Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt: A Novel

Named a Most Anticipated Book of the Summer by: People ("A gorgeous reminder of what really matters. Prepare to be astounded."), BuzzFeed, Goodreads, and more... • "One of the most affecting, original, and unforgettable novels I have ever read." —Sarah Damoff, bestselling author of The Burning Side

For fans of Fredrik Backman and Virginia Evans, an astonishing, deeply moving novel about finding beauty in the brevity of life, as narrated by the one who knows it best: Death.

Travis is Death in the modern world. He lives with his cat in a small, gray town. His job is to offer people comfort in their final hours of life, which he does without complaint or judgement. He’s stoic, gentle, and a little naive, despite who he is, but he never tries to change anyone’s fate. He is responsible for maintaining the balance of nature, and every life must eventually end.

Then Travis meets Dalia, a midwife, and her boisterous eight-year-old daughter Layla, who live across the hall, and despite his best attempts to keep his distance, he finds himself wholeheartedly embraced by other people for the first time. So it is with this seemingly unremarkable family that Travis begins to understand what it means to be truly alive—and what might be irrevocably lost in death.

Written with radiant warmth, wisdom, and compassion, Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt is a timeless and ultimately uplifting story about appreciating life, accepting its end, and finding our place in the universe—especially when it feels most impossible—that will resonate with anyone who has ever loved and lost or worried about time’s passing.

Ben Reeves lives in Peterborough, UK, with his wife and two children. An early draft of Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt won the international 2024 Bath Novel Award. When he’s not writing, he paints, makes music, and works as a web designer for a book printing company.

“This is one of the most affecting, original, and unforgettable novels I have ever read. Through the lens of death himself, we confront the highs and lows of the human experience in a way that reminds us how gritty and exquisite it is to live. Ben Reeves has expertly crafted a mortality tale that is both abstract and specific, spiritual and physical, fantastical and as true as it gets. The characters are so vivid that they seem to be sitting beside you, their loves and losses your own. Absolutely breathtaking, with a perfect twist of an ending.” —Sarah Damoff, bestselling author of The Bright Years

"Be prepared to reflect on what makes a well-lived life and to shed some tears before sending a copy to a friend. A good suggestion for fans of Matt Haig, Gabrielle Zevin, or Marcus Zusak." —Booklist, starred review

“This novel has all the ingredients of unforgettability: a plot you’ve never seen, characters you want to love, writing that glimmers on the page, and a spectacular ending that will smack you in the face with an aching joy. Days later, I’m still brimming.” —Monica Wood, bestselling author of How to Read a Book

“Reeves repeatedly takes us to life’s most terrifying knife-edge, heartening us with the steady poetry of everyday life. This clever and vivid book made me fall in love with our collective ephemerality. I literally said, “Wow,” about halfway through. The ending left me speechless.” —Matthew Quick, New York Times bestselling author of The Silver Linings Playbook and Dad, Love, Me

"One of the most original, riveting and moving books I’ve read in a long while." —Graeme Simsion, New York Times bestselling author of The Rosie Project

“Tender, philosophical, and quietly hopeful, Reeves’ novel is a moving meditation on grief, love, and the fleeting beauty of being alive.”—Debutiful

Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt by Ben Reeves is a profoundly moving and uniquely life-affirming novel that explores the fragile, fleeting nature of human existence. Despite its heavy thematic focus on mortality, it is not a story of despair or darkness. Instead, it is a deeply compassionate and beautifully written narrative that asks us to look at life, love, and loss through an entirely different lens. With a radiant warmth and quiet wisdom, Reeves crafts a tale that is sure to resonate deeply with anyone who has ever loved, grieved, or worried about the rapid passing of time.

At the center of this enchanting story is the narrator, Travis Smith, who happens to be the literal personification of Death. However, Travis is not the terrifying, scythe-wielding figure in a dark hood that mythology usually presents. He is just a quiet, unassuming young man who wears jeans and a grey jumper with holes in the sleeves. Travis walks the streets of an unremarkable, drab English town that once mistook itself for a city, quietly doing his job. His purpose is simply to offer comfort to people in their final hours of life. He sits with the dying, cradles their heads, and whispers the gentle truths a person only learns at the very end. Travis never judges, he never bargains, and he never interferes with fate. He is a stoic, gentle witness who understands that every life must eventually conclude to maintain the balance of the universe, and he respects this cycle with total devotion.

Because of the nature of his existence, Travis has spent an eternity keeping the living at a safe, deliberate distance. His own life in a small, empty flat is an exercise in profound detachment. He owns almost nothing, save for a folding table where he carefully restores old, borrowed photographs, bringing faded faces back to life as a quiet hobby. He even refuses to fully claim the stray white cat that frequently wanders through his window, insisting the animal is not his. The novel beautifully captures his isolation through a series of short, incredibly poignant vignettes. Through Travis’s all-seeing perspective, readers are introduced to various townspeople in their final moments—a widowed poet, a lifelong hoarder, an elderly woman begging for release—as well as the vibrant, microscopic beauty of the natural world continuing on around them.

Everything in Travis’s predictable, solitary eternity is upended when a simple hunt for cat food leads him to knock on the door of the flat across the hall. There, he meets Dalia, a tired but warm-hearted midwife, and her two children: a boisterous eight-year-old named Layla and a baby named Neda. Layla immediately decides she likes the quiet man next door, inviting him into their chaotic, ordinary world. Dalia, too, slowly begins to let her guard down, finding a unique comfort in Travis's gentle demeanor. Despite his vast, cosmic knowledge and his better judgment, Travis finds himself inextricably drawn to this little family.

As Travis becomes entangled in the simple, beautiful normalcy of Dalia and Layla's lives—attending birthday parties and sharing quiet moments over stale tea—his carefully constructed boundaries begin to soften. This growing connection introduces a profound internal conflict for the protagonist. Travis knows better than anyone that every person he meets will eventually die, making attachment a guaranteed path to grief. Yet, as he spends more time with Dalia and her daughters, he begins to covet the very things he was never built to hold. He experiences a powerful awakening, essentially watching Death fall hopelessly in love with life. Through his relationship with his neighbors, Travis learns that love is what makes existence rich, even if it simultaneously makes loss infinitely more painful.

The emotional weight of the novel relies heavily on this quiet, aching tension. Reeves does not rely on massive, world-ending plot twists; rather, the narrative builds its devastating power cumulatively. It highlights the profound beauty found in the banality of everyday life and the quiet pull of human connection. The story challenges the reader to stop viewing death as a tragic enemy, but rather as the very thing that gives life its meaning and urgency. The ending of the book delivers a powerful, tear-jerking conclusion that completely reframes everything that came before it, leaving readers with a renewed appreciation for the present moment and the people they love.

Since you are someone who loves the incredible convenience of digital reading platforms, this mesmerizing novel would make a perfect addition to your digital library. Whether you prefer to search for titles on Google Books or carry your entire collection with you on your Kindle, the portability of an ebook allows you to easily dive into this deeply reflective story wherever you go. Furthermore, because you appreciate finding free ebooks and excellent deals, it is always a great idea to keep an eye on digital storefronts for special promotions on this title. Reading it digitally will allow you to quickly search for, highlight, and return to the many beautiful, thought-provoking passages Reeves weaves throughout this remarkable celebration of life.