Review: Death Dresses Poorly (Audio Book)

If you have been following along and reading these posts, you’ve probably noticed I don’t know how to write a review. I basically try to give you the plot, sans spoilers, and then my thoughts. As a writer, reviewing a book, this is pretty much the same. Also, full disclosure, I know Mr. Watson. Not very well, but we know each other, have spoken a few times in person and on social media. We belong to the same writing group. That being said, lets dig in.

First and foremost, Death Dresses Poorly is good. The written book is 190 pages, audio format is just over 4 hours. Either way, you’re in for a fun, swear filled, sarcasm laden adventure through time and space. I know, right? What the hell is this book about?

Ethan is a representation of angst filled teens and twenty-something’s. He’s referenced as a Millennial repeatedly throughout, as a negative, which in 2017 was kind of the thing to do, but thinking back on my teen years, in the 90’s, I was a sarcastic, angst-filled, depressed Gen Xer/Xennial (And I definitely recall the general attitude towards Gen Xer’s as “lazy, coffee shop sitting, writing screenplays and wearing plaid, good for nothings) — so, I guess we all were, it’s just MIllennials turn.

Things will get a bit spoilery here, so, should you read it? Yes. Should you listen to it? Yes. You’ll laugh. You’ll smile. You’ll feel sad. You will, a few times, be filled with wonder.

Alright, Ethan has just buried his drug addict of a mother who essentially ruined his childhood. Ethan has a sister, Arlene, and they get along quite well. At the airport to head home, Ethan meets a strange fellow who he both doesn’t want to talk to, but also can’t help himself. It’s a weird moment, the man leaves and Ethan continues on with his trip.

I don’t want to give too much away so let’s just say, Ethan is supposed to die, but doesn’t. It is this stubbornness, this will to live that makes Ethan the ideal candidate for the strange man’s needs. From here, Ethan embarks on a metaphysical journey through time, space and dimensions, learning about forgiveness, guilt, and the fabric of existence. I had a pretty good comp in mind while I was listening to Death Dresses Poorly, but has since left my brain.

Yeah it sounds heavy but that is where the skill of Marc Watson shines through. It’s light-hearted and witty, making the subject matter easily digestible. As a self-proclaimed horror writer myself, there were times throughout where I was like, oh man, the cosmic horror is coming, but Watson skillfully avoids these trappings and moves along at a quick pace with a joke or a stunning vista, or a quiet scene where Ethan’s rage simmers just under the surface, usually exploding onto everyone around him.

Character wise, I don’t like Ethan, as a person. He’s an excellently written character, so well brought to life that I don’t like him. Like, I wouldn’t be friends with this guy. He’s faaaaar too stubborn and I dunno … annoying. BUT he works great in the book and is the character this story needs. The Strange Man however balances out Ethan nicely and I found myself more than once saying the exact same thing he was saying, and nodding vigorously in agreement with the character. When you’re talking to your book/audio book, you know it’s got you.

Performance. I know Marc’s normal speaking voice, so hearing his performance voice was jarring, for me. Every word and letter and syllable was pronounced in his deep voice that it took, I dunno, five minutes to get accustomed to. I was golden after that. The voice of the narrator, Ethan, and “Strange Man” were all quite similar, so a couple times it was hard to tell who was speaking without having to stop my brain and do a quick “who said what now”, but I mean it’s super rare, like maybe twice and the rest of the time it’s great. You can hear and understand each word perfectly.

All in all. Highly recommend for a fun piece of entertainment. We’re not exploring the vastness of the human condition, or what it means to be human. This is a story about a disaffected young man, who is fucking angry, doesn’t care who knows it, and tries to come to terms with his past, his mother, and his future.

Read it, or listen to it on Audible.