Ferryman: The life and deathwork of Ephraim Finch

by Katia Ariel

Ferryman: The Life and Deathwork of Ephraim Finch is a profoundly moving exploration of life, loss, and legacy. Blending biography, memoir, and cultural history, Katia Ariel brings to life the remarkable story of Ephraim Finch OAM—a deathworker, community builder, and guardian of cultural memory.

Drawing from Finch’s handwritten journals and intimate interviews, Ariel masterfully explores themes of grief, memory, ritual, and the celebration of life, all with tenderness and wisdom. Finch’s extraordinary journey—from his working-class Sydney upbringing to his conversion to Orthodox Judaism, and later, his pivotal role as director of Melbourne’s Jewish Burial Society—offers a deeply human reflection on belonging, service, and the enduring power of stories.

For thirty years Finch provided unwavering support to bereaved families, including Holocaust survivors, while seamlessly navigating coroners, police, clergy, and medical professionals. A consummate connector, he preserved sacred Jewish traditions while fostering understanding across religious and secular communities, making death and its rituals less daunting and more accessible.

At a time of increasing cultural division and societal fractures, Ferryman is a vital and timely story—one that reminds us of the power of compassion, service, and the sacredness of life itself.

With a foreword by Arnold Zable and praise from literary luminaries such as Hannah Kent, Raimond Gaita, Chloe Hooper, and Kylie Moore-Gilbert, Ferryman is an essential addition to our literary and cultural landscape.

252 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2025

Reviews

[Caren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was blown away by the sensitive and masterful portrait of Ephraim Finch and the relationship that developed between him and the author. Katia captured the unique perception of Death that guides Finch's life, particularly his "deathwork", a perspective that spotlights the "preciousness" of life itself. What an achievement!

[Lee McKerracher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a stunning piece of writing. Such a gentle book about a topic that will confront us all - death. What affected me most about this book is that it bucked the trend for biographies. A biography is usually arms-length from the author to the subject, but in The Ferryman, Katia herself is right there throughout. This approach, I think, has made the book more impactful and given insights that we would not otherwise be privileged to see.

Ephraim Finch is a man who defies definition. His kindness, dedication, perseverance, faith and strength in the face of all types of tragedy and sadness make you wonder if he is real, but real he is. Ephraim works with the deceased and also with the bereaved. His care of them all is touching and considered. He seems to know, through some form of osmosis, what each individual (living or dead) needs, and when they need it. All without being intrusive.

What impressed me most about the way Katia wrote this book, is how you see the impact they had on each other. They both learn from and teach each other. It is a heartfelt work and one that will make you think about your own mortality and what is truly important in your own life, right now.

If I could give it 6 stars, I would.

[Jan Mawdesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Nan van Dissel for Bluewolf Reviews and Wild Dingo Press.
Award winning author Katia Ariel’s book Ferryman is not only a biography of the remarkable Ephraim Finch, who worked in Melbourne’s Cheva Kadisha for 30 years (25 years as its director), but also a cultural history of the Jewish community in that city. She has crafted a touching and warm evaluation of this modest ferryman, while at the same time highlighting his love of learning, his extraordinary humanity and his ability to give of himself unconditionally.
Ephraim Finch started out life as Geoff, son of a working-class Anglo-Australian butcher in Sydney and then started working on construction sites; he and his beloved wife Cas in their late 20s discovered Judaism and converted to Orthodox Judaism. In his role as ferryman, this empathetic community figure buried over ten thousand individuals with unbelievable dignity and respect; he not only took care of their bodies so beautifully, but he also preserved their legacy. He worked hard to ensure that people were woven into their history and buried alongside their own.
It is very evident that the author has written this heartfelt account of a most beloved man with passion and dedication; fact checking against his detailed journals and with families where possible. She has successfully used stories and anecdotes to not only illustrate Ephraim Finch’s character but also to give the reader insight into the rituals around Jewish burials.
Although the detailed ‘List of Sources’ will allow readers to further their understanding of this wonderful ageing Orthodox Jew, who is little known outside the Jewish community, a glossary of the Hebrew terms used would be useful to non-Jewish readers.

[Chrissie Bellbrae · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautifully written book. While it seems incongruous to imagine the idea of beauty in death, this is a moving and heartfelt account of an empathetic and gentle man and his amazing journey by the side of the dying and the dead. It is a softly spoken journey, written with care and love, and filled with stories of Ephraim's experience, and the genuine and caring relationships he has with people during times of grief and suffering, and those facing their own mortality. It is a fitting tribute to a man who has lived a life filled with honesty in terms of the fierce love and belief he holds for his faith, his family and his fellow man.

I think Ferryman would be helpful for anyone who is grieving, or struggling with death in some way. It was intensely moving and widely informative. What an amazing man Ephraim Finch is, and what a truly, beautiful, productive and fulfilling life he has lived.

Thanks to Wild Dingo Press for a review copy in return for an honest review.

[Magdalena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Writing a biography of a person like Ephraim Finch can not have been an easy task. It's clear from the outset that the man is a local legend, the backbone of the Melbourne Jewish community, and a deeply respected and lauded person.  The story is a  dance between the concrete and the esoteric, between memoir and biography. Ephraim Finch is former Director of Melbourne’s Chevra Kadisha, death worker, ferryman to the human soul at the end of life, and comforter to the mourner. Ephraim’s journey moves from his Anglican upbringing in Ashfield, his whirlwind romance with Cas, the woman who became his wife, their conversion to Orthodox Judaism, and then to becoming a community leader. Ephraim's own journey to self-discovery is itself a terrific story, but what really makes Ferryman stand out is the silky, almost surreal quality of Katia Ariel’s writing. Ariel leans into the complexity of biography, its subjectivity, the interpretations, perspectives and gaps to create a delicate and complex portrait that feels true precisely because it doesn’t connect every dot:

I am aware that my portrait of Ephraim is mutable, but with any luck, faithful to his complexity. I am mapping his ethical contours as I go, listening to his words and the reverberations of his actions. It is a relief to know that in some foundational way, I am limited; I will never capture him entirely or definitively. But I would like to capture the bits that collide, the facets of his being that butt up against each other to make sparks. It is these sparks that seem to hold his essence, this lifelong agitator who reveres tradition, this once-outsider who has fought so hard to bring others home, to enfold them in their belonging. (161)

Unlike many of the people who will be reading this book, I did not come to it already conscious of Ephraim Finch's importance, but reading Ferryman, I could see clearly how universal his work and how immediately relevant to my own life:

He will intone the names of his mother and father. He will weep for them, while knowing the limits of his weeping. He will continue bending, head bowed, holding all the connections in all his body. And I will sense, simply by being next to this softly moving human, the shuddering proximity between us all, the near-misses, the churn of loss and the majesty of memory, the ceaseless current of our arrivals and departures. (11)

Ariel’s research is extensive, incorporating many voices and artefacts including Finch’s own journals, his meticulous archives of those he has cared for, along with interviews, recollections, stories, personal experiences, other books, and items which have been saved. Ariel layers Finch's stories into the narrative, along with her own story and the story of the book's making. This creates a complex portrait which nevertheless moves easily between Finch’s childhood, conversation to Judaism, directorship of the Chevra Kadisha, journey to Auschwitz, some of the difficulties he encountered, along with a nonlinear collage that brings in Ariel’s own search for meaning and connection, her relationship with Finch, and the dead and living voices Finch carries. The way he grapples with spirit and tradition feels almost radical:

As I get closer to the end of Ephraim’s story, I am clinging. I feel pre-emptive regret at what I haven’t covered, either through the exigencies of time or through my own shortcomings. I become married to memory, who goes where I go now, my life-giving bride. Ephraim’s stories — early, recent, prophetic, age-old — invade my sleep, they follow me down the street. I dream of shrouds on the bodies of the dead. The wrap of innocence, these rags of light. (220)

So much ground is covered in this book, from the power of ritual in times of grief, to the importance of community, of seeing everyone with empathy, about how connected we all are to one another, the nature of time with all its strange contradictions, and what it means to be alive in the face of our inevitable mortality. Ferryman is an exquisite story told with deep sensitivity. In creating such a mercurial, exquisitely wrought and tender portrait, Katia Ariel has given us all a gift.

[Hil · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a story!
Katia Ariel spent a year of weekly visits to interview, journey with, and get to know the remarkable Ephraim Finch. The friendship that grew between author and her subject clearly affected Ariel, creating something of a parallel theme in the narrative and she comes to revisit and reflect on aspects of her own history. For Ephraim is infinitely more than a funeral director. Over his years as director or the Melbourne Hevra Kadisha, the local Jewish Burial Society, Ephraim gathered family histories, including many previously buried Holocaust traumas. He and his wife Cas describe their chilling journey with one of their daughters to Auschwitz, and others of Europe's concentration camps, so deeply affected was he by the stories people shared with him.
Ephraim Finch's place in our Melbourne community has truly been a blessing. At times when mourners are most vulnerable and often frightened or even angry, he has found a way to negotiate often complex relationships with kindness and diplomacy. He has evidently enabled innovative ways to ensure Jewish customs for intact and speedy burial can coexist with civil requirements such as coronial enquiries, gaining the respect and cooperation of all parties along the way.
This is an excellent and very readable biography, and I highly recommend it.

[Di · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating biography of Ephraim Finch OAM, a man who spent 30 years of his life as executive director of the Melbourne Chevra Kadisha burial society, caring for and burying over 10,000 people - many holocaust survivors, children, soldiers, secular Jews, gay Jews and orthodox Jews. All the dead and t heir bereaved families were treated with the utmost compassion.

This very moving biography by Katia Ariel tells how an Aussie boy, son of a butcher in suburban Sydney in the 1940s, born a Christian, became a Jew who devoted his life to the dead and dying.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a memorable quote in The Ferryman: "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." It captures one of the novel’s central themes—that empathy and human connection matter deeply. Taking a genuine interest in someone’s story helps them feel seen, heard, and valued. This idea resonates far beyond the book; it reminds me to revisit the works of Elie Wiesel, whose writing is grounded in compassion and bearing witness, and to listen again to "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables"— by Cormac Thompson—which echoes themes of loss, memory, and the emotional weight of caring.

[Rachael McDiarmid · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be fair, I'm the publicist for this book. But I think a lot of people could benefit from reading it. She writes beautifully. And it's about a very special human and his life and deathwork. I encourage you to read it. Which reminds me, I should really get a copy of The Swift Dark Tide from Katia Ariel as well.

[Robert Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A remarkable man and a carefully crafted biography giving us great insight into Jewish practices of caring for their deceased. Ephraim Finch dedicated his life to honouring the Jewish faith and was indefatigable in his quest to advocate for grieving families.

[Rochelle D · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful read and what an incredible man. Loved it. Cried, smiled from ear to ear and so proud to be part of this amazing religion and community.

[Ella Smuskowitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meaningful personal read, tears smiles and laughs

[Soph Hick · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating account of a true gem of a personality and person. What a mark his life has made on this world, and of those loved ones of the dead.