Duck, Death and the Tulip

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Sometimes simple and elemental, at other times dense and intricate, he is always playful, humorous and philosophical. As Death slips Duck’s lifeless body into ‘the great river’ at the end, the reader is filled with a deep sense of peace, as well as a rueful recognition of the truth of Death’s final thought: ‘But that’s life’– and perhaps what this story gets across particularly poignantly, but totally matter-of-factly, is that where there is life, death is inevitable. It's hard to describe how this extraordinarily tender book manages to be both heartbreaking and comforting, but it does.

Donald Barthelme’s story, “The School,” takes on an untraditional way of explaining life and the meaning behind it.

Explaining the topic of death in a way that is honest, lightly philosophical and with gentle humour, this enchanting book has been translated into multiple languages, adapted into an animated movie and short film and performed on stages worldwide.

Here the story deals with a warm and affectionate relationship between Death, portrayed as a skeleton in a dressing-gown and slippers and the soon-to-die Duck.

Erlbruch composes sketchy line drawings of the two characters – Duck and Death – in soft beige tones on high quality, creamy-white pages.