Death: A Life
By:
George Pendle
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Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5
Description:
The shocking new memoir from Death
At last, the mysterious, feared, and misunderstood being known only as “Death” talks frankly and unforgettably about his infinitely awful existence. Chronicling his abusive childhood, his near-fatal addiction to Life, his excruciating time in rehab, and the ultimate triumph of his true nature, this long-awaited autobiography finally reveals the inner story of one of the most troubling, and troubled, figures in history. For the first time, Death reveals his affairs with the living, his maltreatment at the hands of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the ungodly truth behind the infamous “Jesus Incident,” and the loneliness of being the End of All Things.
Intense, unpredictable, and instantly engaging, Death: A Life is not only a story of triumph against all odds, but also a tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a universe that, despite its profound flaws, gave Death the fiery determination to carve out a successful existence on his own terms.
DEATH was born in Hell, the only son of Satan and Sin. He was educated in the Palace of Pandemonium and the Garden of Eden. Since before the Dawn of Time, he has ushered souls into the darkness of eternity. This is his first book.
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Release Date: 2008-09-30
Customer Review: 3 out of 5
3 1/2 stars - Death: A Life is an autobiography of death, from his birth before creation to the present day. The book is written in a humorous style reminiscent of the works of Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams. Anyone who enjoys the style of humor found in the Discworld series or Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy will most likely find this novel to their liking. Aside from the humor comparisons, Death: A Life also carries some interesting views in regards to the nature of gods and demons(nothing earth shattering, but interesting and fun to read). I also enjoyed the familiar look through history and the often funny role that death has played.
While it is easy to compare this to the works of Pratchett or Adams, I think the execution is of a slightly lower quality. Where as Pratchett's or Adams' humor seems almost effortless, this novel at times makes it very obvious that the author is working hard for a laugh(to varying levels of success). There are some attempts at humor which just downright fail. That being said, I found Death: A Life to be very entertaining and at times laugh-out-loud funny. I would definitely recommend it.
caution: to those of you with very strong christian beliefs, you may find some parts of this book to be a little offensive. The book in general takes the christian view of creation(God as creator, Jesus as the messiah, etc)but does so in a very lighthearted and playful manner, which I found to be humorous, but could easily be seen as offensive to someone with devout beliefs.
Customer Review: 3 out of 5
Interesting premise but never really takes off. - Death: A Life is pretty much an absurdest romp through the life of Death. As readers, we're given the back-story of Death, who Death is and why he came to be. I think that the book starts out quite strong with an introduction by the author. The introduction explains that Death sought out the author to delivery his life story. Pretty catching and somewhat dark. However, after that, the story is a light take on life and death. We see some of the motivations of Death through the ages. But after a while, the story just stops making sense and becomes: "lets stick Death in this historical time period". Don't get me wrong, the book is clever but just seemed to lose focus. As the book wraps up, I found myself getting bored and having trouble staying interested. The book never determines why Death decided to tell his story to the author other than the author just wanted to write a story. The premise didn't work for me and because of that, I'd have trouble recommending this. It's interesting and that's about all I can say.
Customer Review: 3 out of 5
Unsatisfying - The idea is clever, it is well written and has some funny parts. However, I found it to be ultimately unsatisfying because I was left with a lot of loose ends.
Customer Review: 4 out of 5
Pretty entertaining - I started this book skeptically (twas a gift), due to the deceptively simple writing style, but quickly became enthralled by Pendle's hilarious dialogue, massively witty concepts, and ultimately, a highly interesting look at the history of everything through the eyes of Death.
While it might not change your life, it's a good, humorous piece of literary entertainment. I'm expecting great things from Pendle in the future, after this. I think he's got it in him to write a great, satirical novel.
Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Death's #1 Fan - I read this book a few months ago after purchasing it during a spontaneous trip to the bookstore. When I first saw it I thought it would be some cheesy novel about a near death experience or something...WRONG! As I flipped though the pages, I quickly read some of the captions where I discovered the names of the horses belonging to the riders of the apocalypse as well as Gods "master plan". I was sold. There are only a few books I have ever read to completion and even less that I have actually enjoyed, but this one had me calling family, friends, and random classmates. I have never enjoyed a book as much as I enjoyed Death: A Life. My tastes in literature are hard to please, but this book went above and beyond anything I've ever read before.
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