A Trick I Learned From Dead Men
Kitty Aldridge
A Trick I Learned From Dead Men
After the disappearance of their father and the sudden death of their mother, Lee Hart and his deaf brother, Ned, imagine all is lost until Lee lands a traineeship at their local funeral home and discovers there is life after death. Here, in the company of a crooning ex-publican, a closet pole vaulter, a terminally-ill hearse driver, and the dead of their local town, old wounds begin to heal and love arrives as a beautiful florist aboard a 'Fleurtations' delivery van.
3.9 out of 5 based on 5 reviews
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Omniscore:
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| Classification |
Fiction |
| Genre |
General Fiction |
| Format |
Hardcover |
| Pages |
224 |
| RRP |
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| Date of Publication |
July 2012 |
| ISBN |
978-0224096430 |
| Publisher |
Jonathan Cape |
| |
After the disappearance of their father and the sudden death of their mother, Lee Hart and his deaf brother, Ned, imagine all is lost until Lee lands a traineeship at their local funeral home and discovers there is life after death. Here, in the company of a crooning ex-publican, a closet pole vaulter, a terminally-ill hearse driver, and the dead of their local town, old wounds begin to heal and love arrives as a beautiful florist aboard a 'Fleurtations' delivery van.
Reviews
The Guardian
Evie Wyld
“As in the funeral home, humour is everywhere in this novel. "I take it as a compliment," says one of the undertakers after receiving an out-of-date photograph as a guide to making up a body, "but this is not a beauty salon and neither is it the shrine of Lourdes." Lee's relationship with Lorelle, which plays out in painfully realistic text messages, is extremely funny, and the relationship between Lee and his deaf brother, shown in wittily rendered sign arguments, is the emotional heart of the book. Perhaps this novel's greatest achievement, though, is the way it recreates the end of Lee and Ned's mother's life, as she seizes on alternative therapy and encourages the family to believe that all it takes to beat cancer is some positive thinking and a few apricot stones ... A Trick I Learned from Dead Men is a wonderfully funny, original novel. ”
03/08/2012
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The Sunday Times
Francesca Angelini
“Life presents Lee with nothing but adversity, yet he never gives up, and Aldridge’s rhythmical, punchy style captures his matter-of-fact voice perfectly as he fights on with moving determination. Both tragic yet somehow life-affirming, her novel holds you to the end.”
15/07/2012
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The Financial Times
David Evans
“A wonderful book, written with a mixture of pathos and bleak humour that brings to mind classic television comedies such as The Office or Marion and Geoff (“she allowed him to sweep her off her feet – albeit to a Harvester Inn”).”
13/07/2012
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The Independent
Melissa McClements
“Is her third novel, A Trick I Learned from Dead Men, her breakthrough? The trademark linguistic effervescence is certainly present. The narrator's tone of voice is pitch-perfect … There is certainly more plot this time round, but this blackly funny, moving, eccentric story about death is undoubtedly an acquired taste.”
14/07/2012
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The Daily Mail
Michael Arditti
“Aldridge beautifully captures Lee’s thought patterns, in which cheering clichés fail to mask failure and despair, and movingly portrays the relentless drudgery of both his domestic and professional life. Her research is impeccable, and the quirky portrait of funeral home routine (the heaviness of a pacemaker when removed from a corpse, the ‘gravograph’ which inscribes names on a coffin plate) will appeal to fans of the TV series, Six Feet Under. Yet, for all the charm of the protagonist and detail of the setting, the narrative is anecdotal and slight.”
12/07/2012
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