BOTM Monday: Everything was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt

Author: Ben Reeves Title: Everything was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt Publisher: Avid Reader Press Date Published: 07/07/2026

Read Dates: 07/23/2026- 07/23/2026
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was my Book of the Month club pick for July. 

Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt is a multi POV magical realism literary fiction book. It is mainly told from the perspective of Death, who is currently existing in the world under the name Travis. Travis lives in a dull little town, in a drab apartment, with a cat that he insists isn't his (although the cat seems to think differently). He passes through life without attachment, until the midwife across the hall and her persistent and precocious daughter keep bringing him into their lives. But Travis can't do his job if he forms attachments, and their welcoming him into their lives and family complicates things.

I flew through this book. It's fairly short (about 250 pages), but I was able to read it in an afternoon; I just couldn't put it down. It's a difficult book to describe, and the subject matter (death, grief, human connections) could be challenging, but I thought it was very much worth the read. I loved watching Travis navigate his brief attachment to humanity, and the stories, not just of his neighbors, but of the other people he encountered and interacted with over the years.

Travis is Death in the modern world. He wears jeans and a T-shirt and lives in a small, grey town. His job is to offer people comfort in their final hours of life. He’s stoic, gentle, and a little naive, despite everything he knows. He’s young and handsome, despite who he is. Each death he witnesses is meaningful to him; he listens, never judges, and most importantly, never tries to change anyone’s fate. He knows that every life must eventually end to maintain the balance of the universe and he respects the cycle.

Then he meets Dalia, a midwife, and her boisterous eight-year-old daughter Layla, who live across the hall. As Dalia and Layla come to embrace Travis, it becomes more difficult to maintain the detachment that’s allowed him to function for so long. Their time together teaches him what’s truly important in life—and what might be irrevocably lost in death.

Written with radiant warmth, wisdom, and compassion, Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt is a timeless 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 at time’s passing.