Adrián Astur Álvarez reviewed Death Is Hard Work by Khaled Khalifa
Review of 'Death Is Hard Work' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I really liked this novel. It tells the story of estranged siblings as they struggle to transport their deceased father through war-torn Syria. The journey should be a simple one but as the absurdity and terror of civil war compound their difficulties the very conceit of their struggle is called into question.
Khalifa manages to remove the humor from what could have been written with a Catch-22 tone. This gives the narrative a somber and tragic quality which would have been lost with the addition of irony.
The length is perfect and the ending is satisfying. I even liked the meandering quality of the first half, which matched the interior of these characters racked with grief and trauma.
