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A review by soleander
Still Life with Bones by Alexa Hagerty
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
5.0
Incredibly difficult and intense topic but so well written. The author mentions in the book that forensic anthropology sits at an intersection of science and humanitarian work and that really comes through in the stories she shares.
She references Hannah Arendt's work on the banality of evil (the dull, administrative work required for mass atrocities to happen and continue) a few times and the meticulous, grueling, and often unsuccessful work of these forensic anthropology teams seems to be a counter to that- a banality of hope, perhaps.
The information about the historical and political context surrounding the team's work is related so compellingly . Both the past (the Madres resistance group, the role of the Catholic Church and US government in the genocides, etc) and the present day (the purpose of testimonia, the struggle to fund these projects and get governmental cooperation, etc) context that's offered to the scientific analysis work that's happening adds so much to the story being shared.
She references Hannah Arendt's work on the banality of evil (the dull, administrative work required for mass atrocities to happen and continue) a few times and the meticulous, grueling, and often unsuccessful work of these forensic anthropology teams seems to be a counter to that- a banality of hope, perhaps.
The information about the historical and political context surrounding the team's work is related so compellingly . Both the past (the Madres resistance group, the role of the Catholic Church and US government in the genocides, etc) and the present day (the purpose of testimonia, the struggle to fund these projects and get governmental cooperation, etc) context that's offered to the scientific analysis work that's happening adds so much to the story being shared.