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The Language of Dying

Sarah Pinborough (Goodreads Author)

3.83 · Rating details · 1,484 ratings · 373 reviews

Tonight is a special, terrible night. A woman sits at her father's bedside watching the clock tick away the last hours of his life. Her brothers and sisters - all traumatised in their own ways, their bonds fragile - have been there for the past week, but now she is alone. And that's always when it comes. As the clock ticks in the darkness, she can only wait for it to find ...more

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Hardcover, 144 pages

Published December 5th 2013 by Jo Fletcher Books (first published 2009)

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Mar 10, 2017 Kristin (KC) - Traveling Sister rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, weepy, powerful

*5 stars*

For its beautiful prose, unflinching honesty, and ability to carry us straight to the unnerving perimeters of death to witness the unraveling—I believe this book deserves no less than 5 stars.

The Language of Dying is a quick read, but there is so much conveyed in so few words, and not a speck of it is written in vain. It candidly explores the depths of mortality, narrowing in on a sick man’s final days of life as his dignity deteriorates even more quickly than his body.

This glimpse is ...more

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Oct 09, 2017 Always Pouting rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A women reflects on her life as she waits for her father to die. He is in the last stages of lung cancer after a life of chain smoking and her older sister has come to help her in the last few days. She is the middle child, sandwiched between two older children and two younger, and has always felt closest to their father. His impending death though only highlights the dysfunction of the siblings relationship and forces her to reflect on their own struggles and self destruction.

Spoilers, maybe? ...more

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Oct 25, 2016 Chelsea Humphrey rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

This will be a teeny tiny review for a teeny tiny book, but just know it deserves no less than 5 stars in my book. This would be a fantastic gateway book for those looking to enter the magical realism realm without going hardcore right away. Books with cancer patients always get me, since my mom was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer back in 2008. Hallelujah she has been in full remission since then (!!!), but it still always makes me weepy reading about other's stories, real or not. This part ...more

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Mar 31, 2017 karen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: thanks-for-prezzies

this is kind of like a grownup version of A Monster Calls. it’s not a perfect readalike, but it features the same kind of magical realism spin on the experience of death and the grieving process, complete with a supernatural manifestation of that process - all rage and pain and hoof-stomping power.

however, the magic in this is not central to the story - it is an occasional grace note in an otherwise unflinchingly realistic depiction of a woman’s experience caring for her beloved father as cance this is kind of like a grownup version of A Monster Calls. it’s not a perfect readalike, but it features the same kind of magical realism spin on the experience of death and the grieving process, complete with a supernatural manifestation of that process - all rage and pain and hoof-stomping power.

however, the magic in this is not central to the story - it is an occasional grace note in an otherwise unflinchingly realistic depiction of a woman’s experience caring for her beloved father as cancer devours him piece by piece.

there’s nothing gentle or sugar-coated here; this isn’t about the nobility of facing death after a life well-lived, or clinging to life and family with grit and determination, fighting disease with willpower and love. it’s more medical journal than hallmark card - unsparing in its descriptions of the deterioration of the body and mental state of the terminally ill, through the eyes of a loving daughter who isn’t ready to let go of her father; uncertain of what her world will become once he is gone. in this tiny book, we are taken through the memories of her life and her father’s place in it, in sickness and in health, and how his passing will likely sever all ties between five siblings already scattered by their life choices.

it’s only 130 pages, the narrator isn’t even given a name, and it ends on a symbolic and highly ambiguous note, but it doesn’t lose any of its potency for being so streamlined and open to interpretation, because the parts that matter, the parts that resonate and speak to the thing that binds us all - our mortality - are very well-explored, indeed, whether death comes for us suddenly, or as a horrible slow decline. (see who by fire or The Gashlycrumb Tinies for some of the variety of ways we can be felled)

many thanks to kristin KC for her generous contribution to my appreciation of all things sad, even though, alas - no weeping from me.

***********************************************
wow. i don't even know what to make of this one yet. need to let the emotional sediment settle.

i'll be back.

come to my blog! ...more

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Mar 21, 2017 Larry H rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

"It's been a long few months and, even though time has folded from the first diagnosis to now, my body and soul know that I have lived through every painful second of it. They sing it to me through aching limbs and a torn heart."

A woman's father is in the last few days of his life, as he is dying from cancer. She has cared for him through his illness, watching his body and his mind deteriorate. She wants his suffering to end, but fears what the end of that suffering will mean for her life.

Her si "It's been a long few months and, even though time has folded from the first diagnosis to now, my body and soul know that I have lived through every painful second of it. They sing it to me through aching limbs and a torn heart."

A woman's father is in the last few days of his life, as he is dying from cancer. She has cared for him through his illness, watching his body and his mind deteriorate. She wants his suffering to end, but fears what the end of that suffering will mean for her life.

Her siblings have all come to the house they grew up in, now her house, to pay their last respects. Their family has been fractured emotionally for years, with each of them having suffered traumas, some known and some hidden. But even coming together for one purpose, saying goodbye to their father, is fraught with disaster.

The woman herself has had her share of trauma and tragedy, which has left her angry, somewhat unstable, and knowing she may never have the chance to be happy ever again. But she has given everything she has to care for his father and make his last days as comfortable and secure as possible.

Ever since she was a child, she has had visions of a nameless presence, hulking, alone, and waiting for her. She only sees it at certain moments, and she knows that it will come again. But it is a reunion she fears and welcomes, because what will it mean for her if she finally connects with it?

Sarah Pinborough's Behind Her Eyes (see my original review) was tremendously unforgettable because of its WTF ending, but also because of how her storytelling ability helped the book transcend an immensely implausible plot. But as strong as her writing was in that book, it really didn't prepare me for the sheer power and beauty of her writing in The Language of Dying .

Stripped of any artifice, there is poetry and emotion that characterizes Pinborough's writing in this book. Anyone who has seen a loved one suffer from a terminal illness will probably recognize some of the feelings and situations the narrator experiences, the simultaneous desire and dread that the person's battle will end. But while there are certainly moments that may make you cry, this is not an emotionally manipulative book, but rather a tremendously contemplative one.

If the pain of loss is still fresh, reading this book may reopen those wounds. But this is an immensely beautiful book, one which demands to be read, one which will wow and dazzle on the power of its words and its emotions.

NetGalley and Quercus (US) provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

See all of my reviews at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blo.... ...more

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Aug 10, 2016 Esil rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

5 stars for emotional potency. I expect this book will resonate tremendously with anyone who has sat throughout the last days with a dying parent, partner or close friend. It certainly brought me right back to my father's side, while he was in palliative care a few years ago as he was dying of pancreatic cancer. The inner thoughts, the quiet communication, the tumultuous emotions, the odd roads your memory takes you down, the shared anger, frustration, love and even humour with other relatives a ...more

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Apr 05, 2017 Elyse Walters rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I hated this book - and now I can't sleep. Why the hell did I read it????? That's my biggest question ---why the hell did I read THIS book? I didn't 'need' it.....nor did I take away anything new that I didn't already know.
I wasn't uplifted - it wasn't enjoyable - Yet... I read the whole damn thing!

I did appreciate and respect Sarah Pinborough's opening .......
"There is a language to dying. It creeps like a shadow alongside the passing years and the taste of it hides in the corners of our mou ...more

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Jun 15, 2016 Debbie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: old-farts, secret-gems, almost-all-time-faves, best-reads-2012-through-2019, death-and-illness, netgalley

5 BIG STARS!

This one totally knocked my socks off. What a secret gem and one of my favorites this year! This is the story of a daughter tending to her dying father, told in first person. The voice pulled me right in to the secret chamber of wise thoughts and heavy emotions, and it never let me out. There is a subtleness to the emotion, a quietness, and it made its way into my soul. I wanted to bottle up the language and set it on my shelf as a tonic when I’m feeling down.

Wow, this book is making ...more

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Jun 06, 2016 Debbie "DJ" rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

I have no words to describe how deeply touching this book is. We all come face to face with the death of a loved one at some point in our lives. I just love a book with amazing writing, and Sarah Pinborough is simply a master with words. She describes what it is like for the middle daughter, the one who has lived with her father, the tightness of their bond, what it is like now that he is slipping away. How siblings show up to help, some surprise while others disappoint. And will this bring them ...more

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Jun 01, 2016 Diane S ☔ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A novella about a man and his daughter, the daughter who has watched over him as lay dying. The man who raised his family of five after his wife and their mother left him. This daughter is the middle one, and as she watches and speaks to him we learn her backstory, the events in her life that made her return to this house. Although the three brothers and her older sister come home to say goodbye they all leave again and it is only her, the father and whatever is waiting for her.

A wonderfully wri ...more

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May 24, 2016 Linda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, net-galley, fiction

I received a copy of The Language of Dying by Sarah Pinborough through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to NetGalley and to Sarah Pinborough for the opportunity.

Death is the Great Equalizer.

Death fails to note if it has arrived far before one's first breath was ever taken. It never keeps track of the breaths unnoticed until the last one comes too soon.

A house is in near darkness and there sits The One. The One is The Watcher who keeps vigilance with her back poised against Good Intenti I received a copy of The Language of Dying by Sarah Pinborough through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to NetGalley and to Sarah Pinborough for the opportunity.

Death is the Great Equalizer.

Death fails to note if it has arrived far before one's first breath was ever taken. It never keeps track of the breaths unnoticed until the last one comes too soon.

A house is in near darkness and there sits The One. The One is The Watcher who keeps vigilance with her back poised against Good Intentions. Eyes stare into nothingness and nothingness stares back. "But then love clings on, doesn't it?"

The woman leaves the room on tiptoe to answer the door. Penny, her older sister, embraces her. Penny avoids going up the stairs to encounter her invalid father whose days are overshadowed by the cancer that ravages within him. Soon the twin brothers arrive and yet another brother, Paul. Each of the late arrivals perches on a chair and chain smokes or snacks. Let no hand be idle. Let no mind teeter on the brink of what surely is to happen.

Conversations take place and yet words are not spoken. And life intrudes as it always does. And the roles that we assign to ourselves take precedence over everything. The excuses are made and the little band of brothers and sister take leave with promises to return. To settle matters.....the matters that override the daunting present.

But The One remains. She waits with those same eyes. But this time she finds that elusive voice. The voice that can only unburden the soul in whispers. She tells her father of her past and pours her heavy regrets into a stone chalice as an offering. It is enough. It will always be enough.

Sarah Pinborough presents a flawed family and their interactions with one another in the darkness of their father's last days. It is truly an emotional read because you will see mirror images of yourself or perhaps even your own reality. The words will leave their mark on your conscience. "I kiss your head. I leave my love there forever."

But The One will meet her Stronger Self in the night. You'll see.....

...more

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Sep 17, 2016 Melissa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016, netgalley, emotional

Don’t let the length fool you, this quick snapshot of a story packs one heck of an emotional punch. With a somber and reflective tone, the author explores the painful reality of death and those we leave behind.

This meaningful story centers around five siblings returning home to face the haunting memories of their childhood and one another; in the midst of their father’s death. He’s slowly withering away and it’s incredibly sad and humbling to watch. Naturally, it made me contemplate how precious ...more

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Aug 09, 2016 Sue rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: novellas, net-galley, magical-realism, fiction, death-dying, family, read-2016

Very powerful view of a family coping, or not, with the actuality of the father's impending death, told through the middle daughter's perspective. The emotions are raw and the physical details are real. The family dynamics complex but also well explained. The ending...Well I was holding my breath.

This is not an easy book to read; how could it be. But it is, in its own way, somehow satisfying emotionally. Definitely recommended.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley i ...more

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Aug 20, 2016 Karen R rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A woman is taking care of her dying father. When his death is imminent, she calls in her four siblings who all arrive to pay their last respects. There is conflict and resentment as each copes with their dad’s impending death. Clearly, they use different coping mechanisms that lead to misunderstandings and anger. This difficult time will change relationships but will it divide or bring them closer? I was hopeful for the latter. I lost my own father in May to a long-lasting horrible illness and o ...more

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May 26, 2016 Cheri rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley, death-dying-end-of-life, arc, 2016

“Time is surreal. I can hear that laugh as if it were yesterday and in the same instant I can see the years ahead in which I will never hear it again. I squeeze my eyes shut let the drifting take over.”

Death, its impact on the lives of the siblings, how it changes the way each person views the words and actions of their siblings. It impacts and changes relationships of the caregiver and the dying, as well as the relationships of the caregiver and the remaining family. Death’s imminence changes e ...more

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May 26, 2016 Taryn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: received-from-publisher, netgalley

An emotionally raw novella about caring for a dying parent, dysfunctional family relationships, and depression.

There is a language to dying. It creeps like a shadow alongside the passing years and the taste of it hides in the corners of our mouths. It finds us whether we are sick or healthy. It is a secret hushed thing that lives in the whisper of the nurses’ skirts as they rustle up and down our stairs. They’ve taught me to face the language one syllable at a time, slowly creating an unwilli

An emotionally raw novella about caring for a dying parent, dysfunctional family relationships, and depression.

There is a language to dying. It creeps like a shadow alongside the passing years and the taste of it hides in the corners of our mouths. It finds us whether we are sick or healthy. It is a secret hushed thing that lives in the whisper of the nurses’ skirts as they rustle up and down our stairs. They’ve taught me to face the language one syllable at a time, slowly creating an unwilling meaning.

As a woman sits beside her dying father's bedside, she reflects on the events that shaped her dysfunctional family's circumstances and the events that led her back to her childhood home. Caring for her father in his last months and the ups and downs of life have taken an enormous emotional toll on her, but she is the only one in her family who was up for the task. Spending time with her father during his final transition has given them a strong and unique bond. The tender way she cares for him is extremely touching. She refers to her father as "you," so the book reads like she is writing him a letter. It feels deeply personal, like a memoir. The tone is melancholic. I really liked the concepts of time folding and "the drift" that reappear throughout the book.

Most things in life change gradually. Events creep up on you from behind just like the language. You barely notice the beginnings; it’s only when things go terribly wrong that we wipe the sleep from our eyes and wail miserably, ‘How the hell did that happen?’

The narrator has been alone in caring for her father after his cancer diagnosis. In his final days, the narrator's four siblings return to the family home. "The beginning of the putting-back-together before we fall apart." There have always been unofficial alliances between the siblings; the oldest two are only a year apart and have always had a special connection and the youngest two, twins, have their own unique bond. The narrator was always on her own, matched to her father due to circumstance.

The boys share a smile over something Penny has said and I can almost see their childish faces shimmering under the worn skin they have now. Only just, but the traces are still there. That makes me sadder than if they had been gone forever and I go to the sink and slowly wash up, hiding in the task.

While the narrator has a reputation for being a dreamer, she is the only one who is able to directly confront the reality of what is happening to the father. "And they think I’m the one lost in my own world. I guess sometimes you have to hide from the world to see it properly." The scenes where the siblings came together was heartwarming (and made me feel nostalgic), but inevitably they all reveal their true selves through their cracks. Personalities clash and old resentments flare. There is an emotional scene where the narrator unleashes her rage at her older brother. She can't remember what she said in her tirade and the words are never revealed to the reader, yet the moment is so raw and honest.

There is no laughter now, no tall tales, just a man who can’t deal with losing his father. Or maybe can’t deal with the process of losing his father. I wish he could get a glimpse of other people and see that they feel and think, just like he does. Maybe then he’d realise that none of us can deal with it. We just have to suck it up and get on with it.

As I expected from the gorgeous book cover and the Neil Gaiman blurb, there is a smidge of fantasy. During emotionally traumatic and transformative moments in her life, "special, terrible night[s]," the narrator sees a grotesque unicorn-type beast in the field outside of her home. It demands her attention and beckons her to follow. These moments quickly pass and are integrated seamlessly in the context of the events, so it shouldn't prevent those that typically avoid fantasy from reading it.

Growing up is about realising that the cracks in the pavement are nothing to worry about. It’s the cracks inside that count.

At only 144 pages this is a very quick read, but it packs a strong emotional punch. It is filled with beautifully written passages. By the time I finished this book, I wanted to get my hands on everything Sarah Pinborough has ever written! If you enjoyed The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (atmosphere/reality + bit of fantasy) or A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (parent dying of cancer/reality + bit of fantasy), you will probably like this book. It also made me think back to the scenes concerning Levin's brother's fate in Anna Karenina.

This is just the end. It isn’t the everything of you. And it’s the everything we’ll remember when the memory of this fades. I remember me and Penny in the bath splashing bubbles, you smiling behind the camera. Or maybe I just remember the yellowy seventies photograph, but either way those things are the everything. All moments that have arrived here.

________________________________________
Thank you to Quercus (Jo Fletcher Books) & NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. It was published in 2009 and 2013, but it is being reissued on August 2, 2016. ...more

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Aug 12, 2016 PattyMacDotComma rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: families, carers

Shelves: kindle, arc-netgalley-done, aa, novella-story-article-35pp

4★
A wonderful but difficult read for anyone who's suffered through a similar situation.

“ 'Your father is moving into the next stage. His breathing will slow. The pauses between each breath will get longer and longer. It’s called Cheyne-Stoking. He’s not there yet, but I think in the next day or so.’

She doesn’t need to point out the rest. The rest I understand. ‘Chain-smoking leads to Cheyne-Stoking.’ The little rhyme forms a rhythm in my empty thinking space. The rhythm is like hooves on tar ...more

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Aug 09, 2016 Betsy Robinson rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

. . . I stroke your hair and kiss your dry, rotten mouth. “I can see you in there, Dad,” I whisper. “Don’t worry. I can always see you.” (17)

Maybe this statement expresses the essence of the experience of being a solo witness to the slow, agonizing death of somebody you love. It’s something you know in your heart and cannot share with anybody but the person who is dying. Not siblings. Not doctors and other caretakers. When you have been the primary friend (and that can be in many different roles ...more

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Sep 15, 2016 Liz rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is a very moving novella concerning a daughter caring for her dying father. The book is written almost as a letter, addressed to the father. I love the title. The language of dying speaks to the fear of people to hear or learn about dying. “They don't like the little bit of language they already know; they don't want to add to it”.

I read this while my 91 year old father was recovering from a broken hip. It's been a long, slow, painful recovery. Given the almost daily interaction, I've seen ...more

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May 20, 2016 Sandra rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016, may-short-story-month-marathon-2016, shorties, netgalley-no

"There is a language to dying. It creeps like a shadow alongside the passing years and the taste of it hides in the corners of our mouths. It finds us whether we are sick or healthy."

What a powerful and heartbreaking book this is!
Even as I'm writing this review, I feel this lump in my throat coming up again and I'm having trouble keeping it down.

This novella shows us a woman taking care of her father in the final stage of his battle against cancer. During this period of coping with his immin ...more

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Aug 17, 2016 Kristina rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: best-read-2016, fiction, short-stories-novellas, death-grieving-living, 2016, netgalley-arc, reviewed

"There is a language to dying. It creeps like a shadow alongside the passing years and the taste of it hides in the corners of our mouths. It finds us whether we are sick or healthy. It is a secret hushed thing that lives in the whisper of the nurses’ skirts as they rustle up and down our stairs. They’ve taught me to face the language one syllable at a time, slowly creating an unwilling meaning."

So begins The Language of Dying by Sarah Pinborough, a novella narrated by the main character, a woma ...more

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Apr 24, 2017 JanB rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

This novella is written as a letter of sorts to a dying father by his unnamed nearly 40 year old daughter. She's the sole caretaker of her dying father, who is in his last days. Beautifully written with raw emotions that felt real, so real that I suspect the author has intimate knowledge of what it's like.

It wasn't that long ago that I sat by my father's bedside as he lay dying. Death isn't always "with dignity", people don't always "go quietly in the night", and not every family bands together ...more

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Oct 31, 2016 Sheila rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley, read-in-2016

4 stars--I really liked it. Wow, what a strange, sad, and fantastic novella this is. It wasn't what I expected, and I really enjoyed it.

This book is about--as the title says--dying, but it's also about family and depression and loss. The writing and characterization are both excellent. However, what I really loved was the touch of magical realism (or was it?). For me, that put this book beyond just "good."

I'm not going to say much, to avoid spoilers, but this won't be my last Pinsborough book.

I ...more

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Nov 04, 2016 Jamie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Even though this was only 88 pages long, it had such an emotional impact on me. From page one, I knew this story would revolve around a man dying of cancer.

This story was all too real for me. It is about how a dysfunctional family tried to come together when someone they love was ill. Even as I write this, I still have tears in my eyes. Way too many memories surfaced while reading this. I remember watching, and being by my mother’s side while she had suffered from melanoma cancer. I understood, ...more

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Feb 03, 2017 Dean rated it it was amazing

I've just finished it, a book like a fast train at coalition course to your guts!!!!!
I mean, in this book are so much inside, it's almost unbelievable and written really beautiful, dense, atmospheric, and full of magic ( like a gothic novel ).....
The story of a young woman damaged trough diverse cruel hammerings in her life!!!!
Betrayal from people which she never expected it, helpless in the face of a marriage turning out to be hell....
gradually the cracks in her soul shows up, as a result of th ...more

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Apr 15, 2019 Renee Godding rated it liked it

“There is a language to dying. It creeps like a shadow alongside the passing years and the taste of it hides in the corners of our mouths. It finds us whether we are sick or healthy. It is a secret hushed thing that lives in the whisper of the nurses’ skirts as they rustle up and down our stairs. They’ve taught me to face the language one syllable at a time, slowing creating an unwilling meaning."

The Language of Dying is one of those novels I feel a little bad about not liking more. It’s a novel “There is a language to dying. It creeps like a shadow alongside the passing years and the taste of it hides in the corners of our mouths. It finds us whether we are sick or healthy. It is a secret hushed thing that lives in the whisper of the nurses’ skirts as they rustle up and down our stairs. They’ve taught me to face the language one syllable at a time, slowing creating an unwilling meaning."

The Language of Dying is one of those novels I feel a little bad about not liking more. It’s a novella that takes place over the span of a few hours, as a woman wakes by the bed of her dying father and muses over the time leading up to this moment.
It’s quite a step away from Sarah Pinborough’s normal work in the thriller/mystery genre and just feels somewhat more personal to the author herself. I couldn’t tell you if this is autobiographical, but when an author writes such a personal novella outside of their usual brand, that is automatically where my mind goes. This makes me feel even worse for not particularly liking this novella.
If you know me, you might know I have a special place in my heart for books that deal with grief, before, after, or surrounding the death of a loved one. Because of that, I read and have read a lot of those. Having so much material for comparison has made me (perhaps hyper-)critical of the entire genre, making it quite hard for a new book to blow me away. That was exactly the case here: The Language of Dying is a true and honest description of one woman’s experience, but it did nothing to differentiate itself from the other books on the topic.

What I look for in books like this are (grossly simplified) 2 things:
1. A feeling of recognition: thinking, “yes, that was what it felt like to me”, or “I can see how it would feel like that”. The ability of an author to put into words a deeply personal experience you had. Maybe it was an abstract, undefinable feeling, that you only recognized when you read it on the page. Maybe it was something you were able to describe, but didn’t know other people felt too.
The Language of Dying does deliver on this front.
2. This may sound a little vague, but: the feeling that you’ve gained something from revisiting that experience via the book you just read. That you’ve perhaps gained a new perspective, realized something new or even just felt a little more understood, or less alone than you did before.
This is what lacked in The Language of Dying for me. Everything I read in here, I’ve read before in one way or another, so nothing was quite unique or new enough to bring that for me.
The one aspect with which The Language of Dying tries to set itself apart from others is the use of a small element of magical realism. Potentially, this is something I could very much enjoy, but in this case, I didn’t feel it fit the story. Its appearance felt like an afterthought, not yet completely woven into the fabric of the story, and therefore fell a little flat for me.

All in all: an okay read for me. I commend Sarah Pinborough for stepping outside her comfort zone with this title, and I do feel this is something that could potentially be very meaningful to some people. It unfortunately just didn’t happen to be for me. ...more

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Feb 07, 2017 Linda Strong rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley-2017, read-in-2017

Watching someone die day after day, especially of someone you love, is emotionally heart-breaking. More so, if you've no one to share your memories, the stories, the day to day caring of a loved one without help.

This woman is watching her father die. She is the middle child ,,, she has 2 older siblings and 2 younger. They have all gathered to be with her and to pay last respects this week. They are not a close knit family. They are all playing the game of being family, but nothing really rings t ...more

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Dec 16, 2016 Magdalena aka A Bookaholic Swede rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2016

The Language of Dying by Sarah Pinborough was a book that seemed to be fantastic and that a lot of my friends on Goodreads ( and other readers there) love. However, now and then am I the odd one out because this book didn't do a thing for me. I kept on expecting for the moment to show up when I would get enthralled and get sucked into the story, but it never happened.

Instead, it just dragged on, and this is not a thick book, only 144 pages long, but it felt like it took forever to get to the end ...more

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May 31, 2016 Mogsy (MMOGC) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: review-copy, magical-realism, arcs-and-galleys, novella

4 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2016/08/01/...

Sarah Pinborough is the author of a couple of my favorite historical horror novels, Mayhem and Murder in the Dr. Thomas Bond duology about the Jack the Ripper, so when I was offered a chance to review The Language of Dying, I didn’t hesitate. This novella couldn’t have been more different than her other work though, and yet I loved it no less. A beautiful soul-rending song straight from the heart, this tiny little book pac 4 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2016/08/01/...

Sarah Pinborough is the author of a couple of my favorite historical horror novels, Mayhem and Murder in the Dr. Thomas Bond duology about the Jack the Ripper, so when I was offered a chance to review The Language of Dying, I didn’t hesitate. This novella couldn’t have been more different than her other work though, and yet I loved it no less. A beautiful soul-rending song straight from the heart, this tiny little book packs an emotional punch by shifting gears instead to look at the turbulent nature of grief and the profound effects it has on one troubled family.

The story starts with a woman, our unnamed narrator, sitting by her dying father’s bedside waiting for the other members of her family to arrive in order to say goodbye. First to arrive is her older sister Penny, who has always lived a charmed life, but for all her successes still hides behind a façade of materialism that she fears can shatter at any moment. Next come Simon and Davey, the twins, who arrive within half an hour of each other even though they live hundreds of miles apart. The narrator notes this uncanny connection between her younger brothers with a heavy heart, thinking where one twin goes the other will follow, even when their lives are spiraling out of control. The last to show up at the house is Paul, the eldest brother, coming off from another failed business venture or financial debacle. With that, the whole family is under one roof again. The children’s mother, who abandoned them so many years ago, is already gone in every sense of the word.

But deep in her heart, our narrator is secretly hoping for one final visitor. Only twice in her life has she seen him; the first time when she was ten, outside her window the night her mother left them all behind, and the second when she was twenty-five, after another painful loss in her life. She can tell no one what she saw, because she’s not even sure what she saw was real. But still, she believes, and now, she waits.

This is a hard book to categorize. Despite its label as a fantasy novella, the ties that bind the story to the genre are light and ambiguous. However, it’s the themes that really come through: pain, grief, death, loss. Family, support, togetherness, love. Death will come for us all in time, and when it happens the living are left to struggle with the loss. But sometimes the grieving process actually starts well before the person dies, as this story shows. For months, the narrator had known that the cancer would kill her father, but it is in the final days, watching him waste away while feeling helpless to stop his pain, that’s when she starts to fall apart. When the rest of the siblings arrive though, their presence and their shared memories offer some comfort. Her brothers and her sister might not be perfect—some of them surprise her, while others disappoint her—but regardless, in them she finds a new source of strength.

I don’t know if I could have read this book if someone close to me was dying, or if I’d just experienced a recent loss of a loved one. I’m positive it would have broken me. I’ve never seen a more transparent, open and honest portrayal about the agony of confronting the inevitable, of letting go of a dearly beloved, and something tells me this is a personal tale for the author. The style in which it was written, narrated by the protagonist in present tense and in the first person but addressing her dying father as “you”, made this book even more moving and intimate. Her memories of her own past are presented as if she is sharing those painful moments directly with him, with us.

Ultimately, it’s this closeness that defines the sweet poignancy of this beautifully crafted novella. The Language of Dying is an astonishingly good read, simple in its approach, but thoughtful and heartbreaking in its execution. It’s not an easy book to read, but you will be glad you did. ...more

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Mar 20, 2017 Karen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

THE LANGUAGE OF DYING BY SARAH PINBOROUGH

To anybody that has sat at a loved one's bedside and watch them slip from cognition to comatose, because they are dying of cancer this book viscerally twists you inside and out. The narrator remains nameless but is at the family home (she already bought it from her father and distributed the money to her siblings) with her dying father. This authenticates the grief, guilt, just wanting one more moment with your loved one and the myriad scale of emotions t ...more

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About Sarah Pinborough

Sarah Pinborough

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Sarah Pinborough is the NYT bestselling and Sunday Times #1 Bestselling author of 'Behind Her Eyes' which has sold in over 25 territories thus far and will be shown as a six part drama on Netflix in 2020 and the Sunday Times Bestseller, 'Cross Her Heart'. She has also written books across a variety of genres including the YA thriller 13 Minutes (in development with Netflix). Her next novel 'Dead T ...more

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“Sometimes there are just too many words filling up space and not enough emptiness left for thinking. I keep a little emptiness inside for when I need it.” — 15 likes

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