Death's Life by B. Latif
Title: Death's Life
Author: B. Latif
Published: 8/14/2019
Publisher: Self
Pages: 222
Genre: Folklore
Review: ebook
Buy Link: Amazon
During centuries of collecting souls, Death spent her time making observations and theorizing about humans. What makes them who they are? How do they react and interact with one another? What are their religious beliefs? Above all, what must it be like to be human and have feelings and experience emotions?
When she meets Aisha, a young girl who truly believes in Death and above all else, Allah, Death’s life is destined to changed. Fascinated by her, Death follows Aisha’s life, through its many ups and downs, which ends in her untimely death. Throughout her ordeals, she clings steadfastly to her beliefs, despite her husband’s bullying ways, including trying to sell both his wife and their baby daughter.
When Death comes to take her soul, finding Aisha sick, weak, and homeless on the street, Aisha asks her to take and raise her unnamed baby daughter, as if she were her own and to keep her safe from humankind.
Entrusted with the child’s life and well-being, Death embarks on her quest. Naming her Rose, she raises her as if she were her mother in a castle she creates in the middle of the Brazilian Rainforest. All goes well until the untainted Rose reaches the age of nineteen and happens upon Henry one day in the forest.
After several chance encounters, the two fall in love, and inevitably Henry, the son of the Brazilian president, invites Rose to see civilization and all it has to offer. Reluctantly, Death agrees to let her go, but is unable to accompany her as she is invisible to all but those who are about to die and Rose, who sees her as a perpetually beautiful woman in her thirties.
Death and Rose soon become estranged as Rose begins to learn about a world that has been kept from her for so many years, questions the version of reality that Death has taught her. Isolated from her adopted daughter, Death becomes bitter towards Henry, despite him treating Rose as if she were a princess. She and Rose remain apart until a few years after Henry’s demise when Death seeks her out once more and is shocked by what she finds. Will Death be able to rekindle her relationship, or has she left it too late?
It took me a while to get into the story, but overall it was a good read.
This author has a good way with words, and the mother/daughter relationship is done so well within this book. You will get the feels.
We are introduced to Death who has no name, can change into whatever she needs too, to take souls. After meeting a young girl who believes in her Death questions almost everything about Humans. She sees this young girl who is now a woman later on in life and takes on her child to raise her. Death does not know how to, yet learns in her own way and we follow what she does. Rose is young and naive, I almost felt as though she was Rapuntzle at times. With learning everything around her and what to call them. When another person enters Rose's life Death is not happy, she knows eventually she will have to let her go. She just prays she does not fall into sin because Rose is so pure. Yet, what Death will deal with is heartbreaking.
Everything comes around full circle and we will see this at the end. I do not want to give any more away so grab your copy.
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