The Undertaking: Life Studies from the Dismal Trade

Rating:
Summary: Spell-binding!
Review: I found this book to be most interesting! I had purchased it because I heard that the author was, indeed, an undertaker. I was interested to see what type of book he would write. I was pleasantly surprised. I have not read a book that has so thoroughly grasped the human experience. Thomas Lynch shows how life truly exists, as well as ceases to exist, and makes it seem all the more worth living. This book is one I would most definitely encourage others to read. I couldn't pull myself away. Many chapters left me utterly speechless, pondering the tribulations of the human condition. It sounds deep, but it does provoke thoughts that could lean in that direction. Thomas Lynch is an extremely gifted writer and poet, and I look forward to further books authored by him.

Rating:
Summary: Very down to earth.
Review: I found this book to be very enjoyable. It made me feel like I have know Mr. Lynch my entire life. I have often wondered what it was like to be a funeral home director, now I know. Thank you Mr. Lynch for your wonderful insight.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent book
Review: I hate reading reviews of this book. They all generally go, "check this out. he's an undertaker, and a poet. isn't that wacky?" They point out the novelty of the author over the fact that he is an excellent author. In this book, Thomas Lynch eloquently discusses both halves of his lives. Every time a friend of mine tells me that he or she wants to be cremated i always try and disuade him or her by using the arguments Lynch makes in this book. A truly excellent read. One of the few books I have read more than once. I just read that he has a second collection of essays. I haven't read it, but i plan to include it in my next amazon purchase.

Rating:
Summary: A hidden treasure.
Review: I picked this up on a whim several years ago and was pleasantly surprised to find it's a very touching and humerous read about a profession everyone will have to deal with several times in their lives. If you've ever asked the question: "who-the-hell would ever want to be an undertaker?" the chapter describing the author's efforts to help a mother lay to rest her child (who was the victim of a horrific crime) will answer that very nicely. Mr. Lynch has done a service to the entire profession with this very touching book about the "dismal trade."

Rating:
Summary: Not for them, but for Us.......
Review: I sat down to write this review (my first) for this book thinking that it would be easy considering...I was wrong. I looked at this screen for a very long time before I realized I didn't have the words to discribe this wonderful book. Mr. Lynch is so insightful and eloquant. I've read this book cover to cover three times now. Each time more wisdom was transferred from Mr. Lynch to me. Helping me understand and deal with the trails of my own life, family and love. All I can say is read this book. You'll be better for it.

Rating:
Summary: No Secrets
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed reading a book that touches on the innermost fears all of us have about death and burial. In a setting in Michigan with which I am most familiar, having grown up nearby, I was taken back to times I had forgotten about, and thoughts of what lies ahead for all of us. A must read for those who need a good cry and a good laugh. I guarantee this book will evoke alot of memories!

Rating:
Summary: Mixed blessings
Review: I'm glad I took the opportunity to read this book--an undertaker/poet is undoubtedly going to have some interesting things to say, and he certainly does. But along the way, a conflict developed between my expectations and Lynch's delivery, which is long on philosophical rumination, short on the technical aspects of undertaking. I was starved for more detail about the business, but found Lynch to be cautiosly nostalgic and stingy when it came to sharing more about his extended family, the majority of them engaged in funeral directing. I was occasionally moved by his neighbors' tribulations, then worn out by his rhetorical humor concerning middle age, the golfatorium, Triple S, etc. There is a thinly-veiled polemic against Kervorkian that hardly enlightens the subject--he situates himself at the edge of the argument, then decries the din of extremes! Most problematic to me was the relentless flow of metaphors--he's a poet, of course, and honest about his preference for that perspective, as opposed to a mortician's autobiography, which is what I was looking for. He also veers to the spiritual instead of the secular, exhibiting pride in his Irish (Catholic) heritage. Obviously, these are 'problems' limited to personal prejudice. Technically, there seems to be a misspelling on every other page, and that's no exaggeration (Norton's copy editing department needs a little tightening). Overall, there are some very strong, poignant moments, I'm glad that I read it, but not entirely happy about what I found.

Rating:
Summary: Kurt Vonnegut revisited
Review: If Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. had editted this he couldn't have changed a word. Best book in last two years.

Rating:
Summary: A book I read at least once a year
Review: If you're a fan of Six Feet Under, you must get this book. The spirit of the show is the same spirit that this book was written in, way before Six Feet Under was born.

I got this book by accident in 2002 on vacation, and it's been a favorite ever since. It simply needs to be read. I believe this to the extent that I keep it out on my coffee table in my living room so people will pick it up and ask to borrow it. I never, ever refuse.

There's so much to admire about this book, but the word that probably best describes it is "humane." Some of the things that Lynch talks about are gory, but there is an underlying respect of the lives that he comes into contact with (as well as the deaths) that it's hard to see this book in any other way. Well, there are a lot of laugh-out-loud moments. (My advice is to take out something else while you're on an airplane - people want to know what made you laugh, and the cover just makes people think you're sick.) I won't spoil any of those for you; just read it.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful way to look at DEATH and life.
Review: In this book the reader may experience many types of feelings. From it being funny to almost making you want to cry. It grabs the reader, wanting to finish this book in one sitting.