The Celebrants

The Celebrants, by Steven Rowley, (narrated very nicely by the author,) tells the story of six friends, Alex, Jordan, Jordy, Naomi, Craig, and Marielle, as they go through the ups and downs of their lives over about three decades. They became friends in university, where one of them died. That death spurs the idea of a pact: instead of waiting for their death to say nice things about each others, they’ll each have one « funeral » ceremony when they feel at their lowest at some point in their lives, so that they can be reminded that they matter and are loved. We then attend four such « funerals, » when Marielle gets a divorce, Naomi’s parents die in a plane crash, Craig has to go to jail, and… well, I can’t tell you what happens to the fourth person nor why we don’t have a fifth funeral 🙂

This all sounds gloomy but is actually interesting and told with a lot of humour. I truly laughed out loud sometimes! I really enjoyed the story, which was smart and very creative, and the narration, too. The one thing that bothered me a few times was how seriously they all took themselves, sometimes. Maybe I’m spoiled with my sisters and brother, because we can argue and sometimes get mad at each others for a few minutes but we always end up laughing at ourselves. Also, it got a bit cheesy at times. But that’s two small things, and I really enjoyed the book overall.

I think it is a perfect book for people my age, when life is no longer as easy as it used to be. I really loved what one of them is saying: first, life gives to you, and starting around 45-50, life starts taking away from you. Health, family, friends, etc. So true!

The one thing I liked the most was one word, only one, said at the very end. I don’t know how many people catch it, but I thought it was a nice little gem at the end.