GENRE: SATIRICAL COMEDY

It was through reading this book published in 1948 that I learned of the existence of and sheer power of satire to engage the brain in a tug-o-war between laughing and observing conventions. Double entendre entered my naive farmgirl world, as did euphemisms, the concept of a love triangle and juxtaposition. Thanks to an engaging teacher (who also through the book, got me interested in tombstone tourism), I learned to read with a critical eye.

 Following the death of an associate, would-be British poet and pet mortician, Dennis Barlow finds himself entering the artificial Hollywood paradise of the Whispering Glades Memorial Park. Dennis works at a similar institution for pets called ‘The Happier Hunting Ground’.

 Within the golden gates of Whispering Glades, death is wrapped up and sold American-style—like a package holiday. There, Dennis enters the fragile and bizarre world of Aimée Thanatagenos, the naïve Californian corpse beautician, and Mr Joyboy, the master of the embalmer’s art who always leaves a smile on the faces of his corpses… Dennis plagiarises the works of other poets to woo Aimee.

The names in the book fascinated me. Aimée for example, is French for ‘the beloved’ and Thanatagenos has Greek roots meaning ‘born of death’. There are minor characters who you can picture just from their names, such as Mr Slump and Sir Ambrose Abercrombie, the personification of British upper-class snobbery.

A dark and savage satire on the Anglo-American cultural divide, The Loved One depicts a world where love, reputation, and death cost a very great deal. Aimee is torn between Joyboy and Dennis, both of whom present fake faces to the World. Eventually, she commits suicide and Dennis arranges for Joyboy to receive a standard anniversary card each year from The Happier Hunting Ground: “Your little Aimée is wagging her tail in heaven tonight, thinking of you.” Now that is tragic comedic satire at its best.