There are many different themes and imagery of death that come up in the novel and that Antoine has to face. Did you find them morbid? Or realistic?

I think that Antoine and Melanie have both reached an age where they have close family members of both generations older and a generation younger which I think is why it is apppropriate that it is called middle age because you are in the middle at that stage. Therefore they are dealing with a wide age range of loved ones and the deaths that occurred in the story are really fairly realistic for someone of their age. The death of their mother being the exception to that but is a past event.

No it was not morbid, although there were many deaths and losses in the novel. While death was the main issue in the book, it was interesting to see how each character dealt with it and the author brought into play different ages of the characters, from preteen Lucas to octogenarian Blanche, and the capacity each has to understand and accept/deal with death/loss.

I didn't find it morbid. It wasn't 'deep' enough to be morbid. It was, what I call, a surface novel...interesting but not absorbing.

I think the desire to learn the 'secret' is very much in keeping with how the family (or our perception) of it helps us define who we are. Death is just another step on how we better understand ourselves through others.