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Cover of Staying Alive
Book details

Staying Alive

by Matt Beaumont

Published 2004448 pagesISBN 978-0-0071-9069-0

Murray's life is on the duller side of normal. His once-scintillating career has run into a dead end. His crusading girlfriend has left him for a hotshot lawyer. While he likes things safe and tidy, he dreams of more, of getting in touch with his inner Jimi Hendrix. But finding a lump and discovering he has four months to live isn't what he had in mind.What would you do? Murray, to his great astonishment, is soon living with a burglar, mixing with supermodels, charged with murder and in massive debt to slipper-wearing gangsters. And he's finally said what he thinks in a meeting. So who cares? He's living life to the full. But what if it's all a mistake and he has to face the consequences. From the bestselling author of 'e' comes this novel of a very normal life becoming extraordinary.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Fiction, Romance. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.

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Full BookenDeX details

What the reading experience may hold

A fuller profile for choosing with more confidence—not just another copy of the preview.

Themes to notice

Fiction · Romance

Use these as starting points rather than limits; the most memorable books often stretch beyond their catalog labels.

Content notes

Catalog signals suggest violence, death, or criminal harm. These notes may not be complete; consult a publisher or reader-supplied guide when detailed warnings matter.

These notes are inferred from available catalog information and may not be complete. Check a publisher or reader-supplied guide if you need comprehensive warnings.

Reading experience

Balanced tone · Steady pace

Best when you want to settle into a longer reading experience.

Who it may suit

A good fit if…

Readers who want a thoughtful experience and enjoy noticing the connections beneath a book’s surface story.

At a glance

This book's DNA

A visual estimate based on this edition's categories, description, and length. Select a star to explore the signals.

ToneBalanced
LuminousDark

This signal is descriptive, not a rating. It helps compare the kind of reading experience this edition may offer.

No plot details

Spoiler-Free Emotional Arc

A broad estimate of the book’s emotional rhythm, shown without story events or outcomes.

Spoiler-free
12345
PeakRelative emotional intensity
Staying AliveMatt Beaumont
Heightened4.1/5

This visualization is an interpretive estimate based on catalog description, categories, tone, pace, and content signals. It does not describe specific scenes.

Before you choose

A quick reading snapshot

Edition facts and catalog signals to help you decide whether this book fits what you want to read next.

Reading lengthA standard-length read448 pages in this edition
Publication eraModernFirst published or edition dated 2004
Primary categoryFictionAlso cataloged under Romance
ISBN-13
978-0-0071-9069-0
Language
English
Edition record
OL9218322M
BookenDeX editorial lens

A more thoughtful way into this book

This guide uses the edition details and category signals above to help you choose deliberately. It does not replace the author's work or a full review.

Good to know

Best when you want to settle into a longer reading experience.

Begin with its place in Fiction, then notice where the book resists that label.

Try this reading approach

Read for connection, not completion.

Mark one passage that sharpens the book's central concern and one that complicates it. That tension often reveals more than a quick summary.

Three questions to carry with you

  1. What does the central character want, and what do they misunderstand about that desire?
  2. Which detail or relationship changes how you interpret the story?
  3. What feeling or question does the book leave with you after the plot moves on?

Editorial framework by Wesley Bryan, BookenDeX Founder and Editor.