When Laura Ellen Scott emailed me about Death Wishing, she mentioned she’d gotten my name from Steve Himmer, author of The Bee Loud Glade, which, as many of you know, I adored. How could I resist that connection?
About the Book:
There’s no denying the world is getting strange. An odd phenomenon has sprung up: if people voice a wish just before they die, that wish might come true. So far, this “death wishing” has eliminated cancer and done away with housecats, among other things. Some people are terrified, some see in it a sign, and others are busy concocting schemes to gain from the situation — some harmless, but others not.
In the middle of all this, Victor Swaim is trying to just exist. He moved to New Orleans to recover from his divorce and is happy enough staffing his son’s vintage clothing shop, dabbling in cape and corset design, and trying half-heartedly to win over his young and lovely neighbor, Pebbles. But Victor cannot avoid becoming tangled up in the strangeness, especially when its darker side gets a little too close to home.
(A note on the cover: Each element becomes explained as you read the novel, which I loved!)
My Thoughts:
This premise of certain people being able to change the world with a death-bed wish strikes me as something Jose Saramago would undertake: a bizarre situation, just a twist on our own reality (a plague of blindness, perhaps, or the sudden cessation of death), the effect of which the novel then explores. I love those sorts of books and so was thrilled to discover Death Wishing was one such story. Of course, Saramago and Scott go about the fleshing out of their tales very differently!
Victor is an extremely distinctive and enjoyable narrator with a great, unique voice. He comes alive through Scott’s writing, a complex mixture of goodness and hopelessness and humor that makes him the sort of person you could imagine having a beer with. The book’s other characters come to life through Victor’s eyes, populating the novel with very diverse and realistic people. Scott is masterful in her treatment of interpersonal relationships, deftly capturing tensions, emotions, and dynamics with words.
Scott has a delightful way with language. Victor’s narration is snappy and precise, the dialogue smart but totally believable. There were moments I found myself grinning over a particular phrase, and more than once I backtracked just to reread a sentence I’d especially enjoyed. The book’s subject is rather serious, yet without lightening her subject matter, Scott infuses the novel with bits of humor, woven into Victor’s own personal way of seeing the world. I enjoyed her writing immensely.
Scott did a fantastic job of evoking a weird, almost unreal atmosphere in her New Orleans, which served well as a backdrop for a story both inventive and intriguing. I have never been to New Orleans, but Scott made it come alive for me, a skill I appreciate. Some books create a very distinct mental picture for me, and Death Wishing did that well. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this one!
Those are my thoughts. Check out Death Wishing by Laura Ellen Scott on Goodreads or LibraryThing! If I’ve missed your review, please let me know and I’ll add a link.
Has this review piqued your interest? Lucky you — you have a chance to win a copy of your own!
Giveaway: Win a copy of Death Wishing by Laura Ellen Scott!
The giveaway is now closed. Thanks to all who entered, and congratulations to the winners!
I love it when I can experience a place I’ve never been through a story. I also like it when stories thoroughly evoke a place I have been as it fills me with me with warm memories. I suppose when you get right down to it, I just love evocative settings.
I love evocative settings as well! They really add to pretty much any book, I think. Though the atmosphere of this one isn’t exactly warm, it’s definitely strong.
This does sound like a very intriguing read, and one that is just off-beat enough to be totally engrossing! I am so glad that you loved it, and I am adding it to your list. I also bought a copy of Bee Loud Glade after reading your review a few months ago, and am hoping to read it soon! Great review today!
I hope you enjoy this one, and I hope you love the Bee-Loud Glade!! I can’t wait to hear what you think of both! I loved that the authors know one another, seeing as I really enjoyed both of their books.
That sounds intriguing. I never read anything by Saramago, or Scott before!
They’re very different! Pretty much only the style of the idea is similar, though (at least to me) strikingly so. I’d recommend both 🙂
Oh wow, this sounds absolutely fantastic, I love the premise! A very appealing idea and yet scary too.
It definitely gives you lots to think about! I thought it was extremely well done — the premise was cleverly worked out, and it was very enjoyable to watch it unfold.
This sounds like a really creative and unique story. Great review!
Thank you. Definitely creative and unique — good words!
Sounds like a wonderful read. I am completely charmed and intrigued by the cover …. so curious about the significance of the items! Love the way you’ve described the writing and dialogue as well… to the TBR!
I love it when the cover somehow ties into the book! Either that, or a book has a really clever title. I hope you enjoy Death Wishing whenever it makes it to the top of your TBR!
New Orleans settings intrigue me for some reason, and I love the concept here.
I’m usually not drawn to New Orleans settings for whatever reason, but in this one, it worked for me. New Orleans just seemed like the right place for this story to happen, somehow. It definitely worked well!
It does sound Saramago-esque, doesn’t it? I am in just for that let alone the fact that it’s set in an awesome city. Top notch!
I can totally imagine Saramago writing on the same topic! His novel would be completely different, but I think both would be excellent.
This sounds really intriguing. Gosh, I hope I win!!!
Good luck! I really enjoyed this one. Very clever premise and interesting execution.
What an interesting concept.
Shelleyrae @ Book’d Out
It’s very interesting, and what’s better, it was well executed!