid of Death, stating how he is one of the only reliable things about Life. It's a change of pace to see death as a stability in our lives, and Pendle treats passing on with a sense of happiness that is refreshing and uplifting. It's a good thing, or the novel wouldn't be much of a comedy.
Pendle's humor can be very funny, but it can also waver into almost non-existence. The satire of religion and society is riveting and theatrical, always in the background but rarely rearing outwardly with a desperation to get the message out. The comedy is also very subtle, and it is this slight hint at jokes that the reader will laugh the most at. The first half of the book is rife with witty wordplay and Biblical gags, but once the reader gets into the more serious side of the book's plot, the humor starts to slip. It's a minor disappointment, since the beginning of the novel was so quick to jump into the comedy. Yet the book never really suffers from corny jokes or ruthless sarcasm; everything has its place in the novel without coming off as over-reaching boundaries.
I found the love story between Maud and Death a refreshing look at the relationships between Life and Death, two beings that can never be matched together. There's a sense of unrequited love that carries the reader to the inevitable conclusion of Death wanting a soul of his own. It's unique, it's entertaining, and rewarding to find that everyone becomes unhappy with their place in life - or eternity.
One of my favorite parts of the book was its take on historical data. As we travel through Earth time, we get to see many battles and civilizations, emphasizing how long Death has been with us. We spend so much time with Death without many human interactions that we begin to understand the predicament that Death is in as an entity that struggles to find his inner self. He shows similar inward emotions as humans do, and the reader can definitely relate to Death's personality. It again represents a relationship between Life and Death, an interesting idea that Pendle explores pertinently.
Death: A Life may waver in the comedic portion of its experiment, but it surely makes up for that in sheer creativity by expressing Death's own thoughts. This is Final Destination from the Grim Reaper's point of view, and less gruesome at that, succeeding more at great storytelling than humor. Without becoming misanthropic, Pendle creates a realistic fictional world that utilizes historical and biblical backgrounds to bring his characters to life, human or fantastical. The novel becomes a sort of handbook for thinking about the afterlife, and while fictional, it does give a different perspective on what it means to die, and what happens to our souls. New age thinking, or just adaptations on a theme? Either way, Pendle shows us there is a point to our lives, and that they are worth living. So go out and live them, and while you're at it, read this book.
The title of Death: A Life is pretty straightforward in terms of summing up the book. Death travels from Hell to Earth, where God places him in charge of gathering souls to send on to the afterlife. Death finds a satisfying eternity with this never-ending job, constantly conversing with the souls he collects. But after a while, Death begins to mull over what it would be like to have a Life, especially after an enigmatic woman named Maud keeps being reincarnated on Earth and wooing Death into killing her. The journey that Death takes is a long one, and he soon finds himself faced with an ironic dilemma which threatens his existence. Pendle's novel is filled with creative appeal to those tired of reading about death. The biography that Pendle writes is full of historical and biblical references, even "explaining" religious events in humorous or intentionally sarcastic ways. It's interesting to see your favorite Bible passage skewed out of context, and Pendle does it with panache.
Another concept that Pendle implements into the scheme of things is his upbeat take on dying and passing over. Rather than create a brooding, melancholy atmosphere, Pendle keeps it light and fluffy, skipping over cause of death and choosing to focus on the lighthearted motif of how souls pass over into the better life. When a person dies, Death takes their soul and flings it into the Darkness for God to judge, and the souls have no problem with their, well, death. Even towards the end of the novel, the creatures of Earth rebel against God's decision to get rid of Death, stating how he is one of the only reliable things about Life. It's a change of pace to see death as a stability in our lives, and Pendle treats passing on with a sense of happiness that is refreshing and uplifting. It's a good thing, or the novel wouldn't be much of a comedy.
Pendle's humor can be very funny, but it can also waver into almost non-existence. The satire of religion and society is riveting and theatrical, always in the background but rarely rearing outwardly with a desperation to get the message out. The comedy is also very subtle, and it is this slight hint at jokes that the reader will laugh the most at. The first half of the book is rife with witty wordplay and Biblical gags, but once the reader gets into the more serious side of the book's plot, the humor starts to slip. It's a minor disappointment, since the beginning of the novel was so quick to jump into the comedy. Yet the book never really suffers from corny jokes or ruthless sarcasm; everything has its place in the novel without coming off as over-reaching boundaries.
I found the love story between Maud and Death a refreshing look at the relationships between Life and Death, two beings that can never be matched together. There's a sense of unrequited love that carries the reader to the inevitable conclusion of Death wanting a soul of his own. It's unique, it's entertaining, and rewarding to find that everyone becomes unhappy with their place in life - or eternity.
One of my favorite parts of the book was its take on historical data. As we travel through Earth time, we get to see many battles and civilizations, emphasizing how long Death has been with us. We spend so much time with Death without many human interactions that we begin to understand the predicament that Death is in as an entity that struggles to find his inner self. He shows similar inward emotions as humans do, and the reader can definitely relate to Death's personality. It again represents a relationship between Life and Death, an interesting idea that Pendle explores pertinently.
Death: A Life may waver in the comedic portion of its experiment, but it surely makes up for that in sheer creativity by expressing Death's own thoughts. This is Final Destination from the Grim Reaper's point of view, and less gruesome at that, succeeding more at great storytelling than humor. Without becoming misanthropic, Pendle creates a realistic fictional world that utilizes historical and biblical backgrounds to bring his characters to life, human or fantastical. The novel becomes a sort of handbook for thinking about the afterlife, and while fictional, it does give a different perspective on what it means to die, and what happens to our souls. New age thinking, or just adaptations on a theme? Either way, Pendle shows us there is a point to our lives, and that they are worth living. So go out and live them, and while you're at it, read this book.
Last updated: 2009-08-24 02:49:02 by Ryneb
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