Finding "Keturah and Lord Death"

 Let me start off by saying that this was a beautifully written story. 💓💓💓

The lyrical prose and classic style truly made me feel like I was sitting around a fire listening to Keturah herself weave me a tale of magic, true love and death. 

Keturah's story strongly reminded me of Scheherazade and 1001 Arabian Nights.  A strong female character who is able to stave off death with nothing but her cunning mind and a good story. 

Keturah's story begins after she has wandered off into the nearby forest and gotten hopelessly lost. Without food or water, it looks as if her life will end at the tender age of 16. She sits down against a tree to rest and wait for death.

It isn't long before death arrives, and he comes in the form of a man. A handsome man with piercing eyes, freezing cold skin and a stern countenance. 

"He knew my mother indeed, but I did not. She had died giving birth to me. 'I regret to say, sir, that as in the case of my mother, you have come before I was ready.'

'No one is ready.'

'Forgive me, sir,' I said, without hope, 'but there was something I wanted to do.'

'Your doing is past."

Katurah insists that she needs just one more day, one day to find her true love. But Lord Death will not be swayed.

So Katurah begins to tell Lord Death a story, a story about a girl who loved no one, but love lived in her home, in the very air she breathed. She tells of the girl's search for a love of her own. As Katurah comes to the end of the story, she stops speaking. She refuses to finish the story. 

" 'Are you saying that you will not tell me?

'Take me home, and I swear that I will come to you in the wood and tell you the rest of the story. Only let me live another day.'"

So Katurah is able to bargain for one more day of life, and Lord Death makes a deal with her. If she can find her one true love and marry him before her time is up, Death will release his hold on her and let her live out the remainder of her days free from his shadow. 

More determined than ever to find her true love and free herself from Death's embrace, Katurah seeks out the help of friends, family, the young Lord of the Manor and even a witch to try and find her one true love. 

What ensues is a dance between Katurah and Lord Death as Katruah tries to avoid her fate and save the very town she loves from the death that is coming their way. 

While this book is very different from the typical books I read, I very much enjoyed the fairy tale like quality of the story.  The thoroughly enjoyed the scenes where Katruah and Lord Death interacted with one another, and I feel as if there were some very profound lessons to be found in this tale. 

“When it is winter and we must walk in the blizzard snow do not our fingers and toes whisper death  And when winter is at last over. . .can we not hear our bellies whisper death to us.  In the dark don't we know,  And when we are paralyzed by nightmares,  We know what you are.  With our first cries we rail against you.  We see you in every drop of blood in every tear.”

The length of this story perfect for the plot. Any longer and I think the story would have been drawn out a bit too much. Although, I would have liked to see a bit more of Katurah and her one true love once they finally got together. Maybe a little epilogue featuring their new life together.

Overall, I highly recommend this book for anyone who is looking for a beautifully written fairy tale full of magic, love and happy endings.