Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt, Front Street, 2006ISBN: 978-1932425291
Plot Summary
“You are too young to marry, Keturah,” Lord Death’s rich voice reached Keturah’s ears, “And too young to die…Therefore, I will give you a boon: choose whom you will to die in your place so that you may live” (Leavitt, 2006, p. 15). And so the powerful, handsome Lord Death offers Keturah a choice. But instead of choosing a replacement she bargains with Lord Death—if she can find her true love in one day he will let her live. As Keturah desperately searches for her true love she learns of her village’s impending doom. Quickly she hatches a clever plan that will not only allow everyone to escape Lord Death’s clutches but live happily-ever-after as well. But what will happen when Keturah’s well-laid plan starts to unravel?
Critical Evaluation
Leavitt’s lyrical novel, Keturah and Lord Death, is fantasy at its finest. Told in first person, the story chronicles Keturah’s journey as she seeks to save herself and those she loves from Lord Death. Keturah’s is a bittersweet tale, almost autumnal in nature as she contemplates the inevitability of Lord Death’s arrivals, often before he is expected. “I have been in conversation with you perhaps all my life,” Keturah explains to Lord Death, “I was born into death…[i]t filled my mouth upon my first breath. I sucked it in, Grandmother says, and cried as if my heart were broken, and even my dead mother’s pap would not console me. My father searched you out to find my mother and died…[t]hen my grandfather died after I had lived long enough to love him (Leavitt, 2006, p. 14)”. After talking with her at some length, Lord Death takes pity on Keturah and allows her to strike a bargain with him—if she can find her true love by the end of the next day he will let her live.
After her first encounter with Lord Death, Keturah’s story could easily dissolve into light-hearted fluff, as she examines all the men in the village even having her two best friends offer up the men they desire if it will save Keturah from Lord Death. Leavitt could have turned her tale into a farcical one, chronicling a series of bad dates between Keturah and all her potential beaus but she notably does not. Instead, Leavitt chooses to focus the reader’s attention to the realities that plague Keturah and her fellow villagers. Keturah’s world is not an easy one nor is it filled with merriment and comical outings. Instead, Keturah and her village struggle to survive in a world where plague, death in childbirth, and farming accidents are realities. The men in her village are not particularly handsome, strong, or noble in character like so many found within fantasy novels. Instead they are ordinary folk—the choirmaster with a gloomy air and much too large nose, the tailor who makes fine clothing but neglects his children, and Ben Marshall who, while handsome, is bullied by his mother and much too frugal. Keturah’s world is also not filled with prosperous cottages with lovely flower gardens. Instead the villagers live among rats, poorly paved roads, and the ever-present fear of plague. Indeed Leavitt creates a fully realized world in Keturah and Lord Death that enhances the plot and themes in the novel considerably.
Leavitt’s plot is just as magnificent as the language and setting she employs. Keturah and Lord Death is the perfect blend of human interest and philosophical musings, adventure and romance, humor and melancholy. She refuses to adhere to the stale, mundane plots authors often use—girl meets boy, conflict drives boy and girl apart, boy and girl end up together. Instead, readers are constantly guessing who Keturah’s true love may be just as they are surprised at who lives, who dies, and who ends up married in the end. Keturah and Lord Death is a true delight to read as Leavitt deftly weaves romance and realism to form an irresistible narrative.
Reader’s Annotation
Keturah staves off Lord Death’s claim on her by weaving a continual, compelling story at their every meeting. But what sort of bargain will she have strike with him when the lives of those around her are threatened?
About the Author
Author of seven books and winner of multiple awards, Canadian author Martine Leavitt is known for her well-developed characters and eclectic storytelling. Leavitt’s books vary widely in subject matter from tales of gifted magic users to mysteries involving classical music and missing teens. She is a National Book Award Finalist as well as a Governor General’s Finalist and the recipient of the Benjamin Franklin award.
Martine Leavitt, mother of seven children and the grandmother of eleven, currently resides in Alberta Canada. When she is not writing she is busy teaching at the Vermont College of Fine Arts in the MFA program.
Websites referenced:
Doodletronics (2011, June 14). Martine Leavitt. Retrieved from: http://www.canscaip.org/?q=node/500
Literature Resource Center (2007, August 26). Cameron Dokey. Contemporary Authors Online.
Vermont College of Fine Arts (2011). Martine Leavitt. Retrieved from:
http://www.vermontcollege.edu/node/200
Genre
Fantasy, Historical fantasy, Romance
Tags
Surreal, romance, curse, autumnal, plague, Middle Ages
Curriculum Ties
This book would pair well with a curriculum on the Middle Ages and the Black Plague
Booktalk Ideas
--What if you were allowed to live if you could pick someone to die in your place? Could you do it?
--Dress up as Lord Death or Keturah and tell the story from first person perspective
Reading Level/Interest Age
Reading Level: 5th grade
Interest Level: 7th-11th grade (12-17 yrs.)
Challenge Issues
N/A
Why Was This Included?
Keturah and Lord Death is a National Book Award Finalist and was recommended by several bloggers. I also stumbled upon this book while shelving and thought it looked intriguing because of its resemblance to the tale of Scheherazade. Blogs that mention Keturah and Lord Death include One Librarian’s Book Reviews (http://librariansbookreviews.blogspot.com/2010/01/unsung-heroes-of-ya-world.html) and Oops…Wrong Cookie (http://oopswrongcookie.blogspot.com/2010/01/best-ya-titles-you-may-never-have-read_21.html).
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