Book Review : What A Way To Go
Jason Eastwick
What a Way to Go
(Fabulous Funerals of the Famous
and Infamous) by Adele Q. Brown
As the title
may suggest, this book is quite the unusual read. The author covers twenty-four prominent figures and their final exits. Included in the list are Salvador Dali, Joseph Stalin, Babe Ruth, Mahatma Gandhi, Jim Henson, Notorious B.I.G. Pope John XXIII, John F. Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe and of course Elvis Presley.
The layout of the book itself is appropriate to the
subject it contains. Each celebrity’s section is broken down into segments, including vital statistics, his or her life, rites of passage, and beyond the grave. It gives an overall feel of extended obituaries rather than narrative text. Even with the straight-forward writing style, Brown never borders on becoming dry or dull in the presentation. For example, here’s the intro
for Josephine Baker:
VITAL STATISTICS
Age at death: 68
Cause of death: Cerebral hemorrhage
Survivors: Her estranged husband, bandleader Jo Bouillon, twelve adopted children, and her sister, Margaret Wallace
Close calls: In 1941, Baker nearly died following an emergency hysterectomy, after giving birth to a stillborn child in a Moroccan hospital, and news of her death was prematurely broadcast on Allied radio.
Then there are nine paragraphs giving a comprehensive overview of her life. From her childhood in Missouri in abusive conditions, her growing love of performing, to her ill-fated romances, all the major points are addressed and you do not get the feeling you are missing any important information.
Then there is the Rites of Passage section. Included
are the details of when she was announced deceased, world reactions (Baker’s entire funeral was broadcast on state television in France), the paying of respects, and where she was laid to rest.
Along the same vein as the obituary style writing, the author includes the newspaper headings, on the same day as the death, for other world news.
NEWS OF THE DAY
April 12, 1975
Last Americans leave Cambodia: Embassy Closed
Congress Resists U.S. Aid in Evacuating Vietnamese
The photography contained in the book is beautiful,
and always tasteful. It would be easy to allow the photos of the deceased and the funerals to turn this into a bizarre exploitation of the macabre, but that
line is never close to being crossed in Brown’s work.
The juxtaposition of traditional funeral processions with a very somber air about them, along side the more unorthadox proceedings, like Jim Henson’s funeral where no black clothing was allowed, and Big Bird sang
while the attendees waved butterfly wands, addresses an underlying theme hinted at, but not directly stated: death comes for us all. Brown presents the larger than life individuals of her book as equals of sorts in their deaths. The book
overall is entertaining (an achievement considering the subject), respectful and dignified to those whom the book contains, and thought provoking. Brown has written a winner for her first book, and is bound to have readers anxiously awaiting her next effort.
What a Way To Go is available for sale at Amazon.
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