A well written story about a real person, a fascinating story that I loved.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

I had never heard of Herschel Wohl before I started this book but now I feel as though I knew him well and when I finished the book I couldn't help mourning his loss. Such is the power of a well-written narrative.
You would think that a book which is all about arranging a funeral on a tiny island in the middle of nowhere would be rather depressing but it is full of a dark, glorious humour. A son's testament to a father he only really got to know and understand whilst frantically trying to bury him as soon as possible.
There's a profound honesty, rare glimmers of sentimentality, and deep appreciation of moments in time which shaped the dynamics of a far from ordinary father.

A lot of people feel that their life-story would make a great book . Most of them are wrong. The story of Michael Wohls journey to give his father a "proper Jewish funeral" is one of those rare occasions when something really is rich enough to make a good story. It is told by a natural story teller. Michael Whol is good company. The book slips past effortlessly and enjoyably. It is an odd, funny book and one I would definitely recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read In Herschel’s Wake.

Michael Wohl has turned a rather difficult childhood and the subsequent death of his father on a remote Caribbean Island into a delightfully heartfelt read. Even the very difficult parts of meeting a stepbrother and having to deal with a discombobulated sister all turn into gold as the three must come together to bury the father on this island with lots of archaic bureaucracy, and in a short period of time according to Jewish customs. There is a dark comedy/tragedy, and Wohl takes some very hard facts and makes us look at death and community in a very refreshing way.

The book flips back and forth from Michael’s childhood which was not conventional to Hershel’s life as he tried to make his way as a writer after having left his corporate and married life behind. Hershel doesn’t act like a father, smokes a lot of pot, and gives explanations about life in astrological terms. Michael has to navigate a relationship with his father’s much younger new wife and their open and unusual relationship. In short Michael is forced to figure out life on his own.

To complicate matters, everyone on the island loved his Dad and called him Joe, which seems totally strange to Michael and his siblings. The island certainly didn’t know much about Joe’s past, so Michael and his siblings need to hide their true feelings and just get on with the task at hand.

In the end there are many lessons learned, and a new appreciation for Hershel is birthed. Read the book - it’s funny and serious, and maybe you too can learn to accept your parents even though they are not perfect. Michael Wohl has written a fine tale and I am glad I got to read it.

Our of a duty to a father he hadn't seen in years, a son travels to an unknown part of the world to bury his father. He had no idea what he was walking into.

Michael, his sister and half-brother deal with a funeral on an island that seems to create rules and laws at will, and to make life difficult for non-islanders. They are faced with a dead father, no funeral home, cemetery, hearse, gravediggers, or even a coffin, and have to arrange for all of these things while abiding by the laws and securing the necessary permits that no one seems to know are required. And do it all in three days so they can give their father the proper Jewish burial he requested.

If it hasn't gone wrong yet, it will. Some how they manage to do it all while learning about their deceased father and healing their own relationships.

A funny, fabulous, read.

In Herschel’s Wake tells the story of the life and death of the author’s father. Michael learns of his father’s death through unconventional means, but soon the reader learns that nothing about Herschel Wohl was conventional. His death sends Michael and his siblings (Anais and Toby) to a tiny island in the Caribbean to bury their father. This is a family with complicated relationships, secrets, and trauma, and these three adult children come together for the first time in their lives to take care of someone who never took care of them.

More than anything, this book is about the author’s relationship with his father. He tells stories of Herschel’s break from societal norms in the ‘70s, his drug use, his ever-changing homes, and his quest to be a published author. Ultimately, Herschel is forced to flee the US and live a somewhat transient life in the Caribbean, moving whenever his past starts to catch up to him.

Now Michael, Anais, and Toby have come to Statia to sort out Herschel’s affairs, hold his funeral, and gain some sort of closure. Michael is left to sort through his father’s unsavory digital footprint and jump through hoops to bury the body. The limited services on the island mean that the most minor details are left to Michael and his siblings, from finding someone to build a casket to washing and dressing the body.

I found this book alternately interesting, disconcerting, and touching. The author works his way through his father’s life and their relationship as he works through his father’s death. Ultimately, I felt this book was about the love we have for some people even if we don’t really like them very much.