Two favourite descriptions of death and dying

My favourite account of death and dying comes from The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa. It describes the death of Fabrizio Corbera, Prince of Salina and the Leopard. But this morning I read another account that greatly appealed to me: the death of an Irishman in Four Letters of Love by Niall Williams. The first account of dying: from The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa From the room next door, open on to the same balcony, Concetta’s voice reached him, “We simply must; he’s got to be called. I should never forgive myself if he weren’t.” He understood at once; they were talking of a priest. For a moment he had an idea of refusing, of lying, of starting to shout that he was perfectly well, that he needed nothing. But soon he realised how ridiculous all that would be: he was the Prince of Salina and as a Prince of Salina he must die with a priest by his side. Concetta was right. Why should he avoid what was longed for by thousands of other dying people? And he fell silent,…