“Both funny and sad, the kind of story we like best.”
This tragicomedy is creative, heartfelt, touching and delightfully quirky. The fun starts when you begin to realise that the “we” narration, as the novel begins, is a chorus of ghosts from the Maple Tree Cemetery. Their randomly pitched observations (as they cheer on the townspeople) are hilarious, thoughtful, and wise. There are also pictures and excerpts from a book by Ernest Harold Baynes between chapters. Baynes is a Doctor Doolittle historical figure who had amazing encounters with animals.
Emma is a little lost in her life when she returns to her childhood home in New Hampshire to see her dying father and stays to become a substitute teacher. Emma once had the gift of healing but that too seems to be lost. Emma’s father is obsessed with a quest to find a missing person and sees animals everywhere, which is why he lost his job at the University.
Healing abilities, ghostly visions, and a graveyard Greek chorus aside, this somewhat strange novel has a lot of heart and humour, dealing with life, death and whatever comes after. I loved the imperfect characters and the uplifting tone, even though it deals with some heavy topics like senility, drug addiction, infidelity, and failure to thrive.
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