The End of the Road
by Jack Cooke
A book review
This volume's subtitle is "A journey around Britain in search of the dead", which pretty much sums up what it is all about. Cooke's book is, in fact, a travelogue of sorts that sees the author embark on a tour of graveyards and final resting places across the UK, starting from Dunwich, where the historical cemetery beside the abandoned All Saints’ Church is being eroded and gobbled up by the North Sea, and ending, a month and two thousand miles later, in Orkney. Cooke’s means of transport, the equivalent of Charon’s boat, is, quite appropriately, a vintage, second-hand (or maybe third or fourth hand) hearse, itself nearing the “end of the road”. His companions are the ghosts of the dead and a spider hitchhiker whom Jack affectionately names Enfield.
Cooke’s quirky trip takes in a variety of burial sites – from more conventional graveyards, churchyards and cemeteries (including London’s Highgate and the Glasgow Necropolis), to prehistoric barrows, the “plague cottages” of Eyam and even a show cave which became a burial chamber and memorial following the tragic death of a speleologist.
Cooke is an endearing narrator, combining trivia and historical facts with personal reflection. There is often an element of self-deprecating humour as we watch him scaling cemetery gates, blocking traffic on the highway, or offering lifts to strangers who scurry away in shock. However, what is particularly impressive in what is, ultimately, a book about death, is how uplifting a read it turns out to be. As, at the end of every day, Cooke makes his bed for the night – either in his hearse, or on a grave site – one is struck by a sense of calm and peace, as if the very fact of going to sleep amongst the ghosts is a respectful act of communion with the departed.
The End of the Road is my first read for
2021 and it is, admittedly, a strange start to my reading year. But who thought a trip in a hearse would be
so enjoyable?
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