Fiction
February 2020
The Funeral Concerto
by Rimui
* 2020 Japan International Manga Award (Gold) In search of herself, Lin Chu-sheng quits university and ends up living and working for a funeral director. From her shock at seeing her first corpse, to becoming a practiced yet still compassionate employee, her experiences help her realize who she really is, and what she really wants. In search of her dreams, Lin Chu-sheng quits university, leaves home and starts working for a funeral director. Her first job: a decomposing corpse. And before the shock of seeing her first dead body has passed, she is set to work, cleaning floors and washing bodies. It might sound like simple work, but she has plenty to learn… And while she may work with the dead, most of her time is spent dealing with the emotions of those still living: a father unable to accept his son’s suicide; a bigamist’s families meeting only after his death; a mother unwilling to let a child go; and parents unsure if their son’s body will ever be found. Lin witnesses the full range of human experience and reflects on her own family and life. This is a story of the real emotions lurking beneath the fussy details of a funeral, told from the perspective of a new employee. Rimui visited funeral homes as part of the research for this book and draws on traditional Chinese funeral practices. Moving and meticulously researched, this is a compelling tale of a unique profession.
