Engaging stories about an unusual career.
A series of humorous anecdotes from the long career of a New York City funeral director.
Casey started out in the funeral business as a young man, almost by accident. Over nearly 50 years, he rose from an apprenticeship to funeral home manager to president of his own consulting firm. As is easy to imagine, the author has collected some great stories along the way, and he presents his recollections in this book. Casey has a keen eye for character and comedy, and most of his stories are quite funny, some even bordering on hilarious. Highlights include the time the author had to move the body of a man who had grown too big to fit through his bedroom door, and Casey had to involve the building super, the police and a group of thirsty piano-movers. Another anecdote concerns two families holding viewings at the same time who were unhappy with the color of the dresses the funeral-home staff had chosen for their departed relatives, leading to a rather uncomfortable mid-viewing switch. One story revolves around an alcoholic doorman who tended to park visitors’ cars on the sidewalk, and the author’s failed attempts to get rid of him. Though Casey’s first concern is humor, there are oddly touching moments as well, as when he goes to great lengths, figuratively and literally, to help a poor widow arrange a burial at sea on the cheap. While most of the author’s tales are funny, he tells them with the utmost respect for the living and the dead. Casey is compassionate and clearly feels a strong sense of duty as the person responsible for seeing the deceased off to their final resting places, while helping the living achieve closure. His writing is plain and occasionally stiff, but it’s effective and clearly comes from the heart.
Engaging stories about an unusual career.Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2011
ISBN: 978-0980141207
Page Count: 249
Publisher: Haddon Road
Review Posted Online: July 20, 2011
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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