Mrs Death Misses Death by Salena Godden #MrsDeathMissesDeath @salenagodden @canongatebooks #BookReview

 

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 . . .

Mrs Death Misses Death by Salena Godden was published in paperback in January 2022. I bought my copy online. 

Despite being a reader for most of my life, I had never been a member of a book group. I joined my very first group last month and Mrs Death Misses Death was the book picked to read. I have to admit that it's not a book that I would have picked up before now, but surely that's the point of a book group? To discover genre and authors that one would usually pass by. 

I decided to write my review of Mrs Death Misses Death before the group discusses it. I wanted to put down my initial thoughts. I am sure that I may have some different views when I've heard other members thoughts. 

Salena Godden is an award-winning author and poet and her novel is a mix of narrative, of poetry and of observation. She starts the book with a Disclaimer, and this really sets the tone for the rest of the novel. There's humour, there's darkness, it's a little bit twisted, but it is oh so compelling. 

I really wondered just what I was getting myself into, but before long, I was utterly engrossed. The style, the different formats, the varying voices. They may feel a little disjointed at first, but it really does work. 

Like most people, I grew up with the image of Death as the Grim Reaper. Male, in a dark hood, carrying a scythe. We were wrong, Death is a woman, a black woman, she has a sister called Life, and a lover called Time. Like many women, she is often not noticed, ignored by those around her, but she's always there, always waiting, always in the wings, waiting. 

Wolf Willeford first met Mrs Death when he was a boy. He met her when his mother died in the fire that tore through the block of flats in which they lived. Mrs Death has accompanied Wilf throughout his life, as he went to live with his Grandparents, when he ran away, when they died. Wolf is writing Mrs Death's memoir, he has spent the last of his money on her old oak desk, and it is there that Mrs Death comes to him, telling her stories. Talking about her experiences, with Life, with Time and of course, her work as Death. 

I have many many turned down corners in my copy of this book. Marking passages that really touched me, that I've gone back to and read over and over. Wilf considers how we may live our lifes differently if we were aware of when we would die;

 'Imagine if we were like pints of milk with our best-before dates on our foreheads. I mean, if we knew   exactly how long and little time we have left to love each other, maybe then we would be more kind and loving.'

There are scenes where Mrs Death recounts some terrible deaths; murders, genocide. There's examples of racial hate and social injustices. Mrs Death often appears angry, yet there's something about the book that is also quite uplifting and a little hopeful. 

A heady blend of fantasy, magical realism and truth. Wolf's own story is often heartbreaking, his pain is deep and his regrets are vast. 

Like nothing that I've read before, this was such an experience for me. I enjoyed the ride. 

Salena Godden FRSL is an award-winning author, poet, memoirist and broadcaster of
Jamaican-mixed heritage based in London. 

Her debut novel Mrs Death Misses Death won the Indie Book Award for Fiction and the People's Book Prize, and was shortlisted for the British Book Awards and the Gordon Burn Prize. 

Her work has also been shortlisted for the 4thWrite short story prize, the Ted Hughes Award, Jerwood Compton Foundation, the Saboteur Awards and The Bridport Prize. 

Salena Godden is one of the UK's foremost poets, often topping the bill at national and international literary events and festivals. 

She is widely anthologised and broadcast on BBC radio, TV and film. 

Her poem 'Pessimism is for Lightweights' is on permanent display at the People's History Museum, Manchester. 

She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, an Honorary Fellow of West Dean, Sussex, and a patron of Hastings Book Festival.

@salenagodden | salenagodden.co.uk | @salena.godden