Keturah And Lord Death [Hardcover]

Martine Leavitt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2006

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I will tell you . . . a story of magic and love, of daring and death, and one to comfort your heart. It will be the truest story I have ever told. Now listen, and tell me if it is not so."

Keturah Reeve is a beautiful young woman of sixteen who lives with her grandmother in a cottage near the forest owned by Lord Temsland. Keturah is renowned in the village for her captivating storytelling, and this beautifully woven novel is a response to a request from Keturah's eager audience for yet another of her fascinating tales. She tells of her experience of being lost in the forest, her eventual meeting with a dark figure on horseback who is Lord Death and her bargaining with him for her life-and for the lives of the villagers who are threatened by an onset of the plague.

With its richly textured medieval setting, Keturah's story exposes the tensions and desires of the villagers, the dangers that loom in their future and how they place Keturah's life in jeopardy. Keturah's escalating bargains with Lord Death allow her to protect her friends and reveal to them their true talents and destinies. But even as she negotiates with Death, she becomes more isolated from the people she is seeking to protect and seems less and less likely to achieve the dreams of her own heart.

The startling resolution of the novel confirms Martine Leavitt's reputation as a treasure of a writer, a storyteller who can weave magnificent spells. Leavitt confronts readers with issues and revelations that, while they occur in a setting far from their own experience, bear the intimacy of next door.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 7 Up–At 16, Keturah is a poor peasant girl who constantly ponders her future. She has always been different from the other girls of the village and has unique but unrealized gifts. She has been raised by warm and loving grandparents, experiencing firsthand what a truly happy marriage is all about. The teen is committed to finding a suitable husband so she, too, can be happy but has not yet been successful. All this changes for her the day she follows the legendary hart deep into the forest and becomes lost. After three days of wandering aimlessly, she knows that she is about to die. Keturah is surprised to discover that Death is a strong, handsome lord to whom she immediately feels connected. Despite the fact that she is afraid, she challenges Lord Death, which is something he is not used to. She uses her storytelling skills to make him grant her a reprieve for one day. She spins a story of a love so pure that even Death cannot destroy it. He allows her to live another day on the condition that she come to him with an ending to the story and her true love. Keturah continues to delay the inevitable but in doing so learns much about herself and what she is truly capable of achieving. Along the way she also discovers that her true love was there beside her all along. This is a dark, but uplifting story combining elements of fantasy as well as romance. It has a gripping plot, strong characters, and a surprise ending that will intrigue readers.–Donna Rosenblum, Nassau Boces School Library System, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* The romance is intense, the writing is startling, and the story is spellbinding--and it is as difficult to turn away from as the tales beautiful Keturah tells to the people of her village, Tide-by-Rood. But one day Keturah must use her storytelling skills with quite a different audience. Lost and hungry after following a stately hart through the forest, Keturah encounters Lord Death, who is ready to take her. Like Scheherazade, Keturah spins a story that she leaves unfinished and extracts from Lord Death a promise that if she finds her true love in a day, she can go free. But Lord Death is falling in love with her, and as the villagers begin to sense her alliance with this horrifying figure, her life twists and turns on itself. This novel gets so many things just right. Leavitt brings together a large cast of characters, but she personalizes them and weaves their stories into Keturah's, making it richer, denser, and more intricate. The plotting moves in and out of the everyday and the supernatural, but it's so finely tuned that the worlds seem one. Readers will be carried away on the wind of Leavitt's words, and few will be able to guess how she finally ends her story. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: Front Street Press (November 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932425292
• ISBN-13: 978-1932425291
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #686,864 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing Title, Wonderful Story, May 17, 2007

By 

Lisa Havens "Mother, Peacemaker, and Reader" (Planet Earth, the Solar System) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Keturah And Lord Death (Hardcover)

Keturah and Lord Death - - The title is intriguing enough. I picked up this book to read after my mom returned from the library with a bunch of library books that looked interesting to her. I read it, loved it, and entirely despised the ending. But it was such a wonderfully wrought work that I just had to learn to enjoy the ending. So, I read it about five times in the next few days. I finally learned to love it.
In this story, Keturah, the protagonist, follows a hart into the woods. She meets Lord Death after three days of being lost, and she pleads for her life. After telling Lord Death a story, without the ending, Keturah is granted one day to find true love. Turning into a Scheherezade of sorts, she leads you through an amazing story that makes you feel like it really happened, like you are actually there. It is amazing.
From the cover, I was expecting it to be a "kissing book" and that kinda made me not want to read it. I'm not a romance freak. But, surprisingly(*coughcoughluckilycough*) it had minimal kissing.
I really enjoyed this book, and think it deserves SIX stars (or more). It is definitely worth your time.
-The Daughter of Lisa Havens (who actually happens to be a very intelligent, ingenious musician with the most humble of attitudes... :D)
--Thank you.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The unending romantic allure of the living dead., March 22, 2009

By 

Just_Karen (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Keturah And Lord Death (Hardcover)

Well, we have a young woman in a remote, rundown town drawn to a gorgeous but cruel immortal. She is special in ways she can't comprehend, but everyone around her seems to see that she's marked somehow. She must choose between living with those she knows and loves and the everlasting undead existence he offers. His kisses are cold, his allure exquisite, her heart torn. Sound familiar?

Well, this book is quite a bit better, I promise. For one thing, it's the middle ages, and it's England, not Washington state, and Lord Death is much more compelling than that other guy. He's just as beautiful, just as proud, just as sad. But much better-written.

This is an utterly charming book. While it's full of magic, it's also full of charming domestic details of the Middle Ages--the storage of spoons, the taking of stitches, the pigs and fences and witches and charms and proud farmers. People have surnames like Teacup and Thermidor, a winsome touch. The great threat that looms over Keturah's beloved village is the Plague, but that doesn't stop her friends from their amusing pursuit of true love. In this way, the book excels, looking at men and women, the differences and obstacles between them, what makes a good match. I was delighted by the side stories of Keturah's friends, and the active role she took in making things come out right.

When it comes to Keturah, I was heartened by her resourcefulness, her sexual curiosity (this story is chaste, there is nothing overt but she's a real girl with real feelings), her domestic longings and her acceptance that she will have to make painful sacrifices to have what she wants most. Never does this girl stomp her foot and say "It's not fair!" and I can't tell you how much I appreciated this.

Looking at her final choice, it's a poetic, beautiful consideration of the role of dying in living. Her awareness of Death's role in the sweetness of life is heartrending and to me, quite convincing.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lord Death Loves, January 28, 2007

By 

B. L. Medford "phantom_fox" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Keturah And Lord Death (Hardcover)

Keturah and Lord Death is original, insightful and beautifully written. Leavitt has an unique perspective throughout the book that leads to a surprising and bittersweet ending. You'll remember Keturah for her storytelling ability, but you'll remember Lord Death for his unashamed, unconditional and tender love. Touching.