What do you think?
Rate this book
A Way to Go
A terrirying expedition into the unknown, into the unseen.
A British psychotherapist and her American counterpart assemble a group of young offenders on the edge of a trackless wilderness. They set them the task of reaching a town on the Mexcan border. one hundred miles away.
Eileen Porter believes the objective is to show the value of team spirit in their rehabilitation. But the American keeps his purpose hidden from her. a dark secret. And there are others who intervene with sinister murderous motives.
A British psychotherapist and her American counterpart assemble a group of young offenders on the edge of a trackless wilderness. They set them the task of reaching a town on the Mexcan border. one hundred miles away.
Eileen Porter believes the objective is to show the value of team spirit in their rehabilitation. But the American keeps his purpose hidden from her. a dark secret. And there are others who intervene with sinister murderous motives.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
1 person is currently reading
93 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
April 20, 2017
Emotional, witty, excellent style. It was surprising for me to enjoy a book with such a topic, but I truly did. Love the characters.
November 20, 2024
I read most of this book thinking it was an autobiography. I finally realised it wasn't when I got to the final few pages and realised that, quite cleverly, the author, having died from cancer, continues writing about what then happens to his cremated body.
That's how well written and convincing this book is. I honestly thought that Neil Spence was the protagonist - the son of a widowed undertaker, expected to take over his father's Glasgow funeral business one day.
He doesn't want to. He's upset by his father's treatment of him such as locking him in with the bodies as punishment, though he gets used to it by laying in a cushioned coffin, and, a little later having sex for the first time with his girlfriend ...in a coffin.
His relationship with his dad is so bad that he leaves home when he can and heads for London.
So estranged are they that when he calls his dad to tell him he's getting married, his father tells him he won't be attending the wedding as he can't leave the business.
A few days later one of his father's employees calls to say his dad has died, in the most unfortunate but comical manner. The son has been left everything, the business, the home and all the paraphernalia collected by his dad. He feels it his duty to look after his father's funeral himself, washing and embalming his body, making a coffin and organising the funeral service but deliberately no reception.
Mission accomplished and he's ready to sell up. But in walks a woman whose husband has died, and hubby was a friend of his dad and wants him to look after his funeral. The son's wife persuades him to do it and so begins his succession from his father as undertaker.
There follows a humorous series of events including a move into painted model coffins and a battle with an American mass market undertaker.
I'd never heard of painted model coffins and went racing to the internet where I found it all the rage in Ghana.
I was initially drawn to the book by sone revelations early on such as embalming. I thought embalming was simply washing the body, knitting it out in a suit or smart clothes, brushing the air and making up the face. It's that but something else too which struck me as somewhat Hammer Horror.
I also learned about the stages a body goes through after death such as all the wrinkles disappearing, then after sixty minutes red blotches appearing over the whole body. Rigor mortis sets in after three hours and lasts for a few days when the body begins to decompose. A week later the body goes purple and green, the skin becomes loose and fluids begin to leave the body. I could go on, but in the interests of taste will leave it there.
This book is different. It's about dealing with death. The question what happens when we die keeps popping up throughout. The author has managed to get a good often humorous tale out of a macabre subject but doesn't answer that question, despite dying himself.
That's how well written and convincing this book is. I honestly thought that Neil Spence was the protagonist - the son of a widowed undertaker, expected to take over his father's Glasgow funeral business one day.
He doesn't want to. He's upset by his father's treatment of him such as locking him in with the bodies as punishment, though he gets used to it by laying in a cushioned coffin, and, a little later having sex for the first time with his girlfriend ...in a coffin.
His relationship with his dad is so bad that he leaves home when he can and heads for London.
So estranged are they that when he calls his dad to tell him he's getting married, his father tells him he won't be attending the wedding as he can't leave the business.
A few days later one of his father's employees calls to say his dad has died, in the most unfortunate but comical manner. The son has been left everything, the business, the home and all the paraphernalia collected by his dad. He feels it his duty to look after his father's funeral himself, washing and embalming his body, making a coffin and organising the funeral service but deliberately no reception.
Mission accomplished and he's ready to sell up. But in walks a woman whose husband has died, and hubby was a friend of his dad and wants him to look after his funeral. The son's wife persuades him to do it and so begins his succession from his father as undertaker.
There follows a humorous series of events including a move into painted model coffins and a battle with an American mass market undertaker.
I'd never heard of painted model coffins and went racing to the internet where I found it all the rage in Ghana.
I was initially drawn to the book by sone revelations early on such as embalming. I thought embalming was simply washing the body, knitting it out in a suit or smart clothes, brushing the air and making up the face. It's that but something else too which struck me as somewhat Hammer Horror.
I also learned about the stages a body goes through after death such as all the wrinkles disappearing, then after sixty minutes red blotches appearing over the whole body. Rigor mortis sets in after three hours and lasts for a few days when the body begins to decompose. A week later the body goes purple and green, the skin becomes loose and fluids begin to leave the body. I could go on, but in the interests of taste will leave it there.
This book is different. It's about dealing with death. The question what happens when we die keeps popping up throughout. The author has managed to get a good often humorous tale out of a macabre subject but doesn't answer that question, despite dying himself.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 4, 2011
Alan Spence's writing is some of the best I've had the privilege of coming across. His ability to write in a style that mimics his topic (death) is uncanny. The plot and writing style are equal parts brusque, eloquent, and beautiful. His characters are robust through the use of telling dialogue and adventure. If one has ever found oneself preoccupied with death, or mortality, this book is extremely relevant, and somehow comforting.
June 30, 2011
Scotland's prequel to "Eat, Pray, Love". But not really.
June 12, 2023
•Moj prvi sajam knjiga, davne 2011. godine. Pomislih- naslov obecava, a kada sam procitala prvu recenicu " Sedeo sam u kovcegu, citao strip i jeo bombonu", rekoh konacno-ovo moram da kupim!
•Ovo je prica o tri zivotna razdoblja decka po imenu Nil kroz koja on ,generalno receno, prolazi sve ono kroz sta prolazi vecina nas.
Od tinejdzerskog revolta, preko mladalackog eksperimentisanja do razumevanja i prihvatanja.
•Ali on je decko koji ne zivi u obicnoj porodici. Nil zivi sa ocem koji vodi porodicnu firmu koja pruza pogrebne usluge. To je firma koja se prenosila generacijama kroz porodicu Mek Gro i ocekuje se od Nila da tu tradiciju nastavi.
•Tada pocinje prvo razdoblje, revolt, nerazumevanje oca, mrznja zbog pogleda i maltrentiranja od strane okoline. Jos kada se otac pojavio sa novom masinom za balsamovanje ( jer posao mora da se razvija), Nil odlucuje da pobegne od kuce.
•Narednih 15 godina luta, eksperimentise, upoznaje razne ljude, ali ono sto se ne menja je konstantno pitanje u njegovoj glavi: " Sta se desava kad umremo?"
•Na svom putu nailazi na razne odgovore i kroz svo to traganje dolazi i do treceg razdoblja svog zivota kada dolazi do neverovatnog preokreta i kada konacno shvata i razume.
•Ako volite originalnost i neobicnost ovo je knjiga za vas.
Beskrajno zanimljiva, pametno duhovita (sto bih ja rekla) i od mene sve preporuke. 🤎
•Ovo je prica o tri zivotna razdoblja decka po imenu Nil kroz koja on ,generalno receno, prolazi sve ono kroz sta prolazi vecina nas.
Od tinejdzerskog revolta, preko mladalackog eksperimentisanja do razumevanja i prihvatanja.
•Ali on je decko koji ne zivi u obicnoj porodici. Nil zivi sa ocem koji vodi porodicnu firmu koja pruza pogrebne usluge. To je firma koja se prenosila generacijama kroz porodicu Mek Gro i ocekuje se od Nila da tu tradiciju nastavi.
•Tada pocinje prvo razdoblje, revolt, nerazumevanje oca, mrznja zbog pogleda i maltrentiranja od strane okoline. Jos kada se otac pojavio sa novom masinom za balsamovanje ( jer posao mora da se razvija), Nil odlucuje da pobegne od kuce.
•Narednih 15 godina luta, eksperimentise, upoznaje razne ljude, ali ono sto se ne menja je konstantno pitanje u njegovoj glavi: " Sta se desava kad umremo?"
•Na svom putu nailazi na razne odgovore i kroz svo to traganje dolazi i do treceg razdoblja svog zivota kada dolazi do neverovatnog preokreta i kada konacno shvata i razume.
•Ako volite originalnost i neobicnost ovo je knjiga za vas.
Beskrajno zanimljiva, pametno duhovita (sto bih ja rekla) i od mene sve preporuke. 🤎
May 15, 2023
Alan Spens rođen je u Glazgovu, jedan je od najpriznatijih škotskih autora.
Sama radnja romana je smeštena upravo u Glazgovu, gde autor uz dosta crnog humora istražuje temu "industrijske smrti".
Nil MekGro je jedino dete pogrebnika kome je žena umrla na porođaju. Može se reći da je on u nekim trenucima krivio svog sina zbog toga, a češto bi ga zaključavao među kovčezima.
Nil nije voleo posao pogrebnika, zbog toga odlazi od kuće u nadi da će pronaći svrhu života. Međutim smrt ga je pratila od malena, pa tako i na putovanjima gde upoznaje svoju ženu Lilu, koja se vraća sa sahrane svoga oca. Ubrzo se venčavaju, a nedugo nakon toga dobija pismo koje ga obaveštava o smrti njegovog oca. Nakon 15 godina se vraća kući, i iako je mislio da je posao pogrebnika ostavio iza sebe, prevario se. Preuzima porodični posao koji obavlja sve do svoje prerane smrti.
"Najbolji način da odeš", je zapravo ime njegovog porodičnog posla.
Zanimljiv roman, uprkos tome što je tema osetljiva Alan Spens vešto vodi kroz nju. Međutim određeni ljudi je mogu smatrati morbidnom.
"Šta se dešava kad umremo?"
Sama radnja romana je smeštena upravo u Glazgovu, gde autor uz dosta crnog humora istražuje temu "industrijske smrti".
Nil MekGro je jedino dete pogrebnika kome je žena umrla na porođaju. Može se reći da je on u nekim trenucima krivio svog sina zbog toga, a češto bi ga zaključavao među kovčezima.
Nil nije voleo posao pogrebnika, zbog toga odlazi od kuće u nadi da će pronaći svrhu života. Međutim smrt ga je pratila od malena, pa tako i na putovanjima gde upoznaje svoju ženu Lilu, koja se vraća sa sahrane svoga oca. Ubrzo se venčavaju, a nedugo nakon toga dobija pismo koje ga obaveštava o smrti njegovog oca. Nakon 15 godina se vraća kući, i iako je mislio da je posao pogrebnika ostavio iza sebe, prevario se. Preuzima porodični posao koji obavlja sve do svoje prerane smrti.
"Najbolji način da odeš", je zapravo ime njegovog porodičnog posla.
Zanimljiv roman, uprkos tome što je tema osetljiva Alan Spens vešto vodi kroz nju. Međutim određeni ljudi je mogu smatrati morbidnom.
"Šta se dešava kad umremo?"
January 29, 2023
The stuff about the dad relationship and their grief and the stuff about Glasgow felt real but I found all the one liners about death kind of trivialising and mildly offensive by the end. Or just dated. I think death is sad and scary and joking doesn't help (at least for me). I think that in a book that was haunted by his dead mother it was odd that he never just said he was sad.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 2, 2020
Interesting and funny.
March 8, 2017
I enjoyed this book thoroughly. It reveals interesting info about funeral traditions in different places without becoming maudlin or didactic.
February 26, 2015
a very strange and macabre novel (but wonderful) with some introspective soul searching which takes the protagonist from Glasgow to London to India and back to Glasgow. more of an examination of soul and life purposes, our attitudes to death and life rather than a plot driven yarn, I thoroughly enjoyed this and it demonstrates Spence's versatility.
Spence is a Buddhist but doesn't ram it down the readers's throat but his protagonist's journey from Glaswegian undertaker's son to enlightened wanderer is a joy.
Currently reading his new 'Night Book' and can't wait to devour his Zen musings on life from a non-scottish narrator.
Have to say I find Spence to be a very gifted writer, he tells great stories and makes you empathise with his hero while showing his transition without preaching too much. his gift is in his simplicity of storytelling which he delivers with ease and lightness.
Spence is a Buddhist but doesn't ram it down the readers's throat but his protagonist's journey from Glaswegian undertaker's son to enlightened wanderer is a joy.
Currently reading his new 'Night Book' and can't wait to devour his Zen musings on life from a non-scottish narrator.
Have to say I find Spence to be a very gifted writer, he tells great stories and makes you empathise with his hero while showing his transition without preaching too much. his gift is in his simplicity of storytelling which he delivers with ease and lightness.
June 15, 2011
The necessity of taking over his father's undertaker business is depressing, but convincingly told. The protagonist finds a way to bring life back in to the business by looking outside his own door culture. In doing so he brings celebration and happiness to filled at a time where sadness is a dominant response. This is am amusing and surprising tale.
December 28, 2014
Quite enjoyed this though it was a little outlandish at times and some of the Eastern philosophy bits were up themselves. Next book club meeting we're going to come up with our 3 funeral songs though, so good chats ahead!
February 20, 2009
A stunning novel on one man's twisted relationship with death and life.
January 7, 2014
I really enjoyed this book. It made the subject of death a funny one, but still respectable. It made me think of how I'd like my funeral what shape my coffin would be.
January 20, 2012
Never before have I read a fiction book with that many references to death or dying; or with that much humour, either.
October 3, 2012
A Scottish voice about a Scottish view of death with a bitter sweet ending
August 14, 2015
Spence writes with a great style, easily immersive and a book that can be read at breakneck pace. It has helped look upon death more openly than before.
December 12, 2022
Excellent Scottish humour, makes me think about meaning of life and important things in life
June 18, 2014
surprisingly entertaining book about death.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews