I See You've Called in Dead

Kenney, John. I See You've Called in Dead. New York : Zibby 2025. Print.

First Sentences:

The good news, of course, is that someone died today. That came out wrong. My name is Bud Stanley. I am an obituary writer. 

 

Description:

For starters, my wife loved this book and laughed out loud frequently while reading it, a very good sign that this would be a story worth it for me to dive into. The clever title to John Kenney's novel, I See You've Called in Dead, was also enticing. Most importantly, from the first few sentences, it seemed to have an interesting, quirky narrator with an unusual job (obituary writer), who was facing a turning point in his life. I was hooked.

Bud Stanley, the obituary writer, has been having a bad time getting serious about his writing assignments and living his life in general. His boss and friend at United World Press, an international news supplier to the world's newspapers and information outlets, likes Bud but is discouraged by Bud's recent work. His examples of Bud's slipshod obituary details sums up Bud's distraction and indifference to his work. 

Wrong age of deceased...Nine times last year...Wrong spouse and children's names. Fourteen times....Wrong affiliations. Twenty-one times. Wrong birthplace. Twelve times. Here's my favorite: Wrong cause of death. Four times. You claimed an eighty-one-year-old grandmother of five who died peacefully in her sleep had, instead, died by suicide by leaping off a bridge.

Bud's background: a sad miscarriage for his wife, a failed marriage, and a disastrous blind date (where the woman, after one look at Stanley, brought her ex-boyfriend into the bar and told Stanley she and her ex were getting back together). These numbing experiences are recalled by Stanley as the stream-of-consciousness narrator with black humor, sarcasm, and overwhelming sadness. These events lead him to a drunken night and his subsequent writing of a fake obituary for himself on the highly password-protected news service's wire service.

Unfortunately, a awkward drunken motion at the keyboard caused him to accidentally post his obituary to the world. This leads everyone he knows (and doesn't know) to believe Bud is dead. In this ill-conceived obit, the world learned that during his lifetime Bud accomplished a great many unusual feats:

Bud Stanley, forty-four, former Mr. Universe, failed porn star, and mediocre obituary writer, is dead.

But ironically, because Stanley is now considered dead in the international news data bank, he technically cannot be fired from United World Press. One cannot fire dead people, it seems. 

So the company's HR Department puts him on leave while they try to figure out what to do with him and how they can legally terminate his employment with them. Until then, Stanley is free to walk around the streets and try to figure out who he is, his purpose, and what he will do with his life.  

What he learns about himself and society drive the rest of the plot forward through many twists and turns, misdirections, revelations, friendships, and life's quirks.

Like most black humor books, this is not necessarily a comedic book. It is, however, certainly one that might make you feel a wee bit guilty for laughing at the characters, their rambling dialogues, and the many awkward situations and odd characters they face.

So, for a complete change of pace read, full of unexpected turns and curious plot lines, I highly recommend I See You've Called in Dead. I guarantee it will captivate you and in the process brighten your day. 

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:]

 West, Nathanael. Miss Lonelyhearts.

A newspaper columnist who writes an newspaper advice column similar to "Dear Abby," comes to realize that the people who ask for help have genuinely heartbreaking situations they (and now he) cannot address easily or dispassionately. Highly recommended.

Happy reading.

 

Fred

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