Becoming an apprentice undertaker seems an odd career choice for a man of 44 whose prior job titles include radio producer, editorial cartoonist and railroad operator. Yet this is precisely what Tom Jokinen did, motivated, he claims in Curtains, by a need to understand both the ways in which we cope with the inevitability of death and the industry that caters to it. Jokinen seems to have an audience in mind from the start, however, and while his intent is not to expose the funeral industry, the nature of his interest in the trade often feels more journalistic than philosophical. The result is an interesting, thoughtful and often wry report on the state of the modern "death business."
Jokinen begins his journey with a reference to author Jessica Mitford, who turned the funeral industry on its ear in the 1960s with An American Way of Death. Neil Bardal, the good-natured, third-generation Winnipeg funeral director who takes Jokinen on, admits that when Mitford's book revealed how much people were actually spending to bury their dead, he and his colleagues were forced to rethink their long-standing business models. Cremation counts for a big part of this change. Whereas only about 5% of people opted for cremation a few short decades ago, Baby Boomers now choose this much less expensive option first. The difference (about $1,200 for cremation versus about $10,000 for a "full fig" funeral) has had a huge impact on the business. Funeral directors like Bardal have had to become creative in order to stay afloat financially. This includes all manner of specialty receptacles for cremated remains (jewelry, teddy bears, specially designed urns) as well as tailored services at the crematorium itself.
While not quite as wittily irreverent as Mary Roach on the same subject (in Stiff), Jokinen takes a sort of controlled glee in sharing the visceral details of his work, which are fascinating, if not for the squeamish. We learn exactly what happens to a body during cremation and how the ashes are processed afterward. The specifics of decomposition and embalming are covered here, too--in great detail. Despite his macabre (and one could argue, necessary) humor, Jokinen never loses respect for the dead, nor for the living who mourn them. Moreover, his investigation into different rituals (he visits a Jewish funeral home and attends a Mennonite burial) and the new trend of "green" funerals yields some provocative and moving conclusions about the human condition.--Debra Ginsberg
Shelf Talker: A thoughtful, provocative and often wry account of the modern funeral industry by an apprentice undertaker.