We Don't Die of Love by Stephen May

We Don't Die of Love Reviews

• 
  Victoria

  Overall, this was a light, fun, and casual read. Prior to reading the book, the summary on Goodreads had only mentioned that the story was about the main character, Luke Greenwood, navigating his life after his wife leaves him. Immersed in his mundane and complacent life, I was not expecting the plot line involving his conflict with the local gang and the altercations that occur. It definitely took me by surprise, but effectively added to the pace of the story which I quite enjoyed! (I later found the official summary on May’s website that includes details about the conflict Luke has with the gang, and it’s been changed on Goodreads which is nice for future readers!)
  
  Luke’s narration was often witty and fun and I caught myself smiling or laughing at particular moments in the story. However, I personally felt that Luke’s character was the least developed, relative to his role as the main character. I was expecting Luke to initiate change in his life on his own volition. But upon reflection, I don’t quite recall any significant actions or changes made by Luke himself. I noticed that all the other characters that May successfully developed were engaging, interesting, and fairly realistic that shined through, driving the story in ways that Luke didn’t as an observer of his own life. It is only at the end we understand Luke is finally choosing himself, but we never see it in action and only witness the uncertainty of his plans emphasized in the last lines of the book.
  
  The ending, like other reviews have mentioned does feel quite nicely wrapped up. I do quite like happy feel-good endings, but I just wish I could’ve seen more of what Luke had to contribute to his own life! Regardless, I enjoyed May’s energetic and dynamic writing style. If you want a relatively feels-good and light story, I’d recommend giving the book a read!
  
  Also, here are some of my favourite quotes that I enjoyed and found memorable from this book:
  - “The world managed quite well without me for several hundred millennia, and I don’t miss all those years. Time travel would be fun and everything, but I’m not poleaxed with grief because I missed the birth of rock and roll, or the Battle of Trafalgar or the Black Death. Why should I worry any more about being absent for all the possible futures than I do about missing all the past that’s been and gone?”
  - “Oh, my word. You presume, do you? Well, you presume wrong, old bean.”
  - “No power trip too small for a proper narcissist.”
  - “She loves all these English terms of endearment. Old sausage, Piggy-wig, me duck, Pog. The things the English call their loved ones, they tickle her.”
• 
  Ian Kirkpatrick

  So, the initial question is whether “We Don’t Die of Love” is Stephen May’s best novel yet? I believe that it might be, having read all five of his novels thus far. I thoroughly enjoyed it and somewhat raced through it. The writing has the propulsion to do that to you.
  
  This is another engaging first-person narrative, which seems to have become May’s writing style of choice. However, he manages to give his protagonist Luke Greenwood a voice with sufficient differentiation to say Mark Chadwick of “Stronger Than Skin” or Billy Smith of “Life! Death! Prizes!”.
  
  I like the fact within the opening five pages we are catapulted immediately into Luke’s pain and confusion, and his shock and bewilderment quickly become our own through that magical osmosis between author and reader. May’s ironic observations and the life choices he bestows upon his fifty-something male protagonist certainly resonate with me as a fifty-nine year old male, who is equally likely to be listening to the first Clash album or the first Ramones album in his underpants at an inappropriate volume when his wife is out shopping! In fact, I read most of the novel with a grin of recognition on my face.
  
  You may find this fact slightly bizarre, but I really appreciated May’s choice of cryptic chapter titles, which developed into an odd game of “where is this one going to appear in the text”. I was all too often blind-sided, not unlike Luke himself, truth be told.
  
  The plotting and pacing are excellent, even though the story is relatively straightforward and simplistic, and there are some wonderfully deft touches in the skilful interweaving of the minor characters. Upon first reading I initially questioned the inclusion of what appeared to be the diversionary Margaret Hobbs storyline, but it all became clear in the end, and is a perfect example of that deft touch. I should have trusted May’s judgment from the off.
  
  There are some great little vignettes interwoven throughout the narrative. Charlie kicking Jacob for being a total cock was a particular favourite, along with Wes unexpectedly decking Luke. Oops – very minor spoilers, but more smiles from me.
  
  If I’m being critical, I found the resolution of all the minor sub-plots just a little too tidy and carefully packaged, but then again, I’m a sucker for a suspended chord. For me, less is always slightly more.
  
  May has mentioned in interviews (as he did with Stronger Than Skin) that the writing was a struggle at times, although he hoped it wouldn’t show. Well it absolutely doesn’t. The writing appears effortless, as if he has hit his stride in that late development trajectory of his.
  
  So, is this his best novel yet? Well, I believe it just might be, certainly on first reading.
  
  Sincere thanks go to Stephen and the good people at Sandstone Press for sending me a proof copy to review.
• 
  Snoakes

  Luke Greenwood is content with his life. He's in his late fifties, happily married to the love of his life, the kids are grown and have left home and his café is ticking along nicely serving bacon butties and builder's tea. So when his wife tells him she feels trapped and that she is leaving him, he is totally unprepared.
  This novel deals with the aftermath of that announcement as Luke moves from shock through self-indulgence and resentment to a grudging acceptance of the new situation. He's a totally believable character, reacting in the same way as many other people would - drinking too much, living on greasy takeaways, jumping around the living room in his pants to the music of his youth and generally welling up at any and every small act of kindness.
  The supporting cast are great too - particularly Dr Zoe, the tattooed and pierced Hungarian waitress with a PhD in history. She dispenses no-nonsense advice with the sensitivity of a lump hammer and it is her reaction to Luke's self-pity that gives the book its title.
  It's an easy read, a character driven family drama that races along with oodles of warmth and wit.
• 
  Bec Evans

  An ordinary life turned upside down
  
  When Stephen May writes in opening pages of We Don’t Die of Love that ‘Every day the same. Always.’ we’re braced for change - unlike Luke Greenwood who spends the novel trying to catch up with increasingly desperate events.
  
  His life takes an unexpected turn when his wife of 32 years leaves him, and then some. The plot contrasts the domestic struggles of a middle-aged family man within wider social changes that include gangsters and gentrification of working class communities. It’s absolutely gripping and completely believable how each step (and misstep) reveals greater consequences as the stakes get higher for Luke, his family and the café he owns.
  
  However, this is not a grim tale but one full of heart and humour. Stephen May has a rare gift of plotting disasters with great warmth - for the characters and the fictional northern city it is set in.
  
  I read this book in a day and it was brilliant company - keeping me guessing (check out the chapter titles) and completely absorbed. Another great book from Stephen May.
  
• 
  Ann

  I heard Stephen read an excerpt from this book at an Off the Shelf event in Sheffield. He seems to appear regularly at this festival and I remembered hearing him speak about Stronger than Skin at a similar event a few years ago.
  
  This is quite a short novel and is very obviously carefully crafted. I enjoyed the story although the way so many strands were tied together in the final chapter was a bit too neat and tidy for me. I'd give it three and a half stars.
  
  Other reviewers have thanked various organisations for giving them an advance copy to read. In a similar spirit I'd like to thank Sheffield library service for having the copy I borrowed.
• 
  Sandra

  Short and sweet, with an authentically crunchy centre, enough to deliver more than a few painful jabs.
• 
  Michael Rumney

  May doesn't mess around as some writers do and gives us the inciting incident within the first page. Luke's wife wants a divorce. There isn't much plot as Luke meanders from one situation to the next.
  They do say make things worse for your characters and this doesn't really happen until right at the end, and then things are tidied up a bit too neatly.
  We see the situation Luke and his family are in through Luke's 58 year-old eyes and he has a fair few rants with some comic moments. At times he goes off on various tangents and I was left wondering how reliable a narrator Luke is. He struggles to accept the situation he is in and his 2 grown up children don't seem that bothered.
  This book is a reflection on modern life and is an easy read and as a lot of writers do, is not overwritten, a pleasant change.
• 
  J B

  Insightful and always relevant, Stephen May writes with such ease and wit. This latest book is funny and poignant, and asking you to keep reading for more (4 star-excellent).