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Summary: He's been at all the turning points in my life.
Review: It was interesting to see that the man who had burried both my father, and my best friend, had written a book, years after I had left his home town (and mine) and all those painful memory's. What isn't interesting is that the book is excellent. Since I figured I was biased by my dealings with such a warm and compasionaite man, I decided to reccomend the book to absolutely EVERYONE I know, most of whom have never even heard of Milford, and they all came away a better person. Ahhh, what the hell, if nothing else the book is funnier than a cow on cruthes. Thanks Tom....... For Everything.
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Summary: Correction: Not Fiction
Review: It's unfortunate that one reviewer listed here mistook this collection of essays for a work of fiction. The reviewer criticizes a lack of plot and character development in this "novel." Since it's not a novel and not fiction, these criticisms are irrelevant. No reader should perceive that review to be helpful.
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Summary: Life Studies from the Dismal Trade is the key phrase.....
Review: Life Studies from the Dismal Trade is the subtitle of Thomas Lynch's extraordinary collection of essays. It says far more about the substance of this book than the title itself. Lynch is the sole funeral director in Milford, Michigan. As such, as he states in his opening, he "buries a couple of hundred of his towns people". It is not, an occasional aside notwithstanding, the technical aspects of his job that lynch focuses on here, however. As the subtitle suggests, it is the living that concern Mr. Lynch, and, in fact, as an undertaker, it is the living, not the dead, he truly serves. For, as he is wont to point out, the dead don't care. The living, on the other hand, care a great deal. Especially in cases of tragic, unforeseen death. The young murder victim's family, the suicide's family, and so on. Mr. Lynch is a published poet. So his essays are not the dry stuff of technical journals, but rater elegant, philosophical expositions on the nature of death, the nature of survival, and the nature of his profession. One would think that this would be a rather depressing read but, in fact, it is anything but. I have recommended the book to many friends-boomers like myself with aging parents. Reading this book helped me to deal more effectively with my own parent's deaths. It helps one put some perspective on the rituals that we observe attendant to death. That it manages to inform and entertain as well is a remarkable achievement.
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Summary: A dark gem of a book...
Review: Lynch owns a lyric Irish soul and an eye for finding big truths in small town life. A Garrison Keillor without the cornball whimsy. Lynch's essays are things of great beauty and sadness and humor. He writes sentences and paragraphs that will haunt you like November rain.
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Summary: Till Death Do Us Part
Review: Lynch's compilation of stories of his townspeople, his experiences, and his personal views on life and death would make a person think differently on how these important issues affect one's life. Through my readings, I have found that Lynch truly respects his job. As a funeral director, Lynch has encountered many usual and unusual deaths in his town of Milford, Michigan. One can only imagine the hardships and duties of a funeral director. I would find it especially difficult to perform any embalming, burying, or cremating on close friends and or family. Mr. Lynch had to go through that with his father and others as well. Overall, Lynch completed this work with a smooth finish and I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in pursuing a career in the funeral direction service.
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Summary: Unsettling, perhaps, even disturbing - but oh so finely done
Review: Lynch's musings on his trade as a funeral director in a small Michigan town are sometimes disturbing, sometimes even abrasive: you may not agree with his strongly-stated thoughts on the troubling subjects of death, grief and loss. But the writing is so fine and some of the tales he tells so poignant, so powerful, that it is well worth the risk.
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Summary: Presents not only life studies, but important life lessons
Review: Mr. Lynch has presented us with many thought-provoking questions about what are the important questions that we should consider as parents. spouses, and citizens. Particularly insightful was the section about suicide, assisted suicide and abortion. How can we treat our fellow human beings with love and compassion when everyone becomes a disposable entity? His may be the dismal trade, but his accounts of life and death and dealing with the living and the dead let me know that this is someone who truly would be the last person to let us down. Should be required reading for all in his trade and for physicians who often haven't a clue when it comes to comforting the living.
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Summary: Wonderful tales of life and love for those in the know
Review: Mr. Lynch's tales are wonderful and from the heart. Those who experienced baby boomers, the second vatican council, marraige, divorce death and love will be chuckeling and crying at these stories from the DARK TRADE.
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Summary: The Pathos & Humor of Dealing with Death
Review: Perhaps it is Thomas Lynch's Irish heritage that shines through and illuminates his views of death. He certainly has the fabled Irish way with words, and can turn a phrase with the best. One of my favorites is: "The poor cousin of fear is anger." Lynch also exhibits the traditional Irish inclination to find humor even in the deepest throes of sorrow. Ironies abound in this work. His career as an undertaker has made him familiar with death, perhaps too familiar for his liking at times, so he can be matter-of-fact about it, but never disrespectful. The man's writing has some of the qualities of the prototypical Irish wake, at once keening for the loss of friends and neighbors and celebrating the lives of those left behind. Those are the qualities that make this slender volume (202 4-3/4 by 7-3/4" pages) such a valuble work. For this reader, at least, it provided a new perspective on death and "the dismal trade" that Lynch practices. It well deserved its spot as Runner-up in the National Book Awards. I recommend it to you.
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Summary: the undertaking-life in a dismal trade
Review: the best book i have read this year
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