Roach, Mary - Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

[oyceter]

This is both more and less gruesome than the title implies. I am rather squeamish about the subject, but all the blurbs (and there are many of them) say that the book is surprisingly funny. It is. It's also still a little squeamish. Usually the two happen at the same time.

Roach isn't a scientist, and the book isn't even pop science. It's just an interesting look at the various things that happen to cadavers, from organ donation to anatomy class, cremation to "organic burial," and some things that I wouldn't have thought of, like research into crucifixion.

I personally didn't particularly ever feel a desire to know exactly how a dead body decomposes, but now that I do, it's strangely fascinating. All the topics tend to be fairly depressing, since most people who use cadavers in research tend to do so to find ways to save more lives, due to the somewhat problematic PR involved.

So I know about stages of decomposition and how it helps people pin down details of a murder, how different ways airplanes crash affect the way the people are strewn about, precisely how a car crash can kill people, and etc.

You'd think this would be morbid, but Roach is genuinely curious (and has some rather curious questions of her own), and she's a great narrator. Also, her rather matter-of-fact attitude contrasts with what her interviewees expect, leading to some hilarious exchanges ("If I said that I liked the smell of burning flesh, would that be disturbing?").

And yet, Roach never makes fun of the dead or of their families; the humor is largely in the situation. I also found the chapters on organ donation and composting particularly touching. And even though the families of people who wished to donate their bodies to science will object, Roach makes a good point in that the family should do what lets them live with themselves, not necessarily what the deceased wanted (with the exception of organ donation).

I suspect people who liked the parasite portions of Scott Westerfeld's Peeps will also like this book.

I ended up liking this book even more than I liked Spook. Highly recommended, and I'm going to try to dig up quotes as soon as I get home.

Comments

[jinian.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed Stiff too, and I don't seem to have written down that I read it. Thanks for the reminder!

[oyceter]

Yeah, it was really good! I mean, I figured it'd be good from all the reviews and blurbs I've been reading, but.. it was still really good!

[telophase.livejournal.com]

"If I said that I liked the smell of burning flesh, would that be disturbing?"

I know a guy who used to work in Child Protective Services, and he says that, sadly, he knows the smell of burning flesh, and it is "Mmm, what's that, I'm hungry-- OHFUCKNO"

On a slightly less morbid note, Nigel Barley's Grave Matters (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1577664310/sr=8-3/qid=1145578524/ref=pd_bbs_3/002-4667603-1559224?%5Fencoding=UTF8) is in the same vein, and very good. Barley's books on antrhopological fieldwork, The Innocent Anthropologist, A Plague of Caterpillars, and Not a Hazardous Sport are very good and very funny.

[octopedingenue]

I think I read somewhere that pork is among the most similar to human flesh in terms of texture, smell when cooked, and flavor, although I am curious about how someone determined the last one.

[oyceter]

Huh.

I was rather amused at the reports of cannibalism in China in the book. I would have been annoyed, except Roach isn't at all horrified and remarks that the Chinese practice of eating dogs isn't any more odd than eating cows or pigs. Ok, not that that is an excuse for cannibalism, but.. you know.

[oyceter]

Oh awesome, thanks for the recs!

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

I liked it too. I met Mary Roach at both Moveable Feast publicity things, and she was funny and likable-- exactly what you'd expect from her books.

My favorite part was when she met the woman who cut off heads.

[oyceter]

Oh, that part was great! Actually, there were so many parts of the book that were great that I eventually stopped keeping track of what I wanted to quote because there was so much.

[kate_nepveu]

*makes note in "books to check out of library list"*

Thanks!

[oyceter]

Yup! Her other book was very good as well, though it doesn't quite reach the heights that this one does.

[octopedingenue]

I love Stiff! It's one of my favorite nonfiction books. I love when she visits the body farm and when she tries to get the airline accidents guy to tell her the safest place to sit on a plane.

Corpses, Coffins, and Crypts isn't as funny, but it's a good read. I think books about burial practices and such are fascinating.

[oyceter]

Oh thank you! That looks like an interesting read.

I never though I'd be interested in funerary practices, but ever since this little story in Neil Gaiman's Sandman series on a city that specializes in funerary practices, I have been.