Danish / Denmark
Til de nysgerrige. En bog om døden
(For those curious. A book about death)
Christiansen, Marie Dysgaard
(text/illus.)
[København]: Carlsen, 2013. – [52] p.
ISBN 978-87-113-8451-0
Death | Non-fiction
Reading age: 5+
White Ravens issue: 2014
"Til de nysgerrige" (For those curious) is a new non-fiction book series from Danish publisher Carlsen. Its first two instalments have covered the essentials: a "Book about the Body, Sex and Child-bearing" and this book about death. The books are similar in design and recall Swedish author Pernilla Stalfelt’s non-fiction books. The felt-pen drawings are bright, intentionally awkward and childish-looking, tending towards the grotesque (cut-off heads, sliced-through bodies). Speech bubbles give the book a comics feel. The text is short and laconic, yet it represents a sober and straight-forward counterpart to the pictures. Its very brevity invites further questioning and discussion of individual points with one’s co-readers. The book describes why one dies (illness, old age) and what happens after death, taking into consideration both the physical and the metaphysical. The focus is on Christian funeral rites, but other conceptions are introduced as well.