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noshelf_control's review against another edition
dark
funny
informative
fast-paced
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Blood, and Medical content
Moderate: Cancer, Gore, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism, Drug use, and Car accident
marisa_n's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
Not for the faint-hearted. This book is a mashup of memoir, politics, science, and history--all related to death, cadavers, and death rituals. This book follows the author's life as she explores her relationship with death, it gives you a peak into her day-to-day life as a mortician, and it her includes her thoughts on death rituals.
I found the information about the day-to-day operations of a crematory interesting and informative. Some of the discussions on culture and politics were also good food for thought. Overall, I learned a great deal while reading this. I also thought the author handled the subject matter respectfully, without making it dry/boring.
However, as interesting as the subject matter was, I disliked the writing style. I found the storytelling to be jarring, and the transitions non-existent. Her life story is told in a linear fashion, but she consistently breaks into lengthy side tangents (about culture, politics, etc.) that are only tangentially related to the current subject at hand. There also seemed to be little rhyme or reason to her storytelling-- in one sentence she's talking about her day, and the next she's talking about cannibalism. I found these conversational leaps frustrating, as it made it hard to stay engaged in the story. While her main point was clear--we need to become more comfortable with death and re-evaluate our current death rituals--she never truly connected these side-tangents to her thesis.
Overall, informative read, but it could have benefited from a good editor.
I found the information about the day-to-day operations of a crematory interesting and informative. Some of the discussions on culture and politics were also good food for thought. Overall, I learned a great deal while reading this. I also thought the author handled the subject matter respectfully, without making it dry/boring.
However, as interesting as the subject matter was, I disliked the writing style. I found the storytelling to be jarring, and the transitions non-existent. Her life story is told in a linear fashion, but she consistently breaks into lengthy side tangents (about culture, politics, etc.) that are only tangentially related to the current subject at hand. There also seemed to be little rhyme or reason to her storytelling-- in one sentence she's talking about her day, and the next she's talking about cannibalism. I found these conversational leaps frustrating, as it made it hard to stay engaged in the story. While her main point was clear--we need to become more comfortable with death and re-evaluate our current death rituals--she never truly connected these side-tangents to her thesis.
Overall, informative read, but it could have benefited from a good editor.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Addiction, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, and Dementia
nataliadagger's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, and Cannibalism
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