Looking for books about death?

[iamnotreal]

It's a little morbid, I know, but does anyone know of any good books about death? Either death itself or the afterlife, something like that. I've a bit of a fascination with death and I was wondering if any of you guys knew of any good (fiction) books where it is a main theme.

 

Thanks in advance!

[Rawr]

I can't think of anything off the top of my head atm, though a lot of the Egyptian and Greek's mythology is fascinating with regards to the many theories and musings of the afterlife, I know that's fairly obvious but they are as good tales as any

[Chrissy]

The only one that immediately came to mine was 'Lovely Bones' by Alice Sebold. I read a few years ago, and it is a curious read, that one either loves or hates. I enjoyed it.

 

The director Peter Jackson, has just released (I think it's been released) a film version of the book.

[pickle]

Well there is 'The Book Thief' thats supposed to be narrated by death. Of course for comedy value there is Terry Pratchett's Death

[Kell]

The Five People That You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom:

Eddie is a wounded war veteran, an old man who has lived, in his mind, an uninspired life. His job is fixing rides at a seaside amusement park. On his 83rd birthday, a tragic accident kills him as tries to save a little girl from a falling cart. He awakens in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a destination. It's a place where your life is explained to you by five people, some of whom you knew, others who may have been strangers. One by one, from childhood to soldier to old age, Eddie's five people revisit, their connections to him on earth, illuminating the mysteries of his "meaningless" life and revealing the haunting secret behind the eternal question: "What was I here?"

 

I read this for a reading circle and it's the one book that had us unanimously agreeing that it was lovely. It's a very interesting and thought-provoking novel that is very easy to read and, I have been assured by others, very comforting to those who have recently lost a loved one.

[Cookie]

Valhalla by Tom Holt is about being dead and he's pretty funny. I've read this and enjoyed it.

 

I've also read The Lovely Bones and enjoyed that too.

[Kell]

The only one that immediately came to mine was 'Lovely Bones' by Alice Sebold. I read a few years ago, and it is a curious read, that one either loves or hates. I enjoyed it.

I've also read The Lovely Bones and enjoyed that too.

I'm one of the ones who hated this one. Personally, I could find nothing redeeming in it at all, but I think I'm in the minority on that score.

[sirinrob]

'The Quiet Girl' by Peter H

[Nicola]

The Shack by William Young is supposed to be amazing. I bought it for my Mam as she's also fascinated by the afterlife.

[pickle]

Hilary Mantell's Beyond Black, although rather than dealing with the afterlife its more Spiritualism

 

For non fiction but a really good read I would recommend 'The Buried Soul - How Humans Invented Death' by Timothy Taylor, I got it because I am an archaeologist and the Author is one too and deals with the different rituals found on sites, but its a fascinating book about the ritual associated with death and humanity and a good read too.

[BookJumper]

If - as I do - you consider graphic novels fiction, may I recommend Neil Gaiman's excellent Sadman series? Though chiefly about Dream, god of sleep, his siblings (Destiny, Destruction, Despair, Desire, Delirium and Death) feature quite extensively. It's not the easiest series to describe in its concept but it is full of reflections on life, death and the afterlife, so it should be of interest.

 

Then of course there is Shakespeare's Hamlet, which though a play is the grandaddy of all fictions focusing on the the perception of death of the living.

[Talisman]

Try the works of Brian Weiss who is a past life regressionist, from what I remember he has written some pretty interesting stuff. Also A Souls Journey by Peter Richelieu which is regarded as a classic on the subject, as it James Moody's Life After Life. There is also my favourite - Home With God by Neale Donald Walsh. This is part of the Conversations with God series, so it would help to have read at least CWG books 1, 2 and 3, although not essential.

[AbielleRose]

I'm still in the process of reading it myself, but I would recommend The Divine Comedy by Dante to you.

[Readwine]

The one that comes to mind is Being Dead by Jim Crace. It is a rather interesting book as it describes in detail the characters who are dead as they are not found for sometime.

 

Here is a brief summary from Amazon:

 

It begins with a murder. Celice and Joseph, in their mid-50s and married for more than 30 years, are returning to the seacoast where they met as students. They are reliving their first amorous encounter in the sand dunes when they are set upon by the murderer who beats them to death with a rock and steals their watches, their jewelry, and even their meager lunch. From that moment forward, this remarkably written book by Jim Crace becomes less about murder and more about death.

 

Alternating chapters move back in time from the murder in hourly and two-hourly increments. As the narrative moves backward, we see Celice and Joseph make the small decisions about their day that will lead them inexorably towards their own deaths. Eventually we learn about their first meeting, and that this is not the first time tragedy has struck them in this idyllic setting.

 

 

In other chapters the narrative moves forward. Celice and Joseph are on vacation and nobody misses them until they do not return. Thus, it is six days before their bodies are found. Crace describes in minute detail their gradual return to the land with the help of crabs, birds, and the numerous insects that attack the body and gently and not so gently prepare it for the dust-to-dust phase of death. Celice and Joseph would have been delighted with the description: she was a zoologist and he was an oceanographer, and they spent their lives with their eyes to the microscope, observing the phenomena of life and death. Some readers might find this gruesome, but the facts of death are told in such glorious prose that these descriptions in no way detract from the enjoyment of the book.

After her parents do not return home, their daughter, Syl, must search the morgues and follow up John and Jane Doe reports until she is finally asked to make an identification of the remains in the dunes. We then discover that the reader has had a more intimate relationship with them in death than Syl ever had with them in life. This small gem of a book, not really a mystery in the usual sense, will stay with you long after you finish.

[Nicola Booth]

I know it has already been mentioned but the one that sprung to mind for me was The Book Thief, Marcus Zusak.

[iamnotreal]

Hi guys! Sorry I haven't been able to reply sooner - I've had no time at all for internet browsing lately. I'll split the replies into a couple of posts...

 

@Rawr Thank you! I've read some of the Greek mythology but not Egyptian. I'll be sure to check it out though.

 

@Chrissy Ooh! I just looked and it's actually on my TBR pile - excellent! I think I may have bought it purely off a friend's recommendation. It's definitely moving up a few notches on mount TBR.

 

@pickle Thanks! I tried to read that but couldn't get into it. Quite a few people felt the same as I did; we got to about page 200 and the just stopped reading it for no reason. We just sort of put it down and forgot about it.

I've heard there are a number of books in the Discworld series that focus on Death; would I need to have read the rest of the books in the series to be able to follow what's going on, or do you think it'd be okay to just jump right in with the books focussing on Death?

 

@Kell Ooh, I've read that! And I agree - it was absolutely amazing. I liked it so much that I put it down to be approved by the exam board for my English Literature coursework - and they didn't approve it!

Although I have read The Five People You Meet In Heaven, you have reminded me to check out his other books - I think his For One More Day is about the death of the main character's mother, so it should be interesting to check out.

[iamnotreal]

@Cookie Yay! I didn't know about that one - I've only read one book by Tom Holt, which was You Don't Have To Be Evil To Work Here But It Helps and I found it highly amusing. I'll definitely be checking that one out.

 

@sirinrob Ooooh... I just read the synopsis on Amazon and it sounds great. That type of book is definitely up my alley - thanks! Flashbacks don't tend to bother me that much, so I'm hoping it won't in The Quiet Girl.

 

@Nicola Thank you for your suggestion! I had a look of it on Amazon and there seem to be some VERY mixed reviews on there. It does seem a little bit too religious/preachy to me, but I think I'll have to read it for myself to find out.

 

@BookJumper Thank you! I do indeed consider graphic novels fiction, but I don't read many of them because so far I've managed to find only two graphic novels that I like. I'll definitely have a look at the Sandman series, though. It sounds interesting and I like Neil Gaiman.

I'll have to read Hamlet too. I'll add it to the list along with Macbeth and King Lear.

[iamnotreal]

@Talisman Thanks for your suggestions! I really like the look of Weiss's Many Lives, Many Masters, but I've yet to look up his other books.

I really like the look of A Soul's Journey, too, but Amazon only have used copies, the cheapest being

Edited February 14, 2010 by iamnotreal

[Ruth]

The Five People That You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom:

Eddie is a wounded war veteran, an old man who has lived, in his mind, an uninspired life. His job is fixing rides at a seaside amusement park. On his 83rd birthday, a tragic accident kills him as tries to save a little girl from a falling cart. He awakens in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a destination. It's a place where your life is explained to you by five people, some of whom you knew, others who may have been strangers. One by one, from childhood to soldier to old age, Eddie's five people revisit, their connections to him on earth, illuminating the mysteries of his "meaningless" life and revealing the haunting secret behind the eternal question: "What was I here?"

 

I read this for a reading circle and it's the one book that had us unanimously agreeing that it was lovely. It's a very interesting and thought-provoking novel that is very easy to read and, I have been assured by others, very comforting to those who have recently lost a loved one.

 

I'm one of the ones who hated this one. Personally, I could find nothing redeeming in it at all, but I think I'm in the minority on that score.

I adored The Five People You Meet In Heaven. I read it a few years ago, and thought it was a lovely, comforting book.

 

I was distinctly underwhelmed by The Lovely Bones - thought it was hugely over-rated.

Edited February 16, 2010 by Ruth

[Lisa-Marie]

I have the Mitch Albom books on my wishlist. Look forward to reading them!

 

I couldn't get on with The Lovely Bones either. I really expected more from the book. Lucky was dire too and I gave up on that book halfway through.