Ghost

by: Alan Lightman

Published by: Vintage Contemporaries

Reviewed by Julina K. Small

David Kurzweil has had his share of days where nothing happens. He is a modest man with few ambitions who seems to trudge through life day to day just making ends meet. Although he tells his mother that he is a top dog at the bank he works at, he does not climb the ladder to match the tales that he tells her in order to make her happy. All of that changes when the bank downsizes and David finds himself working at a funeral home, destined to become the talk of the town and a leading story in the newspaper his mother reads.

Spending his life working in a mortuary has never been one of David’s goals, and he accepts the job due to the desperation of difficult economic times. Quickly learning his new trade, David dutifully completes his work each day and does not expect anything new to happen. However, when he catches a glimpse of a spirit rising out of a body as it departs its earthly life, David’s world is turned upside down and his beliefs are suddenly put to the test.

David quickly becomes the center of attention, much to the dismay of the owner of the funeral home, and various onlookers, reporters, and even a group which studies the paranormal become intrigued by what David has witnessed. And David is challenged to decide whether he really saw what he thought he did, or whether it was all a figment of his exhausted mind.

The characters in this book are interesting, although there is very little that makes them stand out remarkably from each other with the exception of Martin, the funeral home owner, Ophelia (one of David’s co-workers), and Jenny (Martin’s wife who is forever patient with his phobias).

I was also disappointed that with all of the turmoil David went through in trying to make some decisions in his life, the book’s ending left me feeling that no concrete decisions have been made, and David’s life will continue to be unsteady.

Armchair Interviews says: This work of fiction from this prolific author who is on MIT’s faculty, is also filled with some paranormal.