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A review by misssleepy
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
dark
funny
informative
medium-paced
3.5
This is the second book that I have read by Mary Roach. I really enjoy her writing style and the way she approaches her research.
This book has been on my tbr for quite some time. It was very entertaining, yet still very dark and often time grotesque. I do think that it allowed me to reframe some of my assumptions about life, death, and what it means to inhibit a body. I was very intrigued but the latter chapters, especially the section on human composting.
Mary approaches the book with humor and a lightness in style that makes digesting ther information more palatable. It’s very unique and as someone who enjoys dark humor, I appreciated the way she could soften some of the darkness of the subjects being discussed.
I think my biggest critique is that there were some parts that felt a bit racist, specifically towards Chinese people. She did a lot to research/debunk myths surrounding Chinese practices such as eating dogs and cannibalism. While she did manage to address stereotypes, it just felt off-putting to even focus on some of them.
I was also disappointed that the book didn’t touch on some of the ways white people have used racism to justify the desecration of black and brown bodies.
Overall, I learned a lot and would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in the topic. I will also just note that this book was written in the early 2000s. I think if it were written today, that some of my fore mentioned issues might be more likely to be addressed.
This book has been on my tbr for quite some time. It was very entertaining, yet still very dark and often time grotesque. I do think that it allowed me to reframe some of my assumptions about life, death, and what it means to inhibit a body. I was very intrigued but the latter chapters, especially the section on human composting.
Mary approaches the book with humor and a lightness in style that makes digesting ther information more palatable. It’s very unique and as someone who enjoys dark humor, I appreciated the way she could soften some of the darkness of the subjects being discussed.
I think my biggest critique is that there were some parts that felt a bit racist, specifically towards Chinese people. She did a lot to research/debunk myths surrounding Chinese practices such as eating dogs and cannibalism. While she did manage to address stereotypes, it just felt off-putting to even focus on some of them.
I was also disappointed that the book didn’t touch on some of the ways white people have used racism to justify the desecration of black and brown bodies.
Overall, I learned a lot and would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in the topic. I will also just note that this book was written in the early 2000s. I think if it were written today, that some of my fore mentioned issues might be more likely to be addressed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Animal death, and Body horror