Mrs Death Misses Death by Salena Godden

SHORTLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE Mrs Death tells her intoxicating story in this life-affirming fire-starter of a novel Mrs Death has had enough. She is exhausted by her job and now seeks someone to unburden her conscience to. She meets Wolf, a troubled young writer, who – enthralled by her stories – begins to write Mrs Death’s memoirs. As the two reflect on the losses they have experienced (or facilitated), their friendship flourishes. All the while, despite her world-weariness, Death must continue to hold humans’ fates in her hands, appearing in our lives when we least expect her . . .

Read the full review at https://talesfromabsurdia.com/book-reviews/mrs-death-book-review/

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Mrs Death Misses Death is a tremendous book and the best book I read in 2021. It's a modern masterpiece that transcends form and genre.

At times, the narrative unfolds as prose. Other times, it manifests itself into Godden's more familiar form of poetry. The tale of Mrs Death even transforms into a screenplay/radio drama of sorts for a brief period. There's a fluidity to the writing that refuses to be pinned down and categorised by a mere review.

But don't be mistaken – there is no pretense to Godden's novel, nor is this an overly complicated book, requiring only ‘high brow' tastes in order to read. This kind of exclusivity is what Mrs Death Misses Death rails against.

Godden is merely inventive and explorative in the way that she imparts her tale. It's clever, thrilling, and never gets in the way of the novel itself.

I completely understand the literary merit of this book. It is beautifully written, confronting and sad. Too sad and too confronting for me I'm afraid. I'm also not a huge fan of poetry - and there is A LOT of that in this book.