Death is the last enemy: once we've got past that I think everything will be alright.
I've always been a fan of the 19th century novel, of the novel that is plotted, character-driven, and where the passage of time is almost as central to the novel as a major minor character, the passage of time and its effect on the characters in the story.
Certainly I've had the experience of thinking a person was one thing, and finding out they were another.