The Obituary Writer: A Widow's Secrets Ignite a Naive Journalist's Obsessive Literary Quest for Truth

by Porter Shreve

Gordie Hatch is twenty-two, charmingly naive, and certain that his first job as a writer for the ST LOUIS INDEPENDENT'S obituary page will be a stepping stone to a crackerjack career in journalism. The year is 1989, and Gordie watches helplessly while dramatic events -- the very events that could be his lucky break -- unfold in the world around him. But nothing can prepare him for the call he gets from Alicia Whiting, a young widow with an accent he can't quite place. When Gordie agrees to meet Alicia, against his better judgment, his journalistic curiosity quickly turns into an obsessive search for the outrageous truth behind the Whiting family. Shot through with affectionate humor and surprising twists and turns, THE OBITUARY WRITER introduces an author of enormous talent and heart. Porter Shreve brings a deft touch to the moments that mark a young person's entrance into the world, and a sharp eye to the ways in which the lead story can be wonderfully, seductively misleading.

Genres: Fiction, Book Club, Novels, Contemporary, Literary Fiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Porter Shreve grew up in Washington, DC, and has lived in over a dozen states. His novels — The Obituary Writer, Drives Like a Dream, When the White House Was Ours, and The End of the Book — have been on best of the year lists in many newspapers and magazines including the Chicago Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the New York Times.

Co-editor of six anthologies, he has published fiction, nonfiction, Op-Eds and book reviews in Salon, the Chicago Tribune, the Boston Globe, the Washington Post, the New York Times, and the San Francisco Chronicle.

He is Professor of English and Director of the Creative Writing Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Reviews

[Chris Gager · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was checking this out this morning and I think I'll read it next.

I read past the halfway point last night and I can say with assurance that this will be no more than a 3* book. That's rounded up from 2.75* - a bunch of G'reads reviewers gave it a lower rating than that but it's better than a 2* up to this point. The main problem is that the author's skills are no more than serviceable. The plot stuff is OK so far but the writing is kind of flat and boring. One problem: the "hero" is not very heroic. He's got his issues; he's a chicken-ass liar for starters. His mother's a liar and his girlfriend's a liar too. She's obviously not to be trusted but the lust factor is high so... The whole thing reminds me a lot of "Body Heat".

- "His physical deterioration, however, belied his sense of style. Tall and trim... " - which is it? Tall and trim, or physically deteriorating????

- PLEASE!!! say "graduated FROM high school" not "graduated high school"...

- The man's jealous - I can identify!

- How can he tell from a distance that the golfers are holding three-irons??? The prose is amateurish at times.

- The dead guy's retarded brother is dressed like a farm hand at the funeral and the newspaper reporter-hero doesn't notice???

- We meet a 1989 version of Weegee!

- The whole thing's flat and unexciting prose-wise. The author's no Raymond Chandler.

- The protagonist continues to be unsympathetic. He gets flustered in a restaurant and orders the eggplant parm. special even though he knows he won't eat it. Guy's a fool.

- Alicia the vamp - an Arizona/Tucson gal.

- The author knows about painters and painting!

- The sordid tone is almost working. Reminds of "Double Indemnity"...

Finished last night sitting figuratively amidst a pile of plot rubble that settled around me at the finish. The whole thing comes to a crashing close with several "reveals" that strain the brain and bring into question just what this book was supposed to be about. This was definitely an odd duck of a book(psychological drama combined with murder mystery) and in no way a very good one but it's still not bad enough to warrant a 2* rating. The complete mental deterioration of the babe is particularly baffling and hard to believe. The author's subsequent novels seem to be better-rated on G'reads but I'm not sure I'm gonna go for any more anyway. Some notes...

- His boss and co-worker seem unnecessarily nasty for some reason. Practically villainous. A friendlier co-worker is barely seen...

- This reminded me of that awful Bruce Willis movie "Color of Night" with its TWO wacko female leads.

- Plot logic becomes very shaky at the end. Others have noted that it almost seemed that the author just wanted to get the thing finished.

- The protagonist is very weak and uninteresting and that hurts the book.

- Other connections: Play Misty for me... Fatal Attractiion... but then the crazy killer-babe turns about to be perhaps just pathetic with that final weird, nasty and unconvincing twist. WHY DO THAT???

- 2.75* rounds up to 3* - barely...

[Oriyah N · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is the equivalent of your average movie...interesting to read, an entertaining way to pass a few hours, but nothing your life would be incomplete without. No amazing writing style, no major life lessons...just...junk food filler. (and not your junk-of-choice either.)

There were also no particularly likeable characters in this book. No one I could, in good conscience care about and root for.

If you don't like anything that even smacks of spoiler-ness, quit reading here, but I found the ending to be slightly predictable and somewhat unsatisfactory. And the entire last chapter felt entirely pointless.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book started off interesting enough and I was enjoying it. About 3/4 of the way through, it was like the author had gotten sick of writing it and just wanted to tie up loose ends. The plot was thin, the characters were annoying at best and the ending wasn't satisfying at all. As someone else had put it, I want my time back! Don't bother reading this book.

[Rachel Spacek · Rating 2 out of 5]

i would give this a 2.5 if possible. this was a second hand bookstore pickup from many years ago. and it is ultimately about how a family’s secrets can lead to long term trauma and generational issues later on. but took on a weird story that was also predictable and just not my favorite.

[Betsy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The blurb from Tim O'Brien on the cover calls this "taut, compelling, and moving.. Beautifully written, engrossing from start to finish". Well, no. The writing is very competent, but it is also bland, and the hero Gordon is singularly unlikeable. The few plot twists that are meant to be surprises were sadly predictable, but at least Gordie appears to be served up a measure of redemption at the end.

[Emi Yoshida · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting premise: son of newspaper man and journalism teacher is raised with expectations of greatness in their field, but his career stalls out. Likewise he has perfect girlfriend present herself to him but he can't seal the deal. Then out of the blue a mystery woman seduces him and he unravels a murder and some family secrets. But some plot devices are hard to believe and some don't work. How does he get in the building after being fired?

[Katie P · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not good.
I wanted to like it since I, too, worked in the obituaries department at the Chicago Tribune when I was 22.

All the characters were unlikeable, all liars with no real reason for doing so. Too much unnecessary description and the story comes to a close after a quick, intense and pretty sloppy "mystery"

[Courtney Koyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was great, and didn't want to set it down. It was written in a sparse, almost journalistic style, and I loved the message it conveyed without any extra flourish. The ending was very compelling, and I have not been able to stop thinking about it since I finished reading it.

[Kelley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I want my time back. This book sucked.

[Pam · Rating 1 out of 5]

puh.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just an okay read. Young obituary writer gets involved with wife of man he wrote an obituary on---and finds out all kinds of secrets

[David J. McRae · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't really know what to expect when I started reading this book. Based on the title, I thought it would be more poignant. But as I was reading it, it felt like the book was going down the obsession/dark desires/true-crime path. It did and it didn't. As I was reading, I really didn't know how this story was going to go.

I think my favorite part about this book was how the author wrapped it all up at the end. Gordon found out his father was not who he thought he was. I really appreciated the quiet closure between him and his mother. Thea and Gordon reconciled after Gordon realized he had basically been a jealous douche for no reason. Margaret's fate was left ambiguous. The twist with Alicia at the end, did she really kill her husband, was well-done...

My primary complaint about this book is that it felt rushed at times. In particular, Gordon's obsession with Alicia and Alicia's sudden confession at the end... Gordon's obsession towards her seemed to develop out of thin air and at times, he seemed to be the crazy one. I thought the book was going down a different path than it did (perhaps an intentional red herring?). Regardless, I wish Gordon's reason for becoming fixated on Alicia had been fleshed out a bit more. Then there was Alicia's confession... One minute, Gordon is visiting her mother, whom reveals the terrible secret about Alicia's past... then all of sudden, Gordon returns home and Alicia, out of nowhere, wants to confess everything. It just seemed rushed (to the author's credit, he did say Alicia seemed manic)... But I thought a little bit more time could have passed before it happened...

[Socraticgadfly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know, 2.5 stars rounded down? I don't normally read modern semi-pulp fiction. A friend found this at a used book store and passed it on.

Protaganist? Young wannabe journalist with a Walter Mitty streak he apparently acquired from his mom. Not hugely probable.

Antagonist? To use stereotyping words, a sociopathic man-eater.

Background? Fairly realistic on cub reporter work at a paper modeled on the St. Louis Globe-Democrat.

Narrative? Decent overall.

Plot line? Too much hand-tipping too early about how "dark" the antagonist would be, and the twists and turns of the last dozen or so pages were some degree of shark-jumping.

Side note: A later novel of his is listed as semi-autobiographical. Given that he's edited three anthologies with his mom and what I said above, is anything HERE semi-autobiographical?

His more recent novels rate somewhat higher than this and his second, but there's no need to go out of your way for this, and probably not for them.

[Ryan Schlehuber · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I started the book, I was quite interested in the story about this character Gordie, considering I've been a newspaper reporter/editor myself.

But as the story progressed, I cared less and less for this character. And when the story reached its peak, it felt like the author rushed what should've been the most thrilling part of the book. Instead, it feels like the book was missing pages, and what should be the best part of the book was over in like one page.

Because of the flatness of the most important part of the story, I felt it led also to a disappointing ending. I want to like this book more, but I just lost interest in the main character and almost think the book might've been more interesting had it been from the perspective of Alicia.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is your average read. It started out in a way that grabbed my attention. Then is slowly started to fade but I wanted to at least get to the end. Best part is that I purchased this book used and didn’t realize someone had perfectly sliced out the last dozen pages or so. I was so annoyed because I wanted to at least finish it. Then I realized it was the perfect ending. I’ll never quite know. I should have stopped when I initially wanted to.

[Frances Supernaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young man who had lost his father at a very young age,and had very little memory of him. A loving mother raised him and held his father up to him as a very exciting newspaper writer,and with out any real other male role model, he strives to be like his father,ends up or starts his career as an obituary writer.
This is a bit of a comedy and a little bit of a mystery. Ok read .

[Connie ABCs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This debut novel (20 yrs ago!) was very engaging; knew it was not going to end well for Gordie, but not how. The Dallas/Ft. Worth bits were an extra connection for me. And I learned about jequirity beans ☠️ 📿!

[Jim Willse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well intentioned coming-of-age story set in newsrooms. Neither the story nor the setting make much sense.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ☆ it was a quick read about these sad lives. shreve writes about Gordon and this entire lot of sad pathetic characters well. my tendency as a reader is to hope better for more.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was well-written with an entertaining story

[Petra X · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate to give a book this well-written only 2 stars, but it was tedious reading. In a way, it was the opposite of a Jodi Picoult novel (to which I am addicted despite myself). Apart from the already-mentioned fine writing, the book started off on a low note, never got as high as middle C until the very fine ending, not just an ending, but after that big surprise, another one! Picoult, I find, starts on a high note, never drops beneath that middle C and runs out of steam just before she writes a very brief and disappointing cop-out ending (the sole exception of the ones I've read, being the Plain Truth). Now, if only those two writers could get together we'd get a fine book with moral issues, great writing and a bold and shocking ending.

It isn't going to happen, but a reader can dream...

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story was okay, but not great. The character development for the male lead worked, but was slow to take off. The character development for the love interest was confusing and lacked clear motivation. The twists were interesting, but it wasn't until the twist that I realized the main point of the book. There were many times along the way that I thought I was noticing something interesting, but those turned out to be accidents or red herrings. The back of the book makes you think it is a story about a mysterious and interesting family, but don't read it expecting that to be what the story is about. I may have liked the story more if I hadn't been waiting the whole time for that part to become interesting.

[Trish · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book just isn't quite right. I think the problem is, it begins as one type of story, and then veers into melodrama; the proper foundation hasn't been established, so the whole thing crumbles. I think too many disparate elements are swirling in the novel without being brought to any satisfactory resolution (or even a thorough exploration). Is the book about Gordie's vague dreams and unfocused aspirations? Is it about his excessive jealousy? Or is it suddenly, inexplicably, about psychosis and murder?

[Yaaresse]

DNF. There is another book with the same name I was looking for and thought this was it. Decided to read it anyway since it was already checked out.

I don't know if this is intended to be a serious mystery or a spoof of black widow mysteries, but nothing about it is holding my attention. Right now it just feels like a shallow, hot mess.

Life is too short, and there are too many things on my to-read list.

[Milissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

The back of the book says "...affectionate humor..." There was nothing funny in this book. I thought there was a lot of sadness and immaturity, but no humor.

The story was ok, the writing was ok, there were a couple plot twists at the end that were pretty good, but it just didn't work as cohesively as it should have. It was like I started reading 1book, but by the time I finished, it was a completely different story.

[Marguerite Hargreaves · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good yarn from the newsroom, though it might give obituary writers a bum rap. A couple of details (Packed weekend news meetings?--Please! And, no reporter would allow beat "poaching" to go unchallenged.) rang false to this longtime journalista, but they didn't detract from the overall reading experience. A quick read. I did see a couple of major details of the plot coming.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the plot line had some surprises and the writing wasn't bad, I thought the book overall lacked anything fantastic. With so many other great books out there, I'm not likely to recommend this one...

[Jeanne Crownover · Rating 2 out of 5]

A mildly amusing, first person narrative story of a very young aspiring newspaper man who has been raised on falsehoods. He then falls for the falsehoods given to him by a seductive older widow who contacts the obituary writer after her husbands death.

[Doris · Rating 2 out of 5]

A slow starter, but it keeps your attention. Good writing with well drawn characters and a surprise ending. The author is the husband of the author of Eating Buddha's Dinner. He is the better writer.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Several chapters in this book start off like they are from completely separate books so it didn't feel as pulled together as it could have been. The underlying story pulls you in towards the end to see what will happen to the web of lies.