A powerful story of human resilience

 

5 stars

What a cracking, emotionally weighty novel. I devoured this raw wound of a tale as I was anxious to see how it would end. I was not disappointed as it has left quite a mark on me.

In The Death of Us we are introduced to Isabel and Edward, who were once married to each other. Their story unfolds in phases in this novel narrated as a one-sided conversation from Isabel to the man destroyed their happy existence when he invaded their home years earlier. We learn of Isabel and Edward's early lives, when they met, and hopscotch through their life together up until the night they encounter the South London Invader in their home. From there it is a painful story of the emotional wounds they must cope with and how it leads to the end of their marriage. Tough reading but it felt so honest as the after effects of such a traumatic event linger far longer than the one might wish.

What I enjoyed most was the way their lives, so closely entwined, break apart but still retain a distant closeness as Edward goes on to remarry. The life they envisioned did not not come to pass but what they gained, in the relationships with other survivors of the South London Invader and the police investigator, added a different kind of richness to their lives. Raw and difficult to process, at time, but slowly hope brings positive change.

This is a powerful story of suffering and redemption, too. I haven't read anything quite like it in a while and feel changed by its message of human resilience.