Death Makes a Mistake — Edition Insights

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In Category - Fantasy Juvenile Worlds

Authors: McGivern, William P., 1921-1982 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2010 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Short stories; Fantasy fiction; World War, 1939-1945 -- United States -- Fiction Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 9,256

Reading time 41 min

Text sections 1

For Death Makes a Mistake — Edition Insights, the stored edition analysis reports 9,256 words, 41 min estimated reading time, and 1 detected text section.

The text analysis averages about 12.2 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Short stories,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #32880

In this 1943 fantasy, Reggie Van Fiddler, a wealthy clubman, discovers Death has marked him for collection. Through wit, alcohol, and a stolen black book, he tries to outmaneuver Mr. Demise, leading to a bar-hopping chase and a final confrontation that hinges on a bureaucratic loophole.

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The story opens with Reggie Van Fiddler, a wealthy idler, sauntering into the Midland Club's bar at two in the afternoon, having slept until twelve-thirty. His brain is described as "slowed to about one revolution per minute," a phrase that sets the tone for a protagonist whose chief occupation is drinking. The narrative voice is breezy and ironic, fond of understatement: Reggie's tan and white shoes are taking him toward the bar, and he is "always happy when the immediate future held the prospects of a drink." This light, comic register persists even when a sinister figure—a small, dark, narrow-eyed man—begins watching him from the end of the bar.

A Clubman's World of Bars and Banter

The dialogue is peppered with affected, upper-class banter. Reggie says to an attendant, "Glorious morning, isn't he?" and is corrected: "It was a glorious morning." This verbal slip—confusing time and person—establishes his character as both charming and slightly disconnected from reality. The comedy arises from the clash between Reggie's languid world and the grim purpose of his visitor.

Mr. Demise and the Bureaucracy of Death

The power dynamics shift when Reggie plies Mr. Demise with alcohol. Mr. Demise admits he has never drunk before, and after one double Martini with a splash of Cointreau, he becomes intoxicated. Reggie exploits this, stealing the black book and leading Mr. Demise on a bar crawl to keep him drunk and forgetful. The comedy hinges on the absurdity of Death getting drunk, slurring his words, and losing his list.

The Chase Through Bars and the Stolen Book

The stolen book is a MacGuffin that drives the plot. Reggie's goal is to erase his name from it, but the story does not reveal whether he succeeds within the excerpts. The chase is structured as a series of escalating comic set pieces, each bar a new stage for Mr. Demise's drunkenness and Reggie's increasingly desperate improvisations.

Alcohol as a Weapon and a Plot Device

The story also plays with the idea of alcohol as an antidote. Reggie tells Mr. Demise that "one drink will addle a person's wits and the second will act as an antidote," a transparent lie that Mr. Demise accepts. This manipulation underscores Reggie's resourcefulness and the story's comic tone. The final confrontation, if it occurs, likely hinges on whether Reggie can keep Mr. Demise drunk long enough to alter the book.

Readers should pay attention to the story's use of repetition—the recurring bar settings, the constant drinking, the theft and retrieval of the book—as a structural device that mirrors Reggie's circular attempts to escape fate. The narrative voice, with its dry humor and understated absurdity, rewards close attention to wordplay and character interaction. The excerpts suggest a tight, comic fantasy that uses a supernatural premise to explore themes of mortality and evasion, all within a world of cocktails and club lounges.

There’s something oddly comforting about Reggie chatting up Death over cocktails, as if the end were just another club appointment. It reminds me of the quieter melancholy threading through Under the Southern Cross, where time also feels borrowed. I found myself thinking of that old story while reading this one, the way certain books stay with you. Under the Southern Cross — Edition Insights still lingers. Funny how that happens.