Death of an Ordinary Man by Sarah Perry review – a brilliant meditation on mortality

<p>The Essex Serpent author offers a moving account of her father-in-law’s final illness that will resonate widely</p><p>The novelist Sarah Perry’s father-in-law, David, died of oesophageal cancer in 2022. This book tells the story of his dying, from the last time she saw him well, on a trip to Great Yarmouth at the end of summer, to his death less than two months later, just nine days after being diagnosed.</p><p>It’s not easy to account for what makes this book so special. Its main character is as unpromisingly ordinary as its title suggests, and some may even find him a little boring. David Perry is the kind of man who spends hours sorting his beloved stamp collection into albums with the aid of long-tipped forceps and magnifying glasses, or filling in his Sudoku puzzle books, or reading the latest copy of the Antiques Gazette, looking intently at porcelain dogs and chased silver punch-bowls.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/oct/01/death-of-an-ordinary-man-by-sarah-perry-review-a-brilliant-meditation-on-mortality">Continue reading...</a>