Scan barcode
bayrayj's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
4.75
I had a lot of fun learning about death and dying through this book. Writing about something so stigmatized with so much joy seems difficult, but it always felt easy reading this book. The authors story guides you through decades of history and information about humans relationship to death. At points I cringed, laughed, teared up, but I always wanted to keep reading. I feel like this story struck the perfect balance between personal narrative and historical context. By the end I was considering becoming a mortician, this feeling has passed but I’m definitely more comfortable with our inevitable end.
grosswitch's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
humanpersononline's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this book a lot. Easy to read nonfiction with some serious thoughtfulness. I loved the discussion of ritual in culture & its importance in particular.
cindraleigh's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
bisexualbookshelf's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
fast-paced
3.75
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty is a poignant and unflinching exploration of death that challenges our cultural aversion to mortality. Doughty, armed with a degree in medieval history and a job at a crematory, delves into the often-hidden world of death care with dark humor and thoughtful reflections. The book begins with her first day at the mortuary, where she confronts the reality of death head-on by shaving and cremating bodies. Through these experiences, Doughty humanizes our remains, resisting the erasure of who we were in life.
Doughty's narrative is deeply personal, shaped by witnessing the death of a toddler at the age of eight, an experience that left a lasting impression on her. She argues that our fear of death stems from cultural aversions and a lack of fluency in death’s language. By examining death rituals and practices across time and cultures, Doughty aims to demystify death and encourage a more honest engagement with it. Her writing seamlessly moves between moments of dark comedy and profound insight, insisting that people deserve care and respect even in and after death.
The book critiques the historical shift from dying at home to dying in hospitals, highlighting the medicalization and industrialization of death. Doughty exposes the "funeral industrial complex," driven by capitalism, that has transformed death into a commercial product. Each chapter explores different death practices, from cremation to embalming, showcasing their variations across cultures and history. Doughty demands that we confront death and accept it as a natural biological process, arguing that this acceptance can lead to a more authentic way of living.
However, my experience with the book was marred by a chapter that explores our cultural aversion to decomposing bodies through a fatphobic lens. Doughty's description of cremating a fat person was uncomfortable and detracted from the book’s overall message. This language, though perhaps reflective of the time it was written, feels out of place in an otherwise insightful and respectful exploration of death.
Despite this flaw, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes remains a compelling read that challenges norms about death and invites readers to rethink their relationship with mortality. Doughty's reflections on death are profound and thought-provoking, and I look forward to exploring her more recent work. This book is a bold call to embrace the inevitability of death, urging us to live more fully in its shadow.
📖 Recommended For: Readers fascinated by the macabre, those interested in death rituals across cultures, anyone who values candid discussions about mortality, fans of Mary Roach.
🔑 Key Themes: Mortality and Acceptance, Cultural Death Practices, Capitalism and the Funeral Industry, Humanization of the Dead, Historical Shifts in Death Care.
Doughty's narrative is deeply personal, shaped by witnessing the death of a toddler at the age of eight, an experience that left a lasting impression on her. She argues that our fear of death stems from cultural aversions and a lack of fluency in death’s language. By examining death rituals and practices across time and cultures, Doughty aims to demystify death and encourage a more honest engagement with it. Her writing seamlessly moves between moments of dark comedy and profound insight, insisting that people deserve care and respect even in and after death.
The book critiques the historical shift from dying at home to dying in hospitals, highlighting the medicalization and industrialization of death. Doughty exposes the "funeral industrial complex," driven by capitalism, that has transformed death into a commercial product. Each chapter explores different death practices, from cremation to embalming, showcasing their variations across cultures and history. Doughty demands that we confront death and accept it as a natural biological process, arguing that this acceptance can lead to a more authentic way of living.
However, my experience with the book was marred by a chapter that explores our cultural aversion to decomposing bodies through a fatphobic lens. Doughty's description of cremating a fat person was uncomfortable and detracted from the book’s overall message. This language, though perhaps reflective of the time it was written, feels out of place in an otherwise insightful and respectful exploration of death.
Despite this flaw, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes remains a compelling read that challenges norms about death and invites readers to rethink their relationship with mortality. Doughty's reflections on death are profound and thought-provoking, and I look forward to exploring her more recent work. This book is a bold call to embrace the inevitability of death, urging us to live more fully in its shadow.
📖 Recommended For: Readers fascinated by the macabre, those interested in death rituals across cultures, anyone who values candid discussions about mortality, fans of Mary Roach.
🔑 Key Themes: Mortality and Acceptance, Cultural Death Practices, Capitalism and the Funeral Industry, Humanization of the Dead, Historical Shifts in Death Care.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Suicide, Cannibalism, Child death, Death, and Blood
witch_bish's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.0