"The Language Of Dying" By Sarah Pinborough - Deeply Touching

Meera Srikant

17 July 2009, 12:56

I just couldn’t stop reading the book. From the word go, the author manages to stir emotions. By keeping it short and tight, she ensures that the reader is gripped by the unfolding tale.

The story itself is short and simple – a dying father, and the children gathering around. One daughter has been caring for him ever since he realised he was dying. The narration is in first person, from her perspective, as is she is talking to her father who is confined to his bed and fast sinking. This right away establishes the bonding between the two. Her father through her eyes – her love for him and the kind of person he was – makes you realise her pain at his imminent death. Her longing to see the real him just once before he sinks forever runs like an undercurrent, as if by talking to him, she can rouse him from the slumber.

Into this scenario enter her sister, then her younger twin brothers, and finally her older brother. The narrator manages to show us glimpses of all their lives, and their personalities, and they leave a mark. The youngest twin, especially, brought tears to my eyes as she shows his ability to care and understand, despite his own problems with drugs. Her older brother and the other twin leave a bad after-taste. Her sister, you fluctuate between liking and disliking, just as the narrator does.

The narrator’s own life story comes in crisp chapters, leaving us with a feeling of deep sympathy for her situation. At around this time, she also reveals her longing to see a creature of her imagination that she had seen when she was ten, on a traumatic night when her mother had left them. A magnificent horse, it gives her a feeling of security and belonging. She feels its presence again, but is unable to respond, as her father still needs her.

The end, though not stunning, and almost predictable, is a wonderful denouement of her inner conflict and the need for flight to freedom.

The book, makes for a fantastic quick read, yet is still not one that can be forgotten easily because of the author’s sensitive handling of emotions, conflicts and relationships.

Comment

  1. Thank you! x

    — sarah pinborough · Jul 18, 07:50 · #

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