The Undertaking

Life Studies from the Dismal Trade

De: Thomas Lynch

Narrado por: Kevin T. Collins

"...I had come to know that the undertaking that my father did had less to do with what was done to the dead and more to do with what the living did about the fact of life that people died," Thomas Lynch muses in his preface to The Undertaking.

The same could be said for Lynch's book: ostensibly about death and its attendant rituals, The Undertaking is in the end about life. In each case, he writes, it is the one that gives meaning to the other. A funeral director in Milford, Michigan, Lynch is that strangest of hyphenates, a poet-undertaker, but according to Lynch, all poets share his occupation, "looking for meaning and voices in life and love and death."

Looking for meaning takes him to all sorts of unexpected places, both real and imagined. He embalms the body of his own father, celebrates the rebuilt bridge to his town's old cemetery, takes issue with the Jessica Mitfords of this world, and envisages a "golfatorium," a combination golf course and cemetery that could restore joy to the last rites. In "Crapper," Lynch even contemplates the subtleties of the modern flush toilet and its relationship to the messy business of dying: "Just about the time we were bringing the making of water and the movement of bowels into the house, we were pushing the birthing and marriage and sickness and dying out." Death and fatherhood, death and friendship, death and faith and love and poetry--these are the concerns that power Lynch's undertaking. Throughout, Lynch pleads the case for our dead--who are, after all, still living through us--with an eloquence marked by equal parts whimsy, wit, and compassion. In the last essay, "Tract," he envisions almost wistfully the funeral he'd choose for himself, and then relinquishes that, too. Funerals, after all, are for the living. The dead, he reminds us, don't care.

©1997 Thomas Lynch (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"[Lynch] brings the lessons of death to life, and turns life and death into art." (Time Out New York)

"A memoir that is stand-out superb." (Esquire)

"Forceful, authentic and full of a kind of ethical and aesthetic clarity." (New York Times)

Unprepared

I was unprepared for the humor, joy, linguistic melody of this book, at my first reading of it. Now, I have read it in print, listened to it on Audible (3 times) with no diminishment of pleasure. Lynch offers us new opportunities for appreciation of Life despite our human foibles and grand distractions, he gives us something to be hopeful about.

A surprising case for tradition

Thomas Lynch is first a poet, no matter what else he does to supplement his income. His language is spare. Senses and emotions hold the words together.
For those looking for the “eww” factor of handling the dead, you’ll be satisfied. You’ll also discover the reasons for body preparation, the viewing, the service, and the burial.
I’m a Caitlin Doughty (proponent of transparency in the funeral industry) fan. I was ready to view Lynch’s discussion with a gimlet eye. Unexpectedly, Lynch speaks of his services with the need to help the grieving. No hard sell, just a deep well of experience to provide the family what they want. He would help me plan a no frills cremation, or bury me in my wedding dress after delivering me to the grave by horse drawn carriage.
The compassion he has for parents of dead children makes Lynch my hero. He is so gentle, and donates much of his work to minimize expenses.
Joe Hill, Stephen King’s son, says he learned to write from JK Rowling. I’d like to learn from Thomas Lynch.

THE UNDERTAKING!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, I like the way the author writes about the subject, (sort of (tongue in cheek ) for those who are uncomfortable with this subject!

Who was your favorite character and why?

THE AUTHOR, BECAUSE HE GETS THE INFORMATION ACROSS WITH HUMOR.

What about Kevin T. Collins’s performance did you like?

HIS HUMOR, I THINK HE PREFORMED EXACTLY THE WAY THE AUTHOR INTENDED FOR IT TO BE READ.

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

HIS IDEAS ABOUT WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE ASHES AFTERWARDS. GREAT IDEAS!!!

Any additional comments?

I LOVED THE BOOK!!! 😉

Thoroughly Original, Inspiring and Mesmerizing!

I wanted to read this as soon as the book appeared in the audible.com inventory. "The Undertaking" attracted my attention as the subject is neither common nor comfortable for many. So I couldn't wait to jump right in.

Thomas Lynch is both a published poet and the director of a funeral home; perhaps an odd pairing of professions, but each job informs the other and stories of the living (as he cares for and buries the dead) flow poetically through this novel as the Huron River flows through his home town in Michigan. As Lynch anecdotally brings life to those his clients have left behind, the poetry within the prose is musical, nuanced, and sustaining.

Kevin T. Collins' performance makes a substantial contribution and I am not certain this book will impact readers in quite the same way as hearing it read with such sensitivity, emotion, and grace, and at times I could not tell if I was reading prose or poetry.
,

ok

I loved the narrator, but the book went on and on about politics than undertaking.

Philosophy and mental rivers

This book is a worthy read for anyone interested in death's philosophy and the meandering of the mind. 10/10 recommended.
I really would rather not spoil it, but for all those thinking this book will be a job description, look elsewhere and listen to the sample. there is a poetic turn of thought in these pages with may commend itself to the thinker and philosopher.
The section on Stephanie was particularly affecting to me.

Musings on morbidity become tangential

Although eloquent when discussing his profession, relationship, and outlook on death, often begins to branch off into unsolicited observations on society without presenting significant evidence to back them up.

Many words with little being said.

After listening to "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" Audible recommended this book to me. Hoping "The Undertaking" would be equally as interesting and entertaining; I was disappointed. The story writing speaks nothing of what is behind the curtain of the crypt. "The Undertaking" is a dismal full worded re-accouting of the authors personal life. If one hopes to learn about funeral work, body disposal, and the undertaking of being an undertaker, look for titles such as "Stiff" and "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes".

Not as Expected

The total material of this work has barely half of the content that drew me to this title: direct reflections in the realities of this industry. The rest are awkwardly poetic ramblings that are sporadic, random, and sometimes irreverent. I completed the work but was generally disappointed.

Boring and misleading

It was hardly about undertaking at all. Very wordy and uninteresting stories about his personal life, religion, and politics.