Fight at a Funeral

by Duke Brown, Judith French

The congregation ran frantically in all directions for cover and safety. People were getting badgered and pounded by the bible. Walking sticks were not only used for support but also for attack and defense. Holy punches and kicks were flying all over the place, and before anybody knew it, a chaotic barroom-style fight had broken out all over the funeral grounds. Siblings and relatives with old feuds, grudges and rivalries were releasing years of built-up fury over unsolved matters. It was a clash of emotions out of control. It was a battlefield of white (now brown and muddy) and black three-piece suits, twisted jackets and ties, broken stilettos, hurling Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana handbags, ripped dinner gowns, miniskirts, and Couture formal designer dresses. It was embarrassing. It was a funeral gone wild. More excerpts from this book; No one interfered with them (the young couple; Redflag and his domestic wife, Pauline D’Headlicker), and they would have enjoyed a peaceful life in Essie’s backyard if they hadn’t been their own worst enemies. There were times when they broke out into a serious argument that eventually led into a fistfight. Yes, fistfight. Redflag usually started the arguments, mostly because of his wife’s infidelity, but it was Pauline who was the first and only one doing the hitting. Poor Redflag simply ducked or dodged her blows. He never once retaliated. Instead, he tried to contain her by holding her two hands as long as he could to stop her vicious punches. It was always the same story. Redflag, who in principle didn’t believe in laying a hand on a female because Essie had taught him well, was the jealous guy who started the argument and ended up being physically abused by his domestic lover. When the scuffle was all over, Pauline was the person crying the loudest and the most desperately; Redflag was the one with the proud victory walk and the swollen face or black eye. Despite his wounds, he was the person everyone wrongfully blamed and screamed at. Everyone automatically ran to Pauline’s rescue because she was crying so hard. No one understood that she was crying so hard because she couldn’t get as many punches in as she would have liked.

83 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 31, 2018

Reviews

[Ruby · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow

I could not get into this book, I wanted to like it so much. But there is just something that didn’t connect with me and I couldn’t really enjoy it. I got to the end and I’m glad I did, but this book just was not for me.

[Phyllis H. Pajka · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not my kind of book. It just seemed to go in circles and not a good story. You can try it if you want but I'm not suggesting it.

[C · Rating 2 out of 5]

What

The name in this read got to me fast. The title drew me to grab it. I just couldn't click with this read.

[Sandy · Rating 1 out of 5]

REALLY????????

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

The names were very distracting. I found it hard to believe that an old woman would have given her child a middle name of Thuglife.” Also, it was just a lot of people complaining and causing drama.

[Ronald Keeler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fight at a Funeral by Doctor Duke Brown and Professor Judith French is an 82-page short story set in the United States and Jamaica. I would expect to see a story like this in a Literary Criticism class that examines the reader-response theory of analysis. In other words, the reader participates in the construction of the meaning of the story. Were I in the class, I would offer the following observations. Yours may differ.

This might be a story whose center is Mrs. Essie Brown, an old woman living in New York. During her life in the US, she has traveled frequently between the US and Jamaica visiting both her home, where some of her children occasionally lived, and a multitude of other children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, cousins, aunts, and uncles. As this story begins, Essie is dying, and her one wish is to return to Jamaica to die at home. There are difficulties in arranging the trip.

This might be a story centering on the house in Glenworth, Jamaica. While in the US for extended periods of time, different relatives lived in the house, some amicably and some not. Some of the relatives had families of their own and the lifestyles of the residents did not always mesh leading to arguments that left some relatives moving out, returning later to find different relatives and further conflicts. It was almost as if the house were witness to family interactions.

Many readers might consider the funeral of Essie Brown the main story. I can not estimate the number that showed up but may that did are named in the description of the funeral. Essie had left a will that would dispose of the house and bank savings. Essie had wanted the will read out in public at the funeral. Many relatives, feeling that they were probably left out, did not want to hear their embarrassment read out loud, opposed the public reading. A true melee was the result.

Finally, this may be a story of family resentments, jealousy, and thoughts of revenge for perceived slights. These slights are not fully explored in this short story. We don’t know why Bengay Leftcap Brown was abandoned as a child. We don’t even know if he was abandoned. Essie is no longer around to explain what happened and Bengay’s resentment was such that throughout Essie’s life Begay never tried to ask for an accounting.

This story can be daunting in its number of sketchily described characters. I found the story interesting because of the Jamaican patois several characters use to describe their interactions with Essie, the house, and each other. I borrowed the book through Kindle Unlimited, so I read the book for “free.” This is the kind of book that makes KU valuable. I may have been upset with the reading experience of this novel if I had paid for it.

[Krystyna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sorry but not for me

Frankly I didn't enjoy the style it was written in plus I felt that all the characters were selfish and self obsessed. As to the mother, well all I can say is that she certainly had her favourites. Her mothering only seemed to go as far as it did if it helped her. Thus as a mother she failed to support ALL her children.

[Poetic Diva504 · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title grabbed my attention, so I decided to try a new to me author. However, the beginning is lacking action and instead is nothing but a huge info dump. I couldn’t get into it because I was expecting the story to start with the most important element: the fight. But instead, the author is telling about the life of an older lady I’m not sure is even the deceased person.

[Jettiep Parrish · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected it to be funny, thank goodness it was not a very long book.

[Yvonne Oquendo]

Could not stop laughing!!!!