Review: just okay, needs more details and improved editing
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 5, 2013
From other reviews, I knew to expect that this "book" was really just an adaptation of a newspaper article written about a couple who operated a mortuary. Despite that, I expected there to be more... the details are all pretty thin and don't really tell a story. The quotes are nice, the people who operated this mortuary seemed to care about their customers, although a lot of it seemed pretty damning and I was surprised that they would talk about and agree to have this stuff printed. They basically admit to not being licensed in a number of areas (because they felt it was a waste of time; like the wife not having any background is cosmetology but offering for-a-fee services of hair and makeup styling) or following state mandates for the care and keeping of bodies, including basic sanitation principles. Based on the fact that this appears to be a "neighborhood" mortuary (built into and alongside residential properties) I sincerely hope that they did follow SOME basic sanitation measures or else they could have been poisoning the neighborhood. [I have a background in this and I understand that a lot of things, like transmittable disease, isn't really a huge issue with a shared sewer system, but the chemicals used in embalming - including the massive refrigeration units required - CAN have an effect and can leach into nearby waterways.]They also came off as a bit churchy, saying that they would perform whatever kind of service the customers requested but that they didn't like it and that Jesus wasn't cremated so why should anyone else be? That sort of thing irks me on a personal level because they work in the customer service industry and shouldn't be so judgmental.Overall, this "book" isn't much material. A fluffy interview piece with some people who sound nice, but not terribly interesting. I would suggest that the author add to this story and maybe try and round it out a bit, otherwise there isn't any broad appeal. Also, the author needs to spell check and grammar check this book. Even the couple being interviewed doesn't have their name appear consistently (it's spelled differently in several places).