In this emotionally gripping, genre-defying novella from Sarah Pinborough, a woman sits at her father's bedside, watching the clock tick away the last hours of his life. Her brothers and sisters--she is the middle child of five--have all turned up over the past week to pay their last respects. Each is traumatized in his or her own way, and the bonds that unite them to each other are fragile--as fragile perhaps as the old man's health.
With her siblings all gone, back to their self-obsessed lives, she is now alone with the faltering wreck of her father's cancer-ridden body. It is always at times like this when it--the dark and nameless, the impossible, presence that lingers along the fringes of the dark fields beyond the house--comes calling.
As the clock ticks away in the darkness, she can only wait for it to find her, a reunion she both dreads and aches for...
Industry Reviews
A beautiful story, honestly told * Neil Gaiman *
The Language of Dying will take your breath away, and send shivers up your spine, as it did mine at times. But only after it's broken your heart * Tor.com *
This is writing in another league: honest, courageous, startling and absolutely lucid * Graham Joyce *
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 * The Independent *
The contrast of beauty and despair is one that makes this book powerful and unforgettable * Fantasy-Faction *
This is scary, and terrifying, miserable and horrifying, and yet it sucks you in from the very first page through to the last, and will stick in your mind for a long time after you've closed the book * British Fantasy Society *
A wonderful novella, The Language of Dying is a breathtakingly honest portrayal of real people going through tough times * The Big Issue *
One of the best books I've read in a long time. It's a subtle, beautifully written, harrowing story that gets under your skin and stays with you long after you turn the final page. Highly recommended * Starburst *
A beautiful, beautiful book * Bibliosanctum *
Pinborough demonstrates the ability to skewer relationships and emotions with precise phrases * Scifibulletin *
Touches my heart and soul in a way that is almost indescribable . . . I really cannot recommend this highly enough * LizLovesBooks *
Poetic, powerful and beautiful . . . It moved me deeply * upcoming4.me *
Prove[s] that sometimes books are exactly what you need and can show you truths you think no one else quite understands apart from you. I can't recommend it enough, without question my book of the year * Savidge Reads *
This contemplative, dreamy book takes the sweet, sordid melancholy of a woman's last days with her father, and grazes it with moonlight * SkyLightRain *
Devastatingly beautiful but strangely reassuring . . . it's beautifully written, moving and important. Sarah Pinborough has created something truly special * The Tattooed Book *
Something very special . . . a stand out read - one that I know will stick with me for many years to come * FictionFascination *
Pinborough's ability to write so beautifully means you cannot help but read on * Chorley Guardian *
Honestly, I'm completely blown away by The Language of Dying * Elitist Book Reviews *
Dark and compelling * Sunday Mercury *
The Language of Dying is hard to read at times because it forces us to analyse how we've reacted when going through the grieving process, and dredges up our own past hurts, but it should be commended for doing so * Horror Drive-In *
Effective and subtly affecting, this is a beautiful, sometimes harrowing story that deals with the most devastating of life's experiences in a delicate and thoughtful manner * The Eloquent Page *
Captures the haunting and mundane vigil as a loved one nears 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 *
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 id fast asleep. The darkness of the storyteller's inner world echoes on every page * Rob LeFebvre, Shelf Awareness *
