Death of an Ordinary Man

by Glen Duncan

I Lucifer established Glen Duncan as a writer “up there in the literary stratosphere with Martin Amis or T. C. Boyle” (Washington Post). Now with Death of an Ordinary Man, Duncan continues his penetrating and innovative exploration of the supernatural with a novel that is far and away his most powerful and accomplished yet.

Nathan Clark’s gravestone offers a short and hopeful summary: At rest. But Nathan is not at rest, and knows he won’t be until he finds out why he died. How has he come to hover over his own funeral, a spectral spectator to the grief of his family and friends? Privy now to their innermost thoughts and feelings— confessions that are raw, brutal, and unexpected— Nathan spends the day of his wake getting to know the living as he has never known them before: His father struggles with a legacy of family tragedy; his wife and best friend with the baggage of a doomed affair; his older

Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Book Club, Adult Fiction, Novels, Paranormal, Literature

304 pages, Paperback

Published November 30, 2004

About the author

Aka Saul Black.

Glen Duncan is a British author born in 1965 in Bolton, Lancashire, England to an Anglo-Indian family. He studied philosophy and literature at the universities of Lancaster and Exeter. In 1990 Duncan moved to London, where he worked as a bookseller for four years, writing in his spare time. In 1994 he visited India with his father (part roots odyssey, part research for a later work, The Bloodstone Papers) before continuing on to the United States, where he spent several months travelling the country by Amtrak train, writing much of what would become his first novel, Hope, published to critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic in 1997. Duncan lives in London. Recently, his 2002 novel I, Lucifer has had the film rights purchased, with actors such as Ewan Mcgregor, Jason Brescia, Jude Law, Vin Diesel, and Daniel Craig all being considered for roles in the forthcoming movie.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had finished I, Lucifer by this author prior to reading this novel, and I was facinated by his take on heaven, hell, the devil, and god.

Here, also, is an interesting take on what happens to a person after they die. The main character awoke to whiteness, nothingness, then suddenly found himself at his funeral, with no recollection of how or why he got there.

He spends the day around his family, being drawn into them like a moth to a light. He can see and hear thier thoughts, he is also drawn into objects that hold memories as well.

Throughout all this, he is also trying to figure out what sort of state he is caught in, spirit-like, but alone, not in heaven, not in hell.... and in constant search of his dead daughter, who he feels is very near him, though he cannot see her. And of course, he wants to understand how he died.

I cannot explain it as well as I would like to. It was a very intersting book. You should pick it up and give it a whirl.
Very worth the time!

[Ali6 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honestly, I thought this book sucked. 50 pages into it, I wasn't sure whether or not I'd bother finishing it. For some reason I kept reading, figuring it would get better. By a certain point, I still didn't care much for the story and disliked most all of the characters, yet I was far enough along in the book I thought "I might as well finish it now." I really didn't identify with any of the characters. I thought the whole stream-of-consciousness writing style very annoying -- especially considering the book wasn't any better than it was. By the time I found out what happened to Lois, I figured that could have been addressed a hundred pages ago. When I got to the end of the book, my only thought was, "At least that's over." Now I can move on to other things. This is the only Glen Duncan book I've read. I probably won't be reading any others.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glen Duncan is the master of writing the nitty gritty of those thoughts which most of us are embarrassed to think, or even verbalise. This book puts us directly into the heads of every one of its characters (bar one, whom we never actually meet, but who casts a shadow into the story). It tells the story of Nathan, who is a ghost at his own funeral, dipping into and out of the minds of the attendees, his family, and into and out of their memories. There is a door with a scary attraction, and two mysterious strangers.

Duncan is at his best when writing the secret thoughts and memories of people. If the human mind really thinks of sex once every 7 minutes, then his is probably slightly ahead of the curve - and yet it feels entirely authentic, the way thoughts meander casually into and out of little flashes of sexuality. He is a magnificent writer, and this book is entirely convincing, compelling and captivating throughout.

The reason it only gets 4 stars, rather than 5, is that for me, the mystery of the death was overplayed at the start, and resolved without the climactic sense of catastrophe I´d been expecting. A lot of anticipation, then never quite paid off. Perhaps that was the point, in some ways, but I could not help feeling slightly disappointed.

Still, I´d highly recommend this as perhaps Duncan´s least sinister novel I´ve read so far...

[Marvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story follows a dead man as he hovers over his family & closest friend the day of his funeral & wake. The plot, such as it is, follows him as he tries to discover why he died. But it also follows him through time as this thoroughly devoted family man who dearly loves his wife & 3 kids reexperiences key moments in his life. The book has passages of amazing insight about family relationships. There's a brilliant chapter on his daughter's first sexual experience (it's not particularly graphic except about the couple's thoughts & feelings); that passage & a couple of passages about sex between him & his wife are some of the best writing about sex I've ever read. Sometimes, though, the almost stream-of-consciousness writing is hard to follow. But those are quickly forgiven when you enter the next passage of keen insight. Much more original & rewarding reflections from beyond life than the best-selling The Lovely Bones.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don't get me wrong, I adore Glen Duncan and have read his entire body of work, but this novel simply did not 'do it' for me. It of course is formulated in beautiful prose, and has some incredible passages and quotes, but overall it failed to draw me in like every other book of Duncan's I have read.

[Ayelet Waldman]

I read this book because I was contemplating a dead narrator in my new novel. I've changed my mind, but I'm glad I had a chance to read this.

[Kiri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite brilliant. Before Death of an Ordinary Man I’d read only one other book by Duncan, I, Lucifer, which I suppose was similar in its style and themes and so on. He has this amazing talent for describing an existence outside of the human experience. His imagery transcends the senses, and is something I think everyone needs to experience at least once.
But I think what struck me the most in this story was the characters and the depth to which we got to know them. The omniscient perspective of recently deceased Nathan Clark shows us the world without delusion. At times it was kind of surreal to read. Introspective and very honest.
The plot is your classic palahniuk-esque 'character doesn't know something and then a bunch of flashbacks happen and they find out whatever it is they didn't know' deal, but very dark. At times the pace was a bit slow and the interior monologue would drag on a bit, but otherwise a spectacular read.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book I've read since college. The story is heartbreaking, but I couldn't tear myself away. It took a little while to really get into the author's voice, as the main character is just as clueless as the reader as to what's going on in the beginning. It's worth sticking it out and getting into.

[Daniel Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty bleak insight into the human condition. Maybe just a little too honest to be comfortable reading.

[Joe · Rating 2 out of 5]

The supernatural parts aren't really supernatural enough, and the family drama parts are too overwrought. It bothers me when you can't tell whether the author or the narrator has a warped view of the world; it's like seeing "Inglorious Basterds" without knowing how WWII actually ended. The women in this novel are presented as mystic goddesses, all vastly superior to men but without man's humanity. It's a common problem with male authors, and it bothers me.

The criminal center of the novel is a heart-wrenching story, and it did make me pause to consider a family going through what this family goes through. But it did not justify several hundred pages of a rather boring ghost story.

[Allison Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was extremely hard to get into . I’d read several reviews about how good it was so decided to keep going . It took me about three times to reread just the first three chapters to try to grasp things .

The idea of the story line was very intriguing, and it was interesting to see things from the characters perspective after death and the authors unique spin on it .
This book does make you stop and think about how something awful can destroy so many people and how we try so hard to appease others that we often lose ourselves.

I’m by no means a prude, but the author made this book too sexual in nature . The incestuous infatuations were a little too much for me .

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading this book I still don't know if I completely liked it. At times Duncan's writing really moved me, he is articulate, accurate and describes human interaction in a wonderful way. However at the same time, I had trouble connecting some of the characters which made it difficult to read at times.

As mentioned by some of the other reviewers, this book isn't for everyone and it does take some time to get used to Duncan's writing style.

Overall though, the good bits, outweighed the bad, and it is a book in which you will think about long after you have read it.

[Lynn · Rating 1 out of 5]

As much as I loved Glen Duncan's I, Lucifer, I dislike Death of an Ordinary Man. I like the premise but the execution was lacking. As a rule I do not have trouble following the author when he/she jumps in time. That was not the case with this novel. I often found myself lost and needed to go back and reread sections of the book to figure out if I was reading a current or past event. Compounding my dislike of the novel were the totally unlikable characters. Not one was a person I would like to spend time with. Stick to I, Lucifer which was a gem and give this ordinary man a pass.

[Caitlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Intrigued by the premise, I just didn’t like it. It’s dense with a lot of navel-gazing that is supposed to be deep, but is just tedious.

It’s another example of a man not providing realistic voices for girls - teenager, especially - & women. The constant references to active incestuous desire make you really worry for this family, & really wonder what point the author was trying to make with that, other than cement his narrator & family as repulsive people.

I have another book of this author- I don’t know if I have the patience to see if it’s any better.

[Leah · Rating 1 out of 5]

It took me a bit to get into this book due to the constant jumping around by the narrator, but I found the gimmick of it charming after a point. As a matter of fact, I found the whole book charming. The narrator’s struggles with having died though not knowing how and his pain at being unable to comfort his family is sad and beautifully written. There are sections of this book that describe his love for his family and everyone’s grief in ways that would’ve stuck with me for a very long time.

But oh my god the way this family thinks about sex is insane. I understand that the narrator, Nathan, can see everyone’s thoughts and memories, but I don’t see any need in talking about his daughter’s masturbation habits from when she was a child, or how she now possess the same “sexual energy” as her mother. To make matters infinitely worse, the ending has the siblings, Gina and Luke, look at each other, realizing they’d both be interested in sleeping with each other. This occurs within the last fifty-ish pages of the book, at a point where the story was reeling me back in, filling me with false hope that the father wouldn’t think about his kids having sex again. But he does. And they do. And they think about having sex with each other. And the dad watches his daughter lose her virginity.

I’m okay with the mention of sex in stories. However, if this book only stuck with the mention of sex between the non-blood-related adults, (Nathan, his wife Cheryl, and the man she sleeps with, Adrien) it would’ve been so much better. The quality of the writing here really is amazing. I love the thoughts jumping around. I love the mysterious places he encounters in the afterlife. I love the sections of Nathan mourning the beauty of life not lived. But the way he talks about his living daughter and the various weird incestuous undertones pulls me completely out of it. It’d get to be every other page, which I could hardly stand. I’m surprised I finished this book in the first place.

I don’t know if this is just how the author writes women or if this is what the family is supposed to be like, but it’d be a 5/5 to me if only it didn’t feel so disgusting and awful to read. Remove all the weird sex shit between the parents and their children and keep everything else and it’d be perfect.

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really did like this timeless concept. The story was hard hitting in a way for each character and that made it special. I was not expecting the sexual violence topic which did un-seat me for a while. The book gives me a general feeling of watching the sunrise after a long hard night. “There is always a silver lining”, “where there is pain there is beauty”… that kind of vibe.

The writing was fascinating - in a good way, but also in a gives-me-a-headache way. 4/5 stars for that reason.

[Benjamin Marx · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could be just me, but I found the lack of appropriate character introduction and conversations to be confusing. I want to enjoy the plot, but I was trying to figure out who is who and what the heck are they talking about.

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is about a man, Nathan, who finds he has died and doesn't remember how it happened. There is little plot of any kind. We follow Nathan around as he attempts to understand how his life came to be what it was. He does this by following signals which can arise from people or objects and which, when he goes near them, propel him into a vivid replay of a particular event in his past, or in the past of someone else.

Instead of plot, the author seems to be interested in the relationships between people--what holds them together and what keeps them apart. Nathan and his widow had three children together, but one child suffered a tragic ending and this has left them all uncertain where they stand with each other after this loss. Nathan wanders from person to person, going in and out of memories, some of which are his, some of which are not. Now that he's dead he can understand what people are feeling and thinking just by being in their presence. Some people give off strange auras and he stays away from them. This turns out to be a plot device, as later when he eventually explores these "forbidden" areas, important truths are revealed.

The book has long stretches where nothing much happens and Nathan is fighting this or that pull towards an object or is experiencing observations about someone in his life. The writing has an impressionistic feel. Nothing is ever quite solid enough to be real and I often found the dream-like state of the writing to be less than compelling.

This idea of objects as memories reminded me of two video games I played several years ago. The first was called What Remains of Edith Finch (2017). In the game, the character explores the different histories of family members through found objects and memories in a childhood home. The second game was called Blackwood Crossing (also 2017). In it, a young girl goes on a surreal journey on a train car where, over the course of the game, her tragic backstory is revealed bit-by-bit and eventually she gets the chance to properly mourn and say good-bye to lost loved ones.

Though this novel predates those games, it does almost have a similar storytelling game feel to it. Each room or person is an opportunity to learn something new and add a new piece to the puzzle. The puzzle itself is not aching to be solved. The pieces come slowly and methodically and the few parts of the book at which there is any tension take place in the far latter half.

The book, up to this latter quarter, has been so steady and methodical in its methods that when a scene of particularly terrifying ambiguity erupts from the page, it causes you to question everything you thought you knew. I don't think I've ever felt less certain about what a character would or would not do.

Eventually the events of Nathan's past have all been fleshed out and we see the full picture of his life and of his death. In the end, Nathan is faced with a final choice. In life he also had choices to make, but he wasn't ready for them. In death, it seems, he is.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comparisons with Alice Sebold's better-known play on the same theme are unavoidable (so I won't avoid them), but Duncan's Death of an Ordinary Man is not afraid to go to places, dark places, that The Lovely Bones tends to (delicately, beautifully) swerve around. For that alone I prefer Duncan's effort.

Death of an Ordinary Man takes some getting used to (especially if you jump into it after having just read a James Frey novel); Duncan's style in this novel is ethereal, wispy, intangible and scattershot, which makes sense considering the subject matter and the emotional state of the characters, but can be disorienting in the initial chapters. However, once your brain adjusts and the style and story settle, this novel soars in its exploration of themes as broad as love and loss and death and as dark as murder, suicide, pedophilia and even a hint of incest. Never, though, is this unsettling or insensitive. Duncan, through his protagonist Nathan, explores and deconstructs these themes slowly, matter-of-factly, and beautifully.

Duncan's knack for describing an existence (literally) outside of the human experience is something to behold. I first encountered this in his earlier novel I, Lucifer and in Ordinary Man he proves his mettle once again, yet from an entirely different and fresh angle.

It will surprise no one that a book dealing directly with death is a story of sadness and tragedy, but at the same time you, the reader, are almost (almost!) glad the tragic events chronicled in the book took place because they are the catalyst for moments of humanity that are sometimes painful, sometimes dark and hard-edged, but always brutally honest.

I'm a fan, Mr. Duncan.

[Angie Lisle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books that clearly doesn't play by the "rules" promoted by most writing self-help books - which may explain why I enjoyed it so much.

The story unfolds very slowly. It's a bit like the movie Pulp Fiction in that it's not put together in the traditional beginning-middle-end structure that we all know so well. Even the prose, which reflects the garbled minds/emotions of the characters, follows the pattern set forth by the story structure. The entire book is designed to do one thing - slow the reader down. Duncan makes you take this story one spoonful at a time - which is what we do, when we confront the idea of death. And death is the theme of this book.

The main character, Nathan, is recently deceased. The most important things to him in his life was his family so his wife, son, two daughters, and a life-long best friend are the major players in the story. That's a lot of people to meet, all at once, but this allowed Duncan to emotionally tug readers around as we bounce through the stages of grief from the different perspectives of each character. I found myself stopping after each emotional outburst, only to make assumptions about what would happen next; then, I came back to the book to see if my assumptions were correct. I don't want to give away spoilers, so I'll end this simply by saying that Duncan didn't disappoint me.

[Ster · Rating 1 out of 5]

Now for a libra beginning of rating this book: I’m sure this book is great for someone. I don’t think I ever gave a book a one star, but this was hard to get through. It is very well written and the language is at times stunning, but the lack of concrete plot was impossible. I’m someone who loves to follow a story, especially when I’m on a train attempting to escape my commute and not reading Gertrude Stein. The book is literally about a ghost that floats through his after life (or in between world), aimlessly through memories, his funeral and so forth. Along the way we learn a bit about his life, his cheating wife and the horrible thing that happened to his daughter, but those tiny glimpses into plots were not enough to hold this book together. At one point there was pages and pages of graphic sex scenes with not much reason to further plot and almost out of no where. This book was definitely not for me and I’m surprised I didn’t abandon it. I guess with each page turn I was hoping something would happen to tie it into the next story, but we just floated aimlessly, like the main character of the story.

[Jamie Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A perplexing take on the experience of a soul coming to peace with their own death . . . and sharing, with the reader, a profound naivete about "what happens when we die" along with a puzzling naivete about the circumstances of their own death. The reader follows the narrator on a metaphysical tour of their funeral, complete with forays into the thoughts and emotions of their family and friends. You learn about the narrator's life through his family's thought and memories and his own interpretation of their thoughts and memories. You learn about the narrator's death as he discovers its circumstances and meaning. It's a novel that provides a very temporal and very cursory glimpse of several lives entwined by family, but manages to provide a timeless and intimate understanding of a man's life and death.
If anyone out there has talent and connections, this would be a fantastic movie!
love,
J

[Djrmel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dead man observes his family at his own funeral and wake, looking for clues as to why he died. His recently departed stature gives him the ability to see but not be seen, as well as to hear some of the thoughts of his family. Their grief triggers memories of another death in the family, one that no one dealt with nearly as well they seem to be handling his passing. The presence of two people he doesn't recognize is what troubles him most, and until he finds the connection, he can't let himself move on. In a less brave author's hands, this story would have been turned into a predicatable story of bad things happening to good people. But Duncan isn't afraid to twist the story, to veer off just when you think you see the path he is following. He's an author who creates characters strong enough to tell their own story.

[Nick Brett · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tough one to review this, a book that makes you think, does very much cover the human condition and one that you gradually peel apart to understand the circumstances behind the story.

Trying hard not to give anything away, we start with a man floating above his own funeral and trying to remember what happened, He follows through to the wake and we see (through his eyes) how his family are coping and he/we can also sense what they are thinking.

He is trying to remember and we as readers are trying to understand his circumstances. This was a tough book to read, but very good at capturing the thoughts and reality of ordinary people. Dropped this back to two stars as it took a while to get into and I was a little underwhelmed by the conclusion. Having said that this was an emotional book and well written, I can see why the author has the reputation that he does.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The entire book takes place on the day of Nathan’s funeral, and we witness events from his perspective as a disembodied entity. Nathan spends the day visiting with his wife and kids without them being aware of his presence. His spirit or soul or whatever is never defined, but as the day progresses, he becomes more adept at navigating his shapeless form, reading the thoughts of his family and friends, and interpreting signals from meaningful objects. Initially, Nathan is confused, but as the novel progresses, we understand more about his complex family dynamic, what happened to his youngest daughter, and how he died. It’s not an easy read, and the introspective ethereal narrative devise meanders through Nathan’s memories and his family’s grief. “What swelled and rang was the dimensionless distance between himself and the living.” And that pretty much defines the reading experience…

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me awhile to get sucked into this book... So long, in fact, that I nearly quit reading it. (sidebar: I am getting a lot better at quitting books that suck, rather than forcing myself to finish them. Well, maybe not getting better, but I am thinking about it. Strongly) I am glad that I did not quit, because it got a lot better. It is a pretty depressing book, with extremely dark subject matter. If you are a sensitive Sally, this is not the book for you. However, if you are not, you may really enjoy this book and it's take on death, violence and perceived responsibility for life's occurrences - especially the bad ones.

I would have given this 4, but I can't stand when an author jumps around in time non-stop and without warning.

[Roberto · Rating 3 out of 5]

L'arte della soggettiva

L'esperimento e l'artifizio utilizzato sono intriganti.

Raccontare la vita del protagonista scoprendola pian piano nei pensieri di familiari ed amici. Naturalmente dopo la sua morte, in un vortice di flashback e 'contatti' che il protagonista in spirito riceve il giorno del suo funerale sfiorandoli.

Abbozzano una vita apparentemente serena fino a quando il dramma insostenibile la sconvolge, rivelandoci anche una realtà molto meno lineare (e più interessante) per ciascuna delle personalità incontrate.

Il tutto, dopo aver preso le dovute misure dei meccanismi e dei tempi di narrazione, ben scritto, con una sensibilità inaspettata per le vicende dell'animo umano e con uno stile moderno e originale.

Una lettura sorprendente e non banale.

[Nick Milinazzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nathan awakens to find himself dead and viewing his own funeral. Although he knows for certain he is dead, he cannot remember how it happened. With the ability to read thoughts and experience the memories of others, he spends the day of his wake trying to come to terms with what lead him to this point and to answer some questions, namely: How did he die? How did his daughter die? How will the rest of his family go on aft another tragedy?
The beginning of the book is very choppy as Nathan comes back into consciousness, but eventually it unfolds into these wonderful little vignettes about the family. The author runs you through the full gamut of emotions and the writing has a poignancy reminiscent of "A Spot of Bother" and "The Casual Vacancy." Would very much recommend.

[cold green tea · Rating 1 out of 5]

This novel might have been good were it not for self-indulgent prose, the author’s exaggerated sense of his own daring, and tepidly realized characters. The premise (a ghost at his own funeral, knowing the thoughts of his family and rediscovering them as strangers) is not new, but Duncan at first seemed to take it to a very interesting place. The narrator explores his families memories with fear and curiosity. There is a real sense of approaching mystery, bewilderment, and dread that fades very quickly. I kept reading long past my tolerance threshold in hope of discovering something to redeem it.

[Mat Costanzo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the way Duncan writes. He's capable of turning out sophisticated insights with a droll wit or cutting poignancy. In the end though, this story was just too sad for me to enjoy. Maybe I'm a little soft but I need more humor and hope than this. It was a bit disappointing because Duncan goes in for this kind of dark rumination in several of his novels, and then his werewolf series actually feels too light, like he dumbed the writing down to focus on the action. I, Lucifer is a favorite novel, but I think I need to accept that my taste and his style only came together that one time. I think I'm done giving his work a chance to hit me like that again.