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A review by deathdayparty
Autopsy: Life In The Trenches With A Forensic Pathologist In Africa by Ryan Blumenthal
3.0
~*~ Thanks to NetGally for the ARC ~*~
I found the first part of the book a bit off putting because he talks about how little pathologists get paid for a few chapters in a row. I think it’s fine to announce it or maybe even have a chapter about it, but multiple off handed comments about it through multiple chapters is a bit much.
The second third of the book is great, and is the reason this got three stars instead of two. It really does talk about all of the unique experiences that a forensic pathologist has in Africa. It sets the scene. Explains how the environment and infrastructure plays a role in a FP’s job. I think the most interesting chapters were about the blow fly / water issue and animals that one might encounter.
The third part of the book read like a Buzzfeed listicle. It wasn’t particularly insightful and kind of took me out of the book. This part really moved away from ‘pathologist in Africa’ to a bunch of quotes that he likes, and then it ends with him complaining about his job being taken over by robots. And that’s it. That’s how he ends the book. It really is a disappointing end to a book I was already lukewarm about.
I would have liked to have had more information of the unique insights that he has as a South African pathologist. I felt like many of the examples he gave were just scratching the surface and then he would move on. That made me feel like I was missing out on general story development. I would have liked more information about his experience with political deaths as he mentions that some pathologists have gone missing from their experience with these. It seems weird to not give a quick summary of South Africa’s political history if you’re going to mention that whole people can go missing if they “misidentify” something about a politician’s death. Seems like a missed opportunity to really set his story apart from other pathologist tales.
All in all, it was fine, but I won’t be recommending it.
I found the first part of the book a bit off putting because he talks about how little pathologists get paid for a few chapters in a row. I think it’s fine to announce it or maybe even have a chapter about it, but multiple off handed comments about it through multiple chapters is a bit much.
The second third of the book is great, and is the reason this got three stars instead of two. It really does talk about all of the unique experiences that a forensic pathologist has in Africa. It sets the scene. Explains how the environment and infrastructure plays a role in a FP’s job. I think the most interesting chapters were about the blow fly / water issue and animals that one might encounter.
The third part of the book read like a Buzzfeed listicle. It wasn’t particularly insightful and kind of took me out of the book. This part really moved away from ‘pathologist in Africa’ to a bunch of quotes that he likes, and then it ends with him complaining about his job being taken over by robots. And that’s it. That’s how he ends the book. It really is a disappointing end to a book I was already lukewarm about.
I would have liked to have had more information of the unique insights that he has as a South African pathologist. I felt like many of the examples he gave were just scratching the surface and then he would move on. That made me feel like I was missing out on general story development. I would have liked more information about his experience with political deaths as he mentions that some pathologists have gone missing from their experience with these. It seems weird to not give a quick summary of South Africa’s political history if you’re going to mention that whole people can go missing if they “misidentify” something about a politician’s death. Seems like a missed opportunity to really set his story apart from other pathologist tales.
All in all, it was fine, but I won’t be recommending it.