Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #161239 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-12
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Andrew Cowan
Exact, moving, beautifully expressed. It rings true in every line and lingers in the imagination long after the final page

Guardian
A finely written and affecting novel

Metro
The novel is fascinating, as James uses small, filmic scenes to build an overall picture of fear and chaos

Customer Reviews

Interesting but not 5 star
I did find this book an eye opener and enjoyed the dual diary approach to writing. But it jumped around alot with too many endings left open. I prefer to know what happened to people rather than have to think too hard for myself!

A Very Insightful Read
Told through the eyes of the two main characters - funeral director, Henry and school teacher, Allen - 'This Time of Dying' completely takes the reader back to the those awful three weeks in 1918 when influenza spared no corner of the globe killing between (an estimated) 50-100 million people.

Wonderfully written, the reader will no doubt feel a personal loss for the dying and dead in this book - as did I. When two of the book's characters died unexpectedly towards the end, I found myself grieving for them which is the result of James' writing.

Readers may find it a bit odd that Allen is female and not male - I found it difficult to get used to at first, but overall a very detailed and eye-opening account of a tragic period in our world's history.

This Time of Dying: three weeks in 1918
The Great War is drawing to a close when the influenza epidemic of 1918 takes its hold. Set in London during a three week period, this novel conveys the horror of the war and, with the end of the war almost within reach, the emergence of the deadly influenza pandemic which killed millions around the world.

At the same time as conventional society is crumbling through the combined impacts of war and influenza, class distinctions remain important. Henry Speake, the undertaker, is the central character in this novel. His friendship with a widow, Mrs Allen Thompson, causes them both considerable social grief because of class differences.

This is not a light read but, once started, I found it very hard to put down. This is Ms James's first novel, and it is beautifully presented. Amongst the pain and suffering are some wonderful examples of humanity and the glimmerings of hope for a better future.

Highly recommended.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith