Mrs Death Misses Death
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- Create Date：2022-04-04 09:51:36
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Salena Godden
- ISBN：1838851194
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Summary
Mrs Death tells her intoxicating story in this life-affirming fire-starter of a novel。
Mrs Death has had enough。 She is exhausted from spending eternity doing her job and now she seeks someone to unburden her conscience to。 Wolf Willeford， a troubled young writer， is well acquainted with death， but until now hadn’t met Death in person – a black， working-class woman who shape-shifts and does her work unseen。
Enthralled by her stories， Wolf becomes Mrs Death’s scribe， and begins to write her memoirs。 Using their desk as a vessel and conduit， Wolf travels across time and place with Mrs Death to witness deaths of past and present and discuss what the future holds for humanity。 As the two reflect on the losses they have experienced – or， in the case of Mrs Death， facilitated – their friendship grows into a surprising affirmation of hope， resilience and love。 All the while， despite her world-weariness， Death must continue to hold humans’ fates in her hands， appearing in our lives when we least expect her 。 。 。
Mrs Death has had enough。 She is exhausted from spending eternity doing her job and now she seeks someone to unburden her conscience to。 Wolf Willeford， a troubled young writer， is well acquainted with death， but until now hadn’t met Death in person – a black， working-class woman who shape-shifts and does her work unseen。
Enthralled by her stories， Wolf becomes Mrs Death’s scribe， and begins to write her memoirs。 Using their desk as a vessel and conduit， Wolf travels across time and place with Mrs Death to witness deaths of past and present and discuss what the future holds for humanity。 As the two reflect on the losses they have experienced – or， in the case of Mrs Death， facilitated – their friendship grows into a surprising affirmation of hope， resilience and love。 All the while， despite her world-weariness， Death must continue to hold humans’ fates in her hands， appearing in our lives when we least expect her 。 。 。
Reviews
procrastinatingpages
，
I can wholeheartedly say I’ve never read a book like this before。The writing is so beautifully lyrical you just can’t help but to feel yourself being enveloped in the story of Wolf and Mrs Death。I still don’t know if I quite understood everything this book worked so hard to convey， but I can say that I appreciated every single word of this book and will be thinking about it for a long time。
Sabrina
，
I really liked some of the writing， particularly Wolf's early introduction and rambling around London。 But overall this was。。。corny。 I really liked some of the writing， particularly Wolf's early introduction and rambling around London。 But overall this was。。。corny。 。。。more
Haripriya C
，
This will stay with me forever。
Sinead
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I just couldn't get into this， the style of writing wasn't for me。 I just couldn't get into this， the style of writing wasn't for me。 。。。more
Felicity
，
Wow！ A rollercoaster ride of a book， a mix of poetry and prose， coming out of the minds of Wolf， the narrator， and Mrs Death herself - and sometimes the one is indistinguishable from the other。 This really is writing for the 21st century。 As a funeral celebrant， though， I am comfortable with exploring ideas around death， others may find it harder going。 But every page was full of ideas， and Godden's politics and feminism shine through。 Wow！ A rollercoaster ride of a book， a mix of poetry and prose， coming out of the minds of Wolf， the narrator， and Mrs Death herself - and sometimes the one is indistinguishable from the other。 This really is writing for the 21st century。 As a funeral celebrant， though， I am comfortable with exploring ideas around death， others may find it harder going。 But every page was full of ideas， and Godden's politics and feminism shine through。 。。。more
Anna
，
If i had known this was so poetic， I would not have picked it up。 Poetry and I do not get along and this book has， sadly， not changed it。 A more direct prose would have made me give this book 5 stars， because I found the message of the book captivating。 Degradation of human values told in a very witty， almost laid-back way， but yet touching a nerve。 I am ultimately glad I read it， but it is a shame that the style was not for me: made me lose focus too many times。
Robyn
，
The first half of the book was great， but it kinda lost me in the second half。
Laura
，
2。5
Lara
，
Audiobook in a day I loved this it was interesting， poignant and life affirming。 I just got swept away with the characters and kept listening。
Corrine Adams
，
hi-concept， experimental， with a strong and compelling premise -- death takes form as a working-class black woman。 however， i did not enjoy the execution。 with different forms of poetry， diaries， stream of consciousness， snippets， fragments， so many lines， so many words; stylistically， it was all very tedious。 i also found the subject matter very hard to read。 while the book warns in the beginning that it is not trying to create any fear and anxiety about death， neither does it handle to topic w hi-concept， experimental， with a strong and compelling premise -- death takes form as a working-class black woman。 however， i did not enjoy the execution。 with different forms of poetry， diaries， stream of consciousness， snippets， fragments， so many lines， so many words; stylistically， it was all very tedious。 i also found the subject matter very hard to read。 while the book warns in the beginning that it is not trying to create any fear and anxiety about death， neither does it handle to topic with any kind of sensitivity， or even poetry， in my opinion。 there are literally pages just listing all the random， varied ways you could possibly die。 and in other parts， it's so earnest as to be eye-roll inducingan absolute mess。 a prolonged advisement to live， laugh， love。 。。。more
Abi Robins
，
This was such an interesting book， I really liked how the poetry and prose was mixed。 I think that I need to reread it though。 I could tell that there was a really interesting message underneath， and some of that even came to the surface for me， but quite a lot remained submerged。 I could see through the water， but the distortion meant I didn't quite understand。 Fingers crossed on a reread I can get some more out of these words。I'm also privileged that at the moment the only deaths I have experi This was such an interesting book， I really liked how the poetry and prose was mixed。 I think that I need to reread it though。 I could tell that there was a really interesting message underneath， and some of that even came to the surface for me， but quite a lot remained submerged。 I could see through the water， but the distortion meant I didn't quite understand。 Fingers crossed on a reread I can get some more out of these words。I'm also privileged that at the moment the only deaths I have experienced have been of pets。 Heart breaking， but not quite the same （I imagine）。 That is likely to change soon， and so I think this could be something for me to reread in that instance。 To add a name to the list。 。。。more
Charlie
，
Really good but just went on too long。
Klára
，
It had it’s moments， but that was it。 Just moments。 The text felt like a notebook of ideas， nice wordplay and things that could be contemporary poetry。 These were haphazardly put together。 The arguments were hollow。 It made me angry at points at how badly executed some ideas were。 It was just not a book for me。 Also， in my language （that has grammatical gender）， death is female。 I grew up with the image of a female death， the book offers so little that even this was an obstacle in me connecting It had it’s moments， but that was it。 Just moments。 The text felt like a notebook of ideas， nice wordplay and things that could be contemporary poetry。 These were haphazardly put together。 The arguments were hollow。 It made me angry at points at how badly executed some ideas were。 It was just not a book for me。 Also， in my language （that has grammatical gender）， death is female。 I grew up with the image of a female death， the book offers so little that even this was an obstacle in me connecting to the book。 。。。more
M
，
dnf’ed。 i don’t usually dnf books but i can’t go on anymore lol
Eve
，
I did not finish this book because I could not force myself through the diabolically bad writing。 I got 50 pages in and I could not handle the droning， repetitiveness of the text。 It is dull and uninspiring， I am angry that I have wasted time and money on such a dreadful book with poor execution。 You can tell the author is a poet and the parts of poetry I did read where quite enjoyable。 The rest was not worth my time。 The premise intrigued me and， having loved the Book Thief which also centers o I did not finish this book because I could not force myself through the diabolically bad writing。 I got 50 pages in and I could not handle the droning， repetitiveness of the text。 It is dull and uninspiring， I am angry that I have wasted time and money on such a dreadful book with poor execution。 You can tell the author is a poet and the parts of poetry I did read where quite enjoyable。 The rest was not worth my time。 The premise intrigued me and， having loved the Book Thief which also centers on the anthropomorphism of death， I thought this book would be a valuable read。 It isn't。 Don't waste your time， go and read a good book， live your life。 Life， live， love the life that is live。 （An example of the utter dross you find in this waste of a space book）。 。。。more
merit
，
3。5/5 this book wasn’t what i expected AT ALL。 honestly it felt like there wasn’t really a plot line and this book confused me but i still loved it in a way。 the writing style is super interesting and unlike anything i’ve ever read before。 i have so many questions though like is mrs death real or was she just someone that wolf imagined？ also what’s going on with wolf？ at times it was very much like “go live your life， you only have one” “life is short” bla bla bla but there were also some passag 3。5/5 this book wasn’t what i expected AT ALL。 honestly it felt like there wasn’t really a plot line and this book confused me but i still loved it in a way。 the writing style is super interesting and unlike anything i’ve ever read before。 i have so many questions though like is mrs death real or was she just someone that wolf imagined？ also what’s going on with wolf？ at times it was very much like “go live your life， you only have one” “life is short” bla bla bla but there were also some passages that really spoke to me and that really touched me。 definitely a book that i’ll think about from time to time 。。。more
Nicola Scott
，
I don’t really know what to rate this book…it is a mixture of poetry and prose which is a style I have never really read before。 There is LOTS of symbolism and metaphors that are revisited throughout the book， some of which are very clever but some might find it a bit much。 It is very interesting and novel in that death is a an older， woman character， something completely different from the the male， grim reaper that we always associate death with。 I liked the way the book explores several theme I don’t really know what to rate this book…it is a mixture of poetry and prose which is a style I have never really read before。 There is LOTS of symbolism and metaphors that are revisited throughout the book， some of which are very clever but some might find it a bit much。 It is very interesting and novel in that death is a an older， woman character， something completely different from the the male， grim reaper that we always associate death with。 I liked the way the book explores several themes of death and references real life events such as well known murder cases over the years。 Interesting， clever， intriguing but a bit weird too 😅 will give it a 3。5 ⭐️ but 🤷♀️🤷♀️🤷♀️ 。。。more
Lindsey
，
Not what I thought this was going to be at all。 Hard to continue with at times， not a fan of the repetition in this book。 It has no real story as such it doesn’t follow any sort of plan just rambles on。 There is some parts I liked and connected with but based on what I thought I was going to read I’m disappointed
India （IndiaReadsALot）
，
DNF @ 32%This was a book that I had been hyped for so long so I couldn't wait to get round to it。 I loved the premise of exploring and learning about Death as a person， not just this vague entity。Unfortunately， I didn't love it。 This is purely down to the writing style。 This style is a mixture between poetry and prose。 I am not an avid poetry reader personally but I loved the poems。 Where I struggled was the blending between poetry and prose。 When the book focused on a strict prose section or po DNF @ 32%This was a book that I had been hyped for so long so I couldn't wait to get round to it。 I loved the premise of exploring and learning about Death as a person， not just this vague entity。Unfortunately， I didn't love it。 This is purely down to the writing style。 This style is a mixture between poetry and prose。 I am not an avid poetry reader personally but I loved the poems。 Where I struggled was the blending between poetry and prose。 When the book focused on a strict prose section or poetry section I really enjoyed it。 It's when the two mediums started blending together that I just didn't enjoy it。 I found certain elements of the book to just say a lot of things but not really get anywhere。 。。。more
TheEuphoricZat
，
I really loved reading this book。 I thought it was a great study on death， grief and the power of invisibility & insignificance。We follow Mrs Death who is a simple older Black woman who is usually overlooked and not attributed to anything of significance。 Her job is exhausting and people obvious lack of appreciation for all she does to maintain balance has exhausted her and she needs someone to unburden her conscience to。This is how we meet Wolf who is a struggling aspiring writer who believes t I really loved reading this book。 I thought it was a great study on death， grief and the power of invisibility & insignificance。We follow Mrs Death who is a simple older Black woman who is usually overlooked and not attributed to anything of significance。 Her job is exhausting and people obvious lack of appreciation for all she does to maintain balance has exhausted her and she needs someone to unburden her conscience to。This is how we meet Wolf who is a struggling aspiring writer who believes that a new desk will solve all their problems （as Wolf Willeford was not gendered， I will use she/her identifies in this review）。 When Wolf was a child， she had faced death （had seen Mrs Death） when the building she and her mother caught on fire due to shitty construction and lack of proper fire maintenance structures。 So upon seeing and interacting with Mrs Death， Wolf begins by questioning and getting to know the parameters of death and if Mrs Death have ever missed death。I thought this book was a great study on time， how position has humans in time， the functionality and importance of death not just for population control but for purpose。 Most people thrive to leave a make in time because of death。 If we were to live forever without worrying about dying or death， no one will do anything， no one will thrive for anything。I loved the way invisibility was used as a cloak for death and the characterization of Death as a middle age Black woman just further highlights the current gap in equality。 They unseen， the silenced， the abandoned， the unthought-of， we don't think or appreciate death until it is staring us in the face。This quote just fully encapsulate the importance of death。Death。 To imagine your own death is to be living。 To be friends， to be friendly with knowledge， the knowing that death will come。 This should make you try harder to be living， to be fully alive and lively。 Surely you know you are all dying？ You know - you all know - that you're going to die。 This should make you all want to be good， to be better。 。。。more
Leanne
，
“Living is not as easy as they all make it seem。 It is not as simple as breathe in and breathe out。 It is not as simple as sleep， eat， work， repeat， sleep， eat， work， repeat。 It is not as easy as they all make it look。 You made it to today。 You made it this far， well done you， and thank you。 Thank you。 Thank yourself。 Thank you。”Not what I expected at all but Wow！！ 。。 Thought provoking， brilliant， moving， impactful and beautiful！Loved it！
Katherine
，
Am I too dumb to get this or is it just bizarre？
Michael Reffold
，
Really suffers from “poet writes first novel” syndrome （I can sympathise as a poet trying to finish his first novel…） - tries for quirky and stylistically unique， lands on annoying and repetitive with not much to say。
cass
，
3。5
Nad
，
what did i just read
Sarah
，
This book made me cry a lot。 Five days before I started reading this， I lost my grandmother。 I bought this the day after she died， knowing that I needed this book。 I've been eyeing it up for a while， to be fair， thinking that the premise sounded interesting。 But I think I saved reading it for the right time， as this hit me emotionally。 The words took on an extra layer of meaning with the grief I was feeling （and am still feeling as I write this）。 This is a difficult book to describe。 The plot fo This book made me cry a lot。 Five days before I started reading this， I lost my grandmother。 I bought this the day after she died， knowing that I needed this book。 I've been eyeing it up for a while， to be fair， thinking that the premise sounded interesting。 But I think I saved reading it for the right time， as this hit me emotionally。 The words took on an extra layer of meaning with the grief I was feeling （and am still feeling as I write this）。 This is a difficult book to describe。 The plot follows Wolf who is writing the memoirs of death。 As a child， Wolf had a close call with death， as the building they lived in with their mother burnt down。 This has affected them deeply， as their mother perished in the fire and they didn’t， and ever since they have been somewhat obsessed with Death。 In this book， Death is an older black woman。 Wolf one day acquires a desk which belongs to Death， and so is able to communicate with her and decides to write her memoirs。 [Note: as the character describes themselves as bigender at one point， I am using they/them pronouns。]The book is told in an experimental style， with it being part poetry and part prose。 The style is distinctly literary， so if this is not your thing then you might want to avoid this， as I know the style won't be for everyone。 The plot initially seems to be quite nonsensical after the first section。 It meanders and goes off on tangents。 It doesn't have a concrete ending; in fact， it's rather open-ended。 You never quite know if Mrs Death is real or not。 You never quite trust the narrator， Wolf。 It's an interesting exploration of the meaning of life and death， and what it is to be alive， to live。 What I loved most about this is the many， many quotes which meant something to me as I was reading this。 So I am going to share a few of the ones that meant the most。"There is no unknowing the the memory that a certain date and time triggers。。。"The eleventh of March will always be that date for me now。 "To grow old is a great gift; it is the best of gifts。"It truly is。 I want to get old。 I want to live。 I want to experience the world as much as possible before it's my time to go， and I hope that means I can grow old。"And everyone that made you feel beautiful and young is going， one by one and there is nothing you can do about it。"We all saw my grandma as an old lady， but there's a picture of her when she was young that I like to look at， to remember that she was young once。 But she was still beautiful even when she was old。 Age doesn't make you ugly。 "we don't tell peoplewhat they mean to uswe don't sayI LOVE YOUuntil it is too lateand they are dead"Tell them that you love them。 Tell them what they mean to you。 Tell them before it is too late。 Because you never know what the next day brings。There are a couple of things that annoyed me， but they were only niggles， and for the most part I did enjoy reading this。 There was one line about suicide that made me annoyed， about how suicide before 40 is like murdering a stranger， and yeah no， that's not a great take at all。 I was ready to bump this down a star for that line， but with how much I enjoyed the rest of the book I kept the rating at five stars。 I also didn't quite understand the rabbit references。 Death is a rabbit but how？ Because it keeps vanishing？ That part went over my head， I'm afraid。 Perhaps this book was a bit too clever for me in parts。 Perhaps it's deliberately ambiguous at times。 Either way， the things I didn't like were not enough to spoil my enjoyment of the book as a whole。Basically， I loved this book。 I didn't mind the poetry （and I'm really not a poetry person）。 I didn't mind the repetition。 I didn't mind the slightly odd plot， and open ending。 If you don't mind those things， this might be the book for you。 。。。more
Céline
，
I didn’t at all enjoy reading this thought-dump。
Amanda
，
I need to come back and finish this！ This book is beautiful and brutal。 I loved it but also it hurt to read。 I am taking a break until I am in a more supported place。
Erin
，
I can't help but compare this to 'Bellman & Black' by Diane Setterfield， which is one of the most formidable works of fiction I've had the pleasure of discovering。I'm not sure this book couldn't have done with going through a few more edits， maybe a lot more。 Once I had clocked the paragraph style， I just got so tired of reading the same paragraph structure over and over， where some ginormous abstraction is stated， then it's repeated in different words， then the words used are repeated over and I can't help but compare this to 'Bellman & Black' by Diane Setterfield， which is one of the most formidable works of fiction I've had the pleasure of discovering。I'm not sure this book couldn't have done with going through a few more edits， maybe a lot more。 Once I had clocked the paragraph style， I just got so tired of reading the same paragraph structure over and over， where some ginormous abstraction is stated， then it's repeated in different words， then the words used are repeated over and over， building up the same thought （often an intangible， formless conceit） from a molehill to a mountain。 Concision？ Not here。 Brevity？ Nope。 Do you want a novel where things happen？ Look elsewhere。 This is just massively abstracted， repetitive paragraphs about， really， nothing at all。 It came to the point where I was skimming and skipping huge chunks of text; you could simply read the first line of each paragraph and not miss anything。 Take this， for example: 'Your ancestors survived so much， so you could survive so much。 So say thank you， thank you， thank you， thank you。 Look at yourself and recognise that you are here and now because they were there and then。 Thank you。 Living is not as easy as they all make it seem。 It is not as simple and breathe in and breathe out。 It is not as simple as sleep， eat， work， repeat， sleep， eat， work， repeat。 It is not as easy as they all make it look。 You made it to today。 You made it this far， well done you， and thank you。 Thank yourself。 Thank you。'And does the poetry bring anything to the book？ Can you call it poetry？ Does it work as hard as poetry actually should work， to be published？I can't help feeling that this is just sloppy writing， with a good title， good cover art， and its rights optioned by Idris Elba。 The fact that this is pointed out in the author's bio should have signalled to me that this is mostly puff and hype; if the writing can't speak for itself but the author&publisher need to TELL THE READER THAT A CELEBRITY HAS BOUGHT THE TV AND FILM RIGHTS， then I feel hugely disappointed。 Good writing should be able to hold water。 I should be able to make my own endorsements of it after reading。 。。。more
Sandra
，
'The one is she。 And only she who is invisible can do the work of Death。 And there is no human more invisible， more readily talked over， ignored， betrayed and easy to walk past than a woman; than a poor old black woman。。。' 'The one is she。 And only she who is invisible can do the work of Death。 And there is no human more invisible， more readily talked over， ignored， betrayed and easy to walk past than a woman; than a poor old black woman。。。' 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Mrs Death Misses Death
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Mrs Death Misses Death&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft