Veronika Dapunt on personified Death in Death and Other Occupational Hazards
Death in Book Thief is such an iconic character, but do you know any other personified Death? Vernoika Dapunt is here to chat.
Death is such an interesting concept. On one hand, you have some cultures that absolutely avoid talking about it. On the other hand, books and movies have been exploring Death for years, with some even creating a personified Death to make it less scary. One famous example is Death in The Book Thief.
Veronika Dapunt’s Death and Other Occupational Hazards explores a female personified Death whose sabbatical in modern-day London gets rudely interrupted by a string of unplanned murders. The book is hilarous and smart, and we can’t wait for everyone to read it. Today, we are honoured to have Veronika here with us to chat about how she shaped her own Death (the character), and other personified Deaths that she loves.
This guest post is written by Veronika Dapunt, author of Death and Other Occupational Hazards.
I’ve always been drawn to books, movies or shows that feature a personified Death. I think it’s the wisdom and poignancy the character often brings to a narrative, and the unusual comedy too — I like my humour a little edgy and dark (but not too much). Often, and perhaps contrary to expectations, stories about Death made me appreciate life even more.
One of the most iconic books with a personified Death is of course Terry Pratchett’s Mort, in which a teenager, much to his surprise, is taken on as an apprentice by the Grim Reaper. The clever comedy in this strikes a remarkable balance between satire relating to the everyday, to metaphysical and philosophical deliberations, all wrapped up in an engaging plot. It’s a modern classic for a reason! Similarly, Good Omens which Pratchett co-wrote with Neil Gaiman is fantastical-comedy-gold, and whilst Death is only a supporting character, he nevertheless brings a compelling dimension to the story — what would the Apocalypse be without Death?
In Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief a melancholic yet uniquely humours Death narrates the story of Liesel, a young girl who loves books growing up in Nazi Germany. I was really taken by Death’s voice and how this gave the story a distinctive comedic feel that was funny, tragic and wise all at the same time; Death’s character, and his timeless view on the world made the message about how precious life is even more powerful.
I also love Meet Joe Black, a wonderful movie about Death taking a holiday in human form, with Brad Pitt embodying the character. The all-powerful Death being a fish out of water, trying to navigate the modern world, whilst falling in love and pretending to be from the Inland Revenue Service, is a winning combination.
This last one is a bit niche, but it had a big influence on me personally: I was born in Austria and growing up the musical Elisabeth about the Austro-Hungarian empress Sisi was a huge hit. In it, Death was one of the main characters, and Sisi’s love interest. He was depicted as a powerful, passionate yet flawed force that somehow heightened all of the emotions the show sought to evoke. (I saw that musical more times than anyone should probably admit …).
What I noticed, though, was that that novels featuring a female Death as the main character were rare, and this was the catalyst for me to start writing Death and Other Occupational Hazards. I wanted my Death to be everything traditional assumptions about the Grim Reaper were not. She’s a woman, she’s young, she’s funny and she loves bright colours; like so many of us, she has a job which is necessary but not everyone’s cup of tea (to put it mildly), and she’s always tried to do it well— yet it’s never appreciated. The story begins because she’s finally had enough and decides to take a sabbatical in modern-day London, only to find this rudely interrupted by a string of unexpected murders. She’s determined to hunt down the culprit and what could possibly go wrong, because after all, who better to investigate a murder than Death herself?
I hope that Death and Other Occupational Hazards will entertain readers, make them laugh, cry, and show them our beautiful world through the eyes of Death like they’ve never met her before.
