The Man Who Died Twice

The Thursday Murder Club series is unusual in its focus on elderly protagonists, and Osman has been praised for challenging ageist attitudes through his fiction. In presenting characters living out their final years, The Man Who Died Twice explores the unique challenges of aging. The novel also addresses the universal question of how best to live in the face of mortality.

The portrayal of aging in The Man Who Died Twice is largely positive. The members of the Thursday Murder Club are shown to embrace new experiences, and old age is portrayed as a period of continued growth rather than stagnation. The characters gain greater pleasure from activities as they know their time is limited.

The elderly protagonists are shown to be skilled and resourceful, drawing on their life experiences and professional talents. Readers are reminded that each member had a career, and age has not dimmed their expertise. Elizabeth’s training in espionage means she is constantly alert to danger. Joyce’s nursing background gives her a sympathetic bedside manner and a high tolerance for bloody crime scenes. Meanwhile, Ron’s tough negotiating skills (honed as a former trade union leader) are displayed in his exchange with drug dealer Connie. The group’s diverse range of skills and personal qualities helps them outsmart the younger antagonists of the novel. Joyce often feigns feeble-mindedness to exploit the ageist attitudes of others.

While conveying the positive aspects of aging, the novel also addresses its drawbacks. Death looms unavoidably large in the lives of the main characters. Each of them is conscious that their time is limited, and the group even discusses the order in which they are likely to die: “Ron first […]. Then Elizabeth, probably shot. Then it’s tough to call” (137).

Despite the pleasant setting of Coopers Chase, its landscape is imbued with mementos of people no longer present. Bernard’s bench stands empty, reminding Joyce of her former friend, while Elizabeth thinks of Penny, the co-founder of the Thursday Murder Club when she passes the hospital wing. An ongoing joke is the ease with which dead bodies (such as that of Andrew Hastings) can be explained away. As Joyce observes, “If you worried about every stretcher you saw at Coopers Chase you’d need one yourself soon enough” (94).

Also addressed are the debilitating effects of aging. Although Ibrahim’s intellect remains sharp, his physical vulnerability is emphasized when Ryan attacks him. The experience makes him perceive the outside world as a dangerous place. The risk of cognitive decline is another issue highlighted through the characters of Elizabeth’s husband, Stephen, and Dennis Finch (the titular “man who died twice”). The gradual erasure of self that dementia can cause is represented as another form of death.

The novel reminds readers that aging and death are inevitable parts of the human condition. We cannot prevent them, but we can control our attitude toward them. Instead of fearing their mortality, Osman’s protagonists choose to live life to the full before they die. This philosophy is summed up when Bogdan reflects, “We are all gone in the blink of an eye, and there is nothing to do but live while you’re waiting” (108).