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A review by bookish_arcadia
Shapeshifters: On Medicine and Human Change by Gavin Francis
5.0
I loved this fascinating book by Edinburgh GP Gavin Francis. In it he tackles a huge range of mental and physical human transformation from the typical - birth, death, puberty - to the atypical - amputation, disease and even the "supernatural" such as the possible origins of lycanthropy and vampirism. He traces these through his own experience of practicing and medical case histories but what makes it so fascinating is his focus on sociocultural representations of transformation and their effect on our perceptions. For example, discussing the scalp he brings together the story of a patient who began growing a horn in the middle of her forehead and expands on this theme to consider horns in the Bible and other mythologies. He seamlessly brings together history, art, mythology, ethics and quotes writers as diverse as Plato and Margaret Atwood to bring a greater understanding of change and its impact on the individual as well as wider communities and cultures.
Francis's sensitivity to the experience of his subjects crosses over to his awareness of how these transformations manifest in everyday life and how they feed into current affairs, such as his discussion of pregnancy and menopause in the context of ownership over the female body. His honesty about things he has not experienced and questions that medicine has not answered for his patients or himself invite the same empathy that he shows.
The writing is intensely lyrical in a way rarely experienced with non-fiction. Francis eschews the clinical language of his profession (where this is appropriate) and demonstrates an impressive facility for effective metaphor. His descriptions of the body and the mind reveal the essential beauty to be found in all forms and states of life and are surprisingly vivid and moving, particularly his final section describing an autopsy in frank but thoughtful detail.
It's an enthusiastic, compassionate and beautifully written investigation of change and a testament to the individuality and mutability of the experience of being human.
Francis's sensitivity to the experience of his subjects crosses over to his awareness of how these transformations manifest in everyday life and how they feed into current affairs, such as his discussion of pregnancy and menopause in the context of ownership over the female body. His honesty about things he has not experienced and questions that medicine has not answered for his patients or himself invite the same empathy that he shows.
The writing is intensely lyrical in a way rarely experienced with non-fiction. Francis eschews the clinical language of his profession (where this is appropriate) and demonstrates an impressive facility for effective metaphor. His descriptions of the body and the mind reveal the essential beauty to be found in all forms and states of life and are surprisingly vivid and moving, particularly his final section describing an autopsy in frank but thoughtful detail.
It's an enthusiastic, compassionate and beautifully written investigation of change and a testament to the individuality and mutability of the experience of being human.