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nobonesnicole's review against another edition
informative
3.75
Lots of good info, unfortunately forgot most of it instantly. Her lighthearted/goofy approach to the subject matter was grating at times. I had to fast forward through the cannibalism chapter, felt like a laundry list of gross-out facts with little introspection. I hope human composting is more widely available by the time I die.
shortpancake's review against another edition
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
A beautiful read about life after death for cadavers. Not for the faint of heart but if your stubborn, you'll enjoy it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
themorbidlycuriousbookclub's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
sam_k_'s review against another edition
5.0
I did not expect this to be the first 5 star review of the year, but this book was really excellent.
It exemplifies what, to me, is an ideal nonfiction novel. It’s well-researched yet the language is not too dense to the average reader, making it both a compelling and informative read. This is also one of the nonfiction books that doesn’t make sense to be told chronologically, so I enjoyed how each chapter detailed a different facet and exploration of cadavers.
The most interesting chapters to me were the ones exploring the history of dissection, the section on embalming, and the chapter exploring the different ways people choose to dispose of their bodies after death (though the exploration of where the “soul” has thought to lie anatomically over the years and throughout cultures was also fascinating).
Although I am not a science-y person, I found the book really fascinating. I’ve always thought that death was one of those things looked down upon by society that shouldn’t be, and it was nice to see that someone cared enough to look into what happens to bodies that are donated to science (and, for part of the book, if they’re not). The author put a lot of research and time into it (she interviewed an impressive number of people) and I also really enjoyed her footnotes, made more convenient by my kindle.
(Chapters 9 and 10 were about attaching heads and cannibalism respectively, which while interesting, made me really squeamish so just be advised if you want to read this.)
It exemplifies what, to me, is an ideal nonfiction novel. It’s well-researched yet the language is not too dense to the average reader, making it both a compelling and informative read. This is also one of the nonfiction books that doesn’t make sense to be told chronologically, so I enjoyed how each chapter detailed a different facet and exploration of cadavers.
The most interesting chapters to me were the ones exploring the history of dissection, the section on embalming, and the chapter exploring the different ways people choose to dispose of their bodies after death (though the exploration of where the “soul” has thought to lie anatomically over the years and throughout cultures was also fascinating).
Although I am not a science-y person, I found the book really fascinating. I’ve always thought that death was one of those things looked down upon by society that shouldn’t be, and it was nice to see that someone cared enough to look into what happens to bodies that are donated to science (and, for part of the book, if they’re not). The author put a lot of research and time into it (she interviewed an impressive number of people) and I also really enjoyed her footnotes, made more convenient by my kindle.
(Chapters 9 and 10 were about attaching heads and cannibalism respectively, which while interesting, made me really squeamish so just be advised if you want to read this.)