Perspective

The perspective of The Undertaking is written from the first person with third person elements. For the most part, Thomas Lynch describes his own thoughts, observations and experiences, but he will, from time to time, tell stories about the lives of others, narrating from the third-person point of view. His perspective is particularly unique, however, given his two occupations as a world-class poet and essayist on the one hand and the manager of a small-town funeral parlor on the other.

These two occupations lead Lynch to express a perspective that is profoundly interested in the connection between life and death. He is not macabre or morose, however. He is not obsessed with death, dead bodies or anything of the sort. However, neither is he afraid of death or interested in defeating or ignoring it. He strives to maintain an attitude of balance and continuity towards an event that...