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Of All the Ways to Die
128 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2009
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9 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 4, 2018
Niskala's book of connected short stories is an exploration of the realms of magic realism that stands tall next to the works of Marquez, only a poet and a Pisces could've written it, highly recommended.
May 7, 2025
Do not read this right before bed time
February 4, 2017
https://joshualoong.wordpress.com/201...
Sometimes the boundary between life and death is more tenuous than it seems. Sickness, addiction, madness; brushes with these aspects of mortality make us realize the true fragility of our lives. Of All The Ways to Die confronts you with that reality: living and dying isn’t being A or being B, it’s a spectrum peppered with struggle and heartbreak.
The novella starts with Urma, a waiter in an unnamed Saskatchewan city, who falls seriously ill from a sub-arachnoid hemorrhage and spends months in the hospital. When she is released, she realizes that her friend’s daughter Eileen, who she had promised to take care of, has gone missing. Another girl missing in a town that seems to lose so many.
So to find her, Urma hosts a potluck. One with all the recently departed people in her life. The spirits of the many loved ones she’s lost to the grand spectrum of death. Her friend Shannon, the mother of Eileen, who struggled with addiction and passed away from a drug overdose. Shannon’s mother, Plains Cree Grandmother Kokum, who outlived her daughter and at her age just let go. Urma’s father, still alive but admitted into an intensive care centre for his dementia. Others attended too, other loved ones and figures from local history and mythology. A potluck of the underworld so that Urma could ask her guests: where can I find Eileen?
Of All The Ways to Die is a remarkable book that makes you confront the meaning of life and death. It is a book about love and compassion, about heartbreak and tragedy, about the struggles of addiction and illness, about the bonds of friendship transcending the grave. A short novella, only 112 pages long, with enchanting, subtle prose that pulls you into Urma’s world on the boundary of death.
I rated the book an 8/10. The book is concise, yet portrays the emotions and themes it is trying to get across in a very elegant way. An incredibly enjoyable book that captures you from the start. I would definitely recommend anyone check out this book before it goes out of print.
I’ll leave you with the following passage that really resonated with me:
After her brain injury… she was slow and shaky, had to take orders twice before she could remember them between the table and the kitchen. No one minded. No one cared, really. Although there was a lot of nervous energy in the place, no one was in a particular hurry. In some ways, Urma’s misfortune brought her closer to the community of unfortunates who came for coffee and often stayed longer. Many shared their stories with her, enjoying Urma’s patience, her non-judgemental ear. After the brain injury, Urma was even more like the people who dropped in after the methadone clinic, even more understanding of the weakness of the flesh, the spectre of death.
Sometimes the boundary between life and death is more tenuous than it seems. Sickness, addiction, madness; brushes with these aspects of mortality make us realize the true fragility of our lives. Of All The Ways to Die confronts you with that reality: living and dying isn’t being A or being B, it’s a spectrum peppered with struggle and heartbreak.
The novella starts with Urma, a waiter in an unnamed Saskatchewan city, who falls seriously ill from a sub-arachnoid hemorrhage and spends months in the hospital. When she is released, she realizes that her friend’s daughter Eileen, who she had promised to take care of, has gone missing. Another girl missing in a town that seems to lose so many.
So to find her, Urma hosts a potluck. One with all the recently departed people in her life. The spirits of the many loved ones she’s lost to the grand spectrum of death. Her friend Shannon, the mother of Eileen, who struggled with addiction and passed away from a drug overdose. Shannon’s mother, Plains Cree Grandmother Kokum, who outlived her daughter and at her age just let go. Urma’s father, still alive but admitted into an intensive care centre for his dementia. Others attended too, other loved ones and figures from local history and mythology. A potluck of the underworld so that Urma could ask her guests: where can I find Eileen?
Of All The Ways to Die is a remarkable book that makes you confront the meaning of life and death. It is a book about love and compassion, about heartbreak and tragedy, about the struggles of addiction and illness, about the bonds of friendship transcending the grave. A short novella, only 112 pages long, with enchanting, subtle prose that pulls you into Urma’s world on the boundary of death.
I rated the book an 8/10. The book is concise, yet portrays the emotions and themes it is trying to get across in a very elegant way. An incredibly enjoyable book that captures you from the start. I would definitely recommend anyone check out this book before it goes out of print.
I’ll leave you with the following passage that really resonated with me:
After her brain injury… she was slow and shaky, had to take orders twice before she could remember them between the table and the kitchen. No one minded. No one cared, really. Although there was a lot of nervous energy in the place, no one was in a particular hurry. In some ways, Urma’s misfortune brought her closer to the community of unfortunates who came for coffee and often stayed longer. Many shared their stories with her, enjoying Urma’s patience, her non-judgemental ear. After the brain injury, Urma was even more like the people who dropped in after the methadone clinic, even more understanding of the weakness of the flesh, the spectre of death.
August 14, 2012
Somehow you'll find a way to laugh around the lump in your throat. This book is beautiful, and it will make you feel sad and uplifted at the same time.
December 21, 2010
I stayed up all night reading this book.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews