“Before falling into a fitful sleep, Fred wonders if he’s already dead. Perhaps this is Hell. But he can’t, for the life of him, remember what sin he ever committed to be punished this terribly.”
Fred is dead, but his spirit has not been released from the Earth. He doesn’t realize why at first, but then he sees his sister-in-law Viola come to arrange his funeral and get his belongings from the home he’s been living in. He realizes he must set the record straight with his family that he was not crazy from the time he spent serving in the war. Fred tags along with Viola to her home where the family has a wake and spends a few hours talking about Fred and his life.
The author requested Fred’s Funeral to be reviewed by me through my blog. I was given a free copy of the book in exchange for a fair review. I was intrigued by the description as it talked about a man trying to set his history straight with his family.
As Fred’s life is discussed, memories of his childhood, military service and adulthood are shared with his nieces and nephews and their children. Several years after the war, Fred is put in an insane asylum and everyone then blamed shell shock. As they talk about him, they come to realize shell shock would have been evidenced right when he returned, not years later. At the end of the night, a box of his letters is discovered and his own words will set the record straight with his family.
Fred’s Funeral was an interesting take on a historical fiction novel by telling it from the ghost’s point of view. It is never said if Fred truly was insane or not, so the reader has to come to his or her own conclusion. The book is for high school ages or older as there are descriptions of war.
Have you ever had a relative tell you about their experiences in war? Do you pass those stories down? Comment below!
