November Challenge: I Finished!

[Sara]

This thread is to mark your completion of the November challenge for the prompt: "a book about death or grief." You can join in with the group read of The Immortalists or pick a different book to satisfy this challenge.

Please include the following:

Title:
Author:
Is death/grief a difficult topic to read about? Do you think the author of your chosen book handled the topic well? Why or why not?
Would you recommend?

No other posts in this thread please

[SarahKat]

I read a bunch that would qualify but in the end..

Title: Some Small Magic
Author: Billy Coffey
Is death/grief a difficult topic to read about? Yes. I've had my fair share of it I think so when you read about it, all of those feelings rise to the surface.
Do you think the author of your chosen book handled the topic well? Why or why not? Yes. (view spoiler)[ It slowly comes to light that the main character actually died. It has some heartwrenching moments when we see how the people left behind are handling things. (hide spoiler)] It was a pretty beautiful book.
Would you recommend? Yes!

[Heather]

Title: The Immortalists
Author: Chloe Benjamin
Is death/grief a difficult topic to read about? Do you think the author of your chosen book handled the topic well? Why or why not? In general, I would say yes. I didn't look forward to this prompt. But in this book, the author approached the topic as a question about whether there is such a thing as destiny or whether we make our own fortunes. The author did a very good job of not answering that question for me, but giving enough stories to help me think through it myself.
Would you recommend? Definitely! It was one of my favorite books this year.

[Teri]

Title: Death with Interruptions
Author: José Saramago

Is death/grief a difficult topic to read about? Do you think the author of your chosen book handled the topic well? Why or why not?
Death and grief can be difficult topics to read about, but all of us will experience them and it can be helpful to better understand through reading others' experiences and thoughts. This particular book was fiction, and the story was about Death as the main character (and not in any way you've probably read before). Death is stopped completely in a particular country, and it really makes one re-evaluate immortality.

Would you recommend? I would highly recommend. The storyline and the writing style are unique and very interesting and thought-provoking.

I will also be reading The Immortalists for the monthly challenge. I'm picking it up from the library tonight.

[Milena]

Title: The Bright Hour: A Memoir of Living and Dying
Author: Nina Riggs
Is death/grief a difficult topic to read about? Do you think the author of your chosen book handled the topic well? Why or why not? Death is a difficult topic to read about, especially when it's a young person with young children. But I have been fascinated by these kinds of books lately, memoirs of people that are dying. Maybe because I am getting older, and hoping I can learn something from them.
Would you recommend? Not really. When Breath Becomes Air was so much better. They were promoted together a lot.

[Denise]

Title: The Graveyard Book
Author: Neil Gaiman
Is death/grief a difficult topic to read about? Do you think the author of your chosen book handled the topic well? Why or why not?
I think death/grief can be very difficult to read about, depending on how it's done. For this book... Gaiman almost made death light-hearted, and I don't know if he did that on purpose. I like Gaiman normally, but I didn't really like this book very much. I think it's more for kids.
Would you recommend? Not for this prompt, no.

[Megan]

Title: The Hangman
Author: Louise Penny
Is death/grief a difficult topic to read about? Do you think the author of your chosen book handled the topic well? Why or why not? Yes, I think that death/grief can be difficult to read about, even though I read a lot of murder mysteries. This book falls under that genre, but death/grief are part of the motive and central to the plot. I feel that the author does an excellent job of handling the topic, which is true of every book in this series. While the motive does not excuse the crime, the reader can easily understand what drove the act.
Would you recommend? Absolutely! Louise Penny is one of my favorite authors and I frequently recommend her to friends who haven't read her yet and are looking for a good read. While this book is part of the Gamache/Three Pines series, it can be read as a stand-alone and is a good option for someone interested in testing out the series since it's less than 100 pages. It was written for the ABC Life Literacy Canada program to raise awareness about literacy issues. The writing is intended to appeal to adults or older teens who are struggling to read, as well as busy people who don't have a ton of free time to devote to reading.

[Angie]

I just realized that I didn't post my read for November. Sorry for the late hour.

Title: The Immortalists
Author: Chloe Benjamin
Is death/grief a difficult topic to read about? Do you think the author of your chosen book handled the topic well? Why or why not? Death and grief can be difficult to read about. When it is handled well, with compassion, then there should be empathy which leads to tears and feelings of sadness. If it is handled poorly it can possibly lead to fear. I am not sure that Ms. Benjamin was only handling the topic of death; I think she was grappling with the topic of destiny and a person's impact on it.
Would you recommend? The premise was interesting enough that I would recommend as an "ok" book. I found the characters unlikable/selfish. But the question posed was intriguing - is there such a thing as destiny or is it more likely that if we hear our future we live self-fulfilling prophecies?