The Language of Dying

by Sarah Pinborough

Overview

From the Number One bestselling author of BEHIND HER EYES comes a beautiful, harrowing, heartbreaking story, filled with exquisite truths.

'A beautiful story, honestly told' Neil Gaiman

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 broken, their bonds fragile - have been there for the past week, but now she is alone.

And that's when it always comes.

The clock ticks, the darkness beckons.

If it comes at all.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781782067559
Publisher:	Quercus Publishing
Publication date:	12/05/2013
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Sarah Pinborough is the Number One bestselling author of Behind Her Eyes, as well as two dozen adult and YA novels. Her gothic thrillers Mayhem and Murder, and the critically acclaimed novella The Language of Dying, are published by Jo Fletcher Books. She is also a screenwriter who has written for the BBC and has several original television projects in development.

You can follow her on Twitter @sarahpinborough

Editorial Reviews

"a deeply personal and heartfelt novella"—Bookreporter

"A beautifully written and powerful story about death and the inescapable bonds of family."—Books, Bones, and Buffy

"This is a heartbreaking story and at times very hard to read. But it is well written and moving. This is a quick read but one that you will think of for a long time."—J Bronder Book Reviews

"Pinborough's character dialogue rings with an authenticity that makes the story almost cinematic in its realism . . . the underlying plot is a red-hot wire of conflict as the interactions between characters build to a crescendo of tension and emotions. Anyone who has dealt with the death of a loved one and the false interactions that come with it, will know exactly how the narrator feels as she struggles with feelings of resentment and abandonment."—New York Journal of Books

"The Language of Dying is a beautifully crafted, resonant novella, perfectly capturing the horror of watching a person waste away and the guilt of wishing they would hurry up and die. The potentially supernatural element is well-incorporated and leaves the reader in suspense, hinting at the narrator's mental state and allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions about this peculiar family and the thing that lurks just beyond their house. It's a masterful piece of short fiction, and horror fans would do well to add The Language of Dying to their must-read list."—Fantasy Literature

"beautifully written story that effectively illustrates the power of grief and the indelible mark it leaves on us"—For the Love of Words

"A beautiful story, honestly told."—Neil Gaiman

"Pinborough demonstrates the ability to skewer relationships and emotions with precise phrases."—Sci-Fi Bulletin

"A literary punch to the gut . . . A beautiful novel, short, sharp and told with painful honesty, which I would say is the product of a writer at the very top of her game."—Independent

"Beautifully written for such a difficult subject, the family details are incredible considering the length.. much heavier than one expects from such a slim story and it opened wounds. Well done!"—Bookstalker

"Pinborough's novella captures the haunting and mundane vigil as a loved one near death as well as the complexities of how families deal with this tension . . . Moments of strange fantasy make this meditation on loss both unexpected and meaningful."
—Kirkus Reviews

"I was deeply moved by the interaction of the narrator with her father as she spoke to him about the family, memories, her life, etc. It was touching and sad. I would recommend this book to anyone as it offers a quick yet insightful and layered reading experience."—Mali Reads

"This short novel is dark and candid, full of conflicting emotions: love, fear, anger, joy. The prose is evocative and moody, making The Language of Dying a perfect novel for those nighttime hours at home when everyone else is fast asleep. The darkness of the storyteller's inner world echoes on every page."—Shelf Awareness

"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 BiblioSanctum

From the Publisher

2016-06-21
A young woman sits by her father's bedside, watching as death approaches. The rest of the family also gathers, unsure of how to deal with the impending loss, but she is waiting for something else.…Pinborough's (The Death House, 2015, etc.) novella captures the haunting and mundane vigil as a loved one nears death as well as the complexities of how families deal with this tension. The narrator has been nursing her cancer-ridden father for months, so when the other siblings come home at last, she resents their discomfort and their desire to do their duty and then escape back to the world of the living. Through flashbacks, Pinborough reveals important parts of the family's history: the day their mother left, the day one of the twins began doing drugs, the abusive former marriage of the narrator. But this back story proves to be the book's weakness; it offers little in terms of actual perspective on the characters and instead feels somewhat clichéd. Perhaps this is the point: this family could represent, and does represent, all of us as we deal with death. But at the same time the author has created these pasts for the characters for a reason, and they could have been more unusual. The other weakness is the writing itself: the sentences lack true lyricism, and the use of second-person narration is jarring. The one thing that elevates it is the strange and inexplicable vision that awaits the narrator at the moment of her father's death. She waits to revisit something she has seen before at times of great emotional change, and the meaning of that vision, while ambiguous, is also full of life, violence, and wild beauty. Moments of strange fantasy make this meditation on loss both unexpected and meaningful.

Kirkus Reviews