Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt: A Novel
Ben Reeves
Jul 2026 · Sold by Simon and Schuster
star
4 reviews
Ebook
256
Pages
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Eligible
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About this ebook
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A gorgeous reminder of what really matters. Prepare to be astounded.” —People • “One of the best, most moving books I have read in years.” —Scott Detrow, NPR • “Like nothing you’ve ever read before...simply unforgettable."—Jodi Picoult
For fans of Fredrik Backman and Virginia Evans, an astonishing 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 that will resonate with anyone who has ever loved and lost or worried about time’s passing.
For fans of Fredrik Backman and Virginia Evans, an astonishing 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 that will resonate with anyone who has ever loved and lost or worried about time’s passing.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A gorgeous reminder of what really matters. Prepare to be astounded.” —People • “One of the best, most moving books I have read in years.” —Scott Detrow, NPR • “Like nothing you’ve ever read before...simply unforgettable."—Jodi Picoult
For fans of Fredrik Backman and...
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Ratings and reviews
4 reviews
Paula Pugh
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July 14, 2026
A very, very emotional and deep book. It looks at death through the perspective of Death, called Travis. The vignettes of the dying are touching, so much so that your heart breaks. When he is engaged with eight year old Layla, her mother Dalia, and baby sister Neda, his concept evolves as he finds himself becoming attached to some new and different emotion. Beautiful prose throughout. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Bring back nagi or 1 star review
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July 17, 2026
Garbage tier illegal ai slop
About the author
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.
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.
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