There is a meadow that separates death s chilly gate and the tumbling nothingness beyond, in which our Joseph and Celice are lying, cushioned by the sunlight and the grass, and held in place by nothing firmer than his fingertip. The scene on the beach is ugly, even gratuitous at times. But it is also smartly poetic, making a compelling case that these ghastly days of decomposition are indeed Joseph and Celice s period of grace . There is no religious or spiritual baggage in Crace s vision of death. Just bodies of the earth, returning to the earth.
Life is precious and short.
Death is poetic and just. We expect that such lofty trappings will introduce us to the lives of two noble and romantic creatures. Joseph and Celice are a mind numbingly average couple who seem to have little understanding of each other after 30 years of marriage. She is disappointed with the dull life she has wound up with and can barely tolerate her husband. But she is also touchingly protective of him.