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
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
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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