The Undertaker's Assistant: A Captivating Post-Civil War Era Novel of Southern Historical Fiction

When I was a young girl I read Johanna Spyri's Heidi. I couldn't stop crying after I read the last page, not because it ended sadly but because there was no more. I was so deeply enmeshed in the lives of the characters I couldn't accept that, for me, their lives ended with this story. The Undertaker's Assistant, the second novel by author Amanda Skenandore, affected me in precisely the same way. I could barely force myself to put the book down and go to bed. I rushed back to the pages as soon as I arose each morning. I wept copious tears when I read the last page. I was so thoroughly involved in the lives, emotions, successes and failures of each character in this story it felt as if I was tearing off skin to let them go. Ms. Skenandore has succeeded in penning yet another book that should be a best seller by any yardstick that includes literary fiction. Her writing is so steeped with honesty, so well researched, and so poignantly laid upon the page as to elevate the reader to a new level of understanding, sympathy, empathy and intellect. The main character, Effie, and all the auxiliary characters will be forever inscribed upon my mind and indeed, my very soul. This author succeeds in framing every scene with words that evoke every sense from sounds to smells to emotions and everything in-between. You cannot read this book without being carried back in time to another place; you cannot go on this journey without experiencing the wounds our society inflicted on so many and is still inflicting, without remorse, on the descendants of the people these characters are built upon. The book is so relevant to the here and now of conversations going on in our current political climate, the upcoming election, the pain filled and hurtful rantings of those without empathy for the suffering of other human beings. I loved this author's first book, Between Earth and Sky, that dealt so deftly with the travesty of assimilation of the Native American population via Indian Boarding Schools, for it's sensitive portrayal of the human cost of "helping" the "other" in society through the tender and ill-fated romance of the main characters. This book, The Undertaker's Assistant, opened my eyes to a period of history I knew little about, Reconstruction after the Civil War. Effie and Samson and Tom and Adeline and Jonesy and so many others spread across this period of history in such a natural and believable way under Ms. Skenandore's able pen. Their lives were fraught with trauma, rising above their beginnings, falling into easy and strangling relationships without a thought, the everyday carrying on of life's routines, successes, disappointments, human weaknesses and human strengths. The longing to know who we are, where we came from and where we are going was upfront and present throughout the story. Feelings of emptiness, not fitting in, falling deeply and inexplicably in love, entitlement, prestige, debasement and as many others as you can conjure are all present and accounted for. This is a book that will make you feel and make you think. It will expand your grasp of a period in history that continues to trouble us today. I hope it will make you feel something you haven't felt before. I know this author is a nurse, but her grasp of what an Undertaker does blew the doors off. What detailed explanations and descriptions, what a nuanced portrayal of the need for detachment, what wonderful skill in taking the reader into an unseemly experience and actually making us watch with sensitivity. This type of thing makes me squeamish but the author brought me into this part of the story with the necessary detachment to avoid those feelings. She's good. The A negative? Perhaps for me, because I don't speak French, the frequent use of french phrases interrupted my thoughts and feelings from time to time as I tried to decipher the author's intent or meaning. And vocabulary unique to the time forced me to stop and look up a word much more often than I am used to. I think I have a good vocabulary and a good education until I read something by Amanda Skenandore! I can't wait for her next book.

Starts off very interesting. I really like Effie. Depicts New Orleons during that time very well. There were slow slow parts,thus the 4 Star rating.

I love Amanda Skenandore's writing. She builds fully fleshed out characters you can't help but root for. This story describes the time period right after the American Civil War, and Skenandore's protagonist, a young Black woman with a special skill set as an undertaker, is particularly riveting. We take so much for granted today, and brave women have had to fight for every scrap of self-determination. This book talks about all those struggles.

I didn't live in the post civil war era, and most documentaries I have watched were not told from the African American perspective. This novel, The Undertaker's Assistant, tells the story of a young black woman, in New Orleans, about 10 years after the Civil War. Effie is skilled in embalming and she returns to the south after the war to reconnect with her past. I found this book to be an interesting read. The author, Amanda Skenandore, referenced events from that era and location. It would have been helpful if she had included more information in her text. I found myself frequently looking up background facts, so that I had a better understanding of matters. I do enjoy historical fiction and think most people would like this book.

This book challenged me (and my vocabulary, plus my foreign languages) more than any other book I've read in years! It was an enjoyable read, something many years away from the books I usually read. However, I've always loved history and New Orleans therefore decided to give this one a try. I will say I was very surprised at the promiscuity in this book, it was quite unexpected for me. I knew it was taboo to talk about it back then. So, I guess I just assumed the author would continue with that thought process and not make such innuendos. I don’t mean this prudish, it was just a surprise and I thought I'd share. However, as I continued to read learning more about Effie's past, I understood more of the reasoning why it was included. Amanda Skenandore made a statement in the author's notes about immersing us in their lives and why. Do I recommend it? Yes, but it's not for everyone. Would I read other novels written by Amanda Skenandore? Yes, but it's more like picking and choosing the ones that pop out to about subjects or places that I like. I do have The Medicine Woman of Galveston on my read soon list. Let me just leave you with this last fact: The Undertaker's Assistant has left a deep impression and impact on me. It's something that not many other books are able to do and I'm sure I will continue to think about this story for years. I truly enjoyed experiencing this story thru Amanda's pen.

This book was a different historical fiction as it is set in the South after the Civil War. Characters were well developed.

Great story and great writing

Effie’s journey to remember her past through her present is filled with palpable emotion. The fear and sadness rips at your heart while the gut wrenching and then sweetness take turns. This book was written so that you feel just enough. This was my first historical fiction experience and I find myself seeking out more. While the slavery aspect was mentioned and the horrors of the treatment of slaves mentioned, it was still a tame description. Enough that your mind knew how bad it was going to get without the author putting words on the paper. Overall it was a good read. The characters had depth and various backgrounds. Though I was a bit disappointed with the lack of time spent on the relationship changes between Effie and Mr. Whitaker. I would recommend this to someone looking for a book with less traditional and vibrant romance but still wanting a bittersweet ending of love lost and found.

Loved it New Orleans is fascinating The whole embalming thing didn’t put my off which is surprising Unfolding why she was the way she was kept me riveted

This story may be fictional but the events are believable. The characters are lifelike. It makes you want to stand up and fight for equality. It makes you want to fight racism. It makes you want to hold firm to your beliefs and not be easily swayed by the government and all their BS.

great service

The main character is a freed slave who is an embalmer. the book starts about 11 years after the Civil War, when Effie moves to New Orleans from Chicago where she's lived since she was little. The writing isn't particularly good and the plot is pretty stupid, but the setting during reconstruction, and the background events, are interesting enough to make it worth reading.

The writer let's you live the life of an intelligent black woman after the civil war. Painful but you 'll be glad you read it.