Reviews tagging 'Cannibalism'

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

41 reviews

kmaron's review against another edition

funny informative medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Death, and Death of parent

narpetcards's review against another edition

dark funny informative medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, Child death, Death, Excrement, Gore, Medical content, and Murder

antmahn's review against another edition

funny informative lighthearted reflective medium-paced

5.0

This is absolutely one of my favorite books I’ve read to date. It’s morbid, fascinating, and funny. It takes what some consider a terrifying question, “what happens to you when you die?” and expands it to encompass questions you didn’t even know you had. What actually happens to your body if you donate it to science? How did we advance our knowledge of the human body when dissections were frowned upon? Are there more environmentally-friendly ways to dispose of your body? How has cannibalism been condoned throughout history? If you have a morbid sense of curiosity, I would 110% recommend this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, and Medical content

Moderate: Cannibalism

Personally, the only part I really struggled through was the topic of transplantation experiments on animals. Other than that, the book’s descriptions really let you know what kind of topics you’re getting into with this book.

jls11244's review against another edition

dark informative fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child death, and Death

emtur007's review against another edition

dark funny medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Medical content, and Death

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Blood

Minor: Car accident

anna_m_k's review against another edition

dark funny informative fast-paced

4.5

Funny, informative, but ultimately respectful of the dead, this is a fascinating read. There are some sections, such as the one on medical cannibalism, that I felt were more on the irreverent side of irreverent humor and required a bit more seriousness. But overall I recommend the book to anyone who is curious about the many ways cadavers are, and have been, used in science and some alternative options to burial and cremation.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cannibalism, Medical content, and Gore

five's review against another edition

challenging dark funny informative medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, and Medical content

Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, Child death, Excrement, and Grief

chetofuor's review against another edition

funny informative reflective medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, Car accident, Death, Gore, Medical content, and Medical trauma

alylentz's review against another edition

funny informative reflective fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Death, Excrement, Gore, Medical content, Mental illness, and Vomit

readerette's review against another edition

funny hopeful informative slow-paced

4.5

She makes a few statements that are really about her personal morals rather than anything scientific or journalistic, but aside from that, this is a delightful book. It is not as gory or gag-inducing as I anticipated (chapters 10 and 11 being the most egregious for me). If you've never read other articles or books, or watched shows or films about dead bodies, this book might present a challenge for you, but the humor and relatability of the author's journey to understand cadavers helped me to keep reading and learning and not get distracted by morbid themes or thoughts.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Minor: Gore and Cannibalism