And even if there’s not an actual death in this beat, there’s a hint at death. There’s a whiff of it. Like a dead plant in the corner, a dead fish in the fish bowl, maybe even the death of an idea or project or relationship or business. In Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin, there’s a death of a lifelong friendship. Even in the comedy Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella, there’s a whiff of death in the All Is Lost when Becky tries to buy something only to find that all her accounts have been frozen and the cashier confiscates her card. It’s the death of her credit!
