Everything was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt - Ben Reeves - ★★★★.½

AUTHOR: Ben Reeves

GENRE: Literary Fiction, Magical Realism.

PUBLICATION DATE: July 7, 2026

RATING: 4.5 stars.

In a Nutshell: A literary fiction work focusing on life and death and all in between. Everything in the book is beautiful, but also hurts. Interesting variety of characters, plenty of wisdom and quotable quotes, lyrical writing. The shifts in grammatical voice can get disconcerting at times. But the mellow, introspective narrative is great for the right mood. A commendable debut. Definitely recommended!

Plot Preview:

Death’s current identity is ‘Travis’. He lives as a modern young man in a small town, and does his job well: the job of offering some solace to the dying in their final hours on Earth. He always stays detached from the living humans around him so that he can do his job without being affected. But when his next-door neighbours – midwife Dalia and her daughters eight-year-old Layla and infant Neda – become more frequent in his *life*, Travis gets a taste of the bond that humans feel with their loved ones. But can such bonds really last in the face of Travis’ duty?

The story comes to us in Travis’s first-person narrative, with several interludes in third-person from the perspective of a few (metaphorically or literally) dying humans. There are also minor segments using the second-person voice.

I can rarely resist books with Death as the central character. Most books with this trope have worked well for me. Here’s the latest addition to the memorable entries of the Death-As-Narrator stack.

Bookish Yays:

⚱ The title. Such an alluring one!

⚱ Travis. Not “Death” in the typical sense. He is more of a background presence than one who smites a human or guides them to the next world or whatever. It’s the most unusual portrayal of Death I have read, being more human than fantastical.

⚱ Layla – a sweetheart in every way. She brought life to this book on Death. I liked her entire family, but Layla was a special favourite.

⚱ The sensitive portrayal of many types of death, varied in age group or the person’s background or character. I love how there’s no judgement. A reminder that no matter who or what or where we are, the same end awaits us.

⚱ The sections written in the third-person perspective of the humans who are dying. I love how the book offers us a chance to get to know them before they die. Excellently handled!

⚱ The writing – so lyrical and vivid! I could actually feel the atmosphere of combined sadness and acceptance. The emotions are especially well-written.

⚱ The realism of the relationships. Despite what feels like a potential romantic set-up, there is no romance in the book. I loved the relationship between Death and Dalia all the more because it felt true-to-life, not mushy/romantic.

⚱ Many thought-provoking, quotable quotes.

⚱ The ending. Apt in every way!

Bookish Yays-For-Me-Might-Be-Okays-For-Others:

💀 The character-focussed writing. Might not for those who want a clear or fast-paced plot, but to those who don’t mind slow and steady plot progression, the book ought to click.

💀 The few second-person interludes in between. I love the second-person voice, so I didn’t mind these sections, but the sudden jump in voice can get disorienting, especially when there are already first-person and third-person perspectives.

💀 Despite the presence of Death, this isn't a fantasy. There’s no magic, nothing paranormal, nothing religious. If you expect any of these, you will be disappointed. I did expect more fantastical elements at the beginning, but after the first few pages, I changed my expectations and wasn’t disappointed.

Bookish Okays:

☠ Travis is Death. That’s all we know. We don’t know his divine background or how he has been doing this work since centuries or how he changes his appearance or how he works across time and space on Earth or how old he is or whom he reports to… There are no questions answered. You just need to accept his role and go with the flow.

☠ Em dashes instead of quotation marks – Sheesh! Then again, this is better than having no quotation marks at all. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Overall, this book delivered almost exactly what it promised. With its varied characters, multiple perspectives, vivid writing, introspective quotes, and sensitive depiction of death, it offered me just what I hoped for. The pacing is on the slower side, but that is common with character-oriented narratives, so I didn’t mind it. In fact, the gradual development of the main story kept my mind engrossed even more when the narration changed to that of the dying. Be mindful of triggers though. Nothing is brutal, but some deaths might stir up sad memories.

Rarely does a book with philosophical undertones work this well for me. Perhaps it also has something to do with the timing. I am battling an illness oft associated with negative outcomes (I’m doing quite well in my recovery, don’t worry!), so reading a narrative where Death isn't shown as a divine punishment or a painful finish was good for my head.

I am basically impressed with this book, all the more as it is a debut novel. I am on board to see what comes next from the pen (or keyboard) of author Ben Reeves.

Definitely recommended to readers who enjoy introspective literary fiction. Not for those looking for a light read or a fantasy.

4.5 stars, rounding up wherever applicable because great debut works need to be celebrated.

My thanks to Avid Reader Press for providing the DRC of “Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.