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Books that describe death

panchov

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Nov 4, 2007
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Hi everyone - I'm taking a writing class and just did a piece where I was describing someone dying, but I got taken to task because I "didn't look directly at it." The teacher told me to read some other writers that have described people dying to see how they do it. Can anyone think of anything? I would be so grateful if you offer any help. Thanks!
 
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The most famous example has to be Tolstoy's "The Death of Ivan Ilych."

Then there's the infamous "Tralala" chapter in Selby's "Last Exit to Brooklyn."

Tolstoy's is a bit heavy handed and might bore you, but Selby's will traumatize you.
 
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I'll check it out, thanks. I starting to think not many books do actually describe the moment of someones death. Maybe there's a reason why.
 
Cup of Gold by John Steinbeck describes the death of the pirate Sir Henry Morgan. It is from his point of view- a deathbed hallucination, you can find it right at the end of the final chapter.

To a God Unknown, also by Steinbeck, has the main character kill himself as a sacrifice to bring rain. Also describes his state of mind while he is passing.

And for that matter, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:)
 
Also, Sons and Lovers, D. H. Lawrence, has a couple of death scenes- one of the children and the evil possessive mom who gets an overdose of morphine.

The novella Bicentennial Man I think focuses on the main character "decaying" and dying like a human.

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov starts with a character being decapitated by a tram car and follows his last thoughts.

If I remember correctly, Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman has a description of Feynman's wife and her last hours. I don't know if you are interested in non-fiction.

Catch 22 by Joseph Heller.

All Quiet on the Western Front. Other war books, probably.

If you are desperate, newage books on Near-Death Experiences. Vampire novels where people "die" and are reborn as bloodsuckers.

I can't say how many books as a percentage describe the exact moment of death. It may depend on the point of view you are looking for. Is it the guy dying or another observer? Maybe it also depends on the genre you are reading. Maybe some authors like it better than others (Steinbeck now comes to mind, actually).
 
The Tolstoy passage is harrowing and inspirational at the same time, a really astonishing description of death as simultaneously the harshest and the kindest thing in the universe. Essential reading for all atheists, sooner or later.
 
The Oxford Book of Death (edited by D J Enright) is a wonderful anthology of fact and fiction, prose and verse on the subject. It'll be out of print now but you might be able to get a second-hand copy through Amazon.
 
The title of Faulkner's As I Lay Dying says it all.
 
Just mentioned in another thread on this forum: Connie Willis' Passage has a creative description of death.
 
Just been reading Vassily Grossmann's amazing WWII novel 'Life and Fate'

The gas chamber scene is...well, pretty much unbearable. And as believable a description of the experience of dying as I've come across so far.
 
How come nobody mentioned anything by Terry Pratchett yet? Countless descriptions of the old fellow in there, and the best ones I've read so far. (Also, and only somewhat less frequently, descriptions of people dying)
 
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