The Undertaking: Life Studies from the Dismal Trade

Start by marking “The Undertaking: Life Studies from the Dismal Trade” as Want to Read: Austin Seminary B: January Book of the Month: "The Undertaking: Life Studies from the Dismal Trade," by Thomas Lynch. Thomas Lynch's stories, poems, and essays have appeared in Granta.
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Unsurprisingly, one occupation interests me more than the other.


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Some of what he has to say comes perilously close to testifying: One essa Thomas Lynch is an undertaker and a poet. One essay considers the past in which babies were born in a room near the kitchen, young people were married in the parlor, and the dead were laid out and waked in their own homes. In those days, people were familiar with the physical realities of life. Every now and then, Lynch likes to shit in his garden, just to reconnect with nature. Unfortunately, Lynch crosses the line between testifying and preaching when he writes about suicide.

The Undertaking: Life Studies from a Dismal Trade

He likens assisted suicide to abortion. Do you see a theme developing here? Of course, he expects to die quickly and relatively painlessly from the bad heart his father left him… Still, Lynch is more than half a businessman. He relates the story of his brother, who owned a business created to clean up after suicides. The brother sold the business after Kevorkian began his crusade Lynch works in Michigan, after all. The brother saw no profit in continuing to serve the grieving public. This was a frustrating book, but full of food for thought.

Most of the essays were structured like poems: I found the lack of linear thought dizzying. Yet the poet has a gift for phrasing. Aug 12, Fred rated it it was ok Shelves: I had hoped for much more from this book. It received good notices and won the American Book Award.

But there were a few aspects of the book and the writing that put me off, and I quit at the halfway point. First, I would very much like publishers to stop putting out essay collections that appear to be continuous narratives. Such a form can be done well Atul Gawande's BETTER achieved a continuity with a consistent theme and editing that reinforced it, despite the fact that it was clearly a colle I had hoped for much more from this book.

Such a form can be done well Atul Gawande's BETTER achieved a continuity with a consistent theme and editing that reinforced it, despite the fact that it was clearly a collection , but more often it seems a cheat to readers who are hoping to pick up a book on a single subject. Instead they get a loose collection of short pieces that may or may not relate to the subject in which they were interested.

The Undertaking: Life Studies from the Dismal Trade

That is the case here. Second, I'm afraid I found Thomas Lynch's style overly adorned and florid. This is probably in part because, in addition to being an undertaker, he is also a poet. His poetic tendency leads him, ironically, to say more when it would do to say less. I enjoyed some parts of some of his stories, but I knew I would have enjoyed them more if many of his descriptions, asides, and opinions had been trimmed away. This is a matter of taste, I suppose, but I was less able to enjoy the stories, because I was rarely allowed to forget that it was Thomas Lynch telling them.

He seemed very concerned that his voice be prominent, and I guess I just don't like that voice. I don't mean to suggest that contemporary nonfiction be devoid of personality and idiosyncrasy, but writers who are enamored of their own voices can often in the reader's way, of being too intrusive a mediator of the message. Third, there are too many single-sentence paragraphs.


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And, finally, fifth, I honestly never got what I came for. The conceit of the book, at least in part, is that Lynch will conduct us through a world that he is well-prepared to share with us: But far too often he drifts far afield, and the straightforward details I would expect from such a book are imparted only partially, and often in passing.

Clearly he has a viewpoint that he would like to share, and that viewpoint sometimes stands in opposition to earlier books published about his trade. But he does not marshal the facts as often as necessary, and he sometimes falls back on generalizations and wry opinion when the truly convincing evidence one needs is old-fashioned example. Feb 14, Mere rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: I didn't always agree with the Lynch's religious or political views, nor the way in which he expressed them, but accept my lens is a little thicker.

It never ceases to amaze me how our culture deals - or doesn't - with death Oct 09, Claire rated it did not like it. Starts out charmingly enough, but Lynch quickly becomes abrasive. The lack of feeling here, of emotion, of individualization is what really got to me. Lynch is interesting enough when talking about the specific, but his rampant generalizations about death are tiresome and irritating. Nov 05, Loretta rated it it was ok Shelves: Late in this collection, in the essay "Jessica, the Hound and the Casket Trade," Thomas Lynch begins to go predictably off on a tangent when discussing the perception the general public has of undertakers - generally negative.

But, unlike in some of his essays, he reels himself in fairly quickly.

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When he begins to examine public perceptions of politicians and lawyers, he writes, "But back to caskets and bodies and funerals. In a number of essays, that is precisely what I was thinkin Late in this collection, in the essay "Jessica, the Hound and the Casket Trade," Thomas Lynch begins to go predictably off on a tangent when discussing the perception the general public has of undertakers - generally negative. In a number of essays, that is precisely what I was thinking to myself as I read his overblown, rambling prose. Lynch is at his best - his most insightful and nuanced - when he directs his musings to caskets, bodies and funerals.

However, even when he is exploring burials, his tendency is toward writing that obfuscates meaning with overwriting and cliches. The most frustrating example of this is in the essay "Sweeney. Lynch obnoxiously describes him as "a charming neurotic of the hypochondriacal variety. He does this so often that his essays are imbued with a sort of smarmy, humble brag tone that I began to despise toward the end of the collection. By the time I got to "Uncle Eddie, Inc," an essay that conflates assisted suicide and abortion with about as much nuance as an acme hammer dropping on Wile E.

Coyote, I almost gave up on finishing the book. He does get back around to "caskets, bodies, and funerals and his observations are tender and earnest. However, as someone who grew up in a mortuary and comes from a family of undertakers, I can say that some of his knowledge and perspectives seem outdated. This could be because laws and regulations differ from state to state and even county to county.

Even if it is a bit outdated, the essays that stay focused on his vast history and knowledge of the "dismal trade," and how this history and knowledge has impacted his life are the most effective. Still not sure I would recommend the entire collection Jan 15, Autumn Marie rated it did not like it. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Well, you stumble through the first three quarters of the book thinking he'll get to something more interesting than his divorcing friends and disgruntled and fearful attitude about He just continues to be irritatingly repetative until the next to last chapter when he turns into an angry, verbally abusive, right-wing nut case with a neatly bound soap box to rant on. All the way until the last two sentences which make you feel like you've been kicking in the fa Well, you stumble through the first three quarters of the book thinking he'll get to something more interesting than his divorcing friends and disgruntled and fearful attitude about All the way until the last two sentences which make you feel like you've been kicking in the face and left for dead Feb 23, April rated it liked it.

I really liked parts of this one but at times it seemed too disconnected a set of essays and other times I thought it seemed very preachy and judgemental. The author ended up fulfilling several baby boomer stereotypes that I had a hard time ignoring. He is a good writer and story teller overall and has some excellent arguements and discussions about our outlook on life and death so I still recommend the book, but while I was in the middle of it I found myself not wanting to pick it up much and w I really liked parts of this one but at times it seemed too disconnected a set of essays and other times I thought it seemed very preachy and judgemental.

He is a good writer and story teller overall and has some excellent arguements and discussions about our outlook on life and death so I still recommend the book, but while I was in the middle of it I found myself not wanting to pick it up much and wishing for something more compelling. View all 4 comments. Feb 17, Mike rated it it was ok. Not only does this guy not really tell any story, he spends far too much time either degrading any generation other than his own or not really telling us why he thinks abortion is bad. The only reason it's not 1 star is because there are a few excellent decent quotable sentences and perspectives.

Find in a library : The undertaking : life studies from the dismal trade

Mar 19, Nilchance rated it did not like it Shelves: I got as far as the second to last chapter, convinced that the book might eventually be about funeral homes. Then the author made a slippery slope argument about how reproductive choice leads to the children of baby boomers euthanizing their parents for convenience. Jan 31, Holly rated it did not like it. Deeply disappointed by the conservative judgements tucked in between an otherwise well written book. Nov 11, Ben rated it really liked it. An one-time therapist of mine recommended this book when my dad died.

I enjoyed it, he can write, but it didn't make me feel any better. Leaving that therapist did though. Apr 30, Christa rated it really liked it Shelves: Lynch is a poet. I love his writing but struggle with essays. I would have appreciated reading it a bit a time versus on a deadline. But I would strongly recommend any of Lynch's work. Apr 25, Brittanie rated it liked it Shelves: Thomas Lynch is a second-generation Irish Catholic that grew up in the midwest into the family tradition of undertaking. He has quite a way with words, being a published poet, and these short biographical stories infused with lessons and ideals have a beautiful poignancy that made even a common story seem somewhat profound.

However, I found that he focused a lot more on his personal life and religion rather than his career in the funeral business than I expected and since the main reason I wante Thomas Lynch is a second-generation Irish Catholic that grew up in the midwest into the family tradition of undertaking.

However, I found that he focused a lot more on his personal life and religion rather than his career in the funeral business than I expected and since the main reason I wanted to read this book was to get a personal view of the funeral trade, I was a bit disappointed. I did like his stories about Ireland and the differences between how people view death and the dying between the two countries, but I'm not Catholic or at all religious so the strong religious overtones were sometimes too much for me.

Overall, a very interesting read but not quite what I hoped for. Thomas Lynch is a poet of proud Irish extraction, as well as chief undertaker of Milford, Michigan. This book is not so much an account of the undertaking profession as a brilliant set of essays about life and death, perfectly balanced between humor and pathos. Despite the often horrific nature of his work — even small-town Michigan seems to have its fair share of grisly murders and suicides — and the constan Thomas Lynch is a poet of proud Irish extraction, as well as chief undertaker of Milford, Michigan.

Despite the often horrific nature of his work — even small-town Michigan seems to have its fair share of grisly murders and suicides — and the constantly reinforced knowledge that we are all just smelly flesh waiting to be embalmed and put in a box, he maintains a belief that life is sacred and meaningful, if arbitrary. Oct 11, Jenny rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: Although The Undertaking includes a plethora of examples of the experiences Lynch has seen throughout his years as an undertaker, the book is really more a book about life than it is about death.

Woven in essays throughout the book, Lynch engages in reflective consideration about death and expresses his wisdom and humor with a poetic meticulousness. I found the book to be beautiful and mesmerizing, drawing me slowly into the issue of how death affects life. This book is probably one of the best Although The Undertaking includes a plethora of examples of the experiences Lynch has seen throughout his years as an undertaker, the book is really more a book about life than it is about death.

This book is probably one of the best books I have read in seminary and one of the better books I have read in life. Jul 03, Ginny rated it really liked it. I read this book for MAC's book of the month club, and one would think that reading about death and the field of undertaking would be macabre but it was truly an inspirational read. He later remarried to Mary Tata in He has a daughter and three sons.

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In Lynch went to Ireland for the first time, to find his family and read William Butler Yeats and James Joyce , an experience he recounts in his book Booking Passage: We Irish and Americans. He has returned many times since then, and now owns the small cottage in West Clare that was the home of his great-great-grandfather, and which was given as a wedding gift in the 19th century. He spends a portion of each year there. His collection of essays, The Undertaking: It has been translated into seven languages.

His work has been the subject of two documentary films. Lynch is also a regular presenter to professional conferences of funeral directors, hospice and medical ethics professionals, clergy, educators, and business leaders. In his first book of poems, Mr.