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A review by blackgoddessreviews
Autopsy: Life in the Trenches with a Forensic Pathologist in Africa by Ryan Blumenthal
3.0
I received a free e-ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
For me, Autopsy was a super interesting read for the most part. I was fascinated by the realities of working as a forensic pathologist, especially in areas where resources are limited. There were also some really interesting cases, and lots of fun facts (my idea of fun might be a little more macabre than other people, but still.) This book falls somewhere between popular science and a memoir, and to begin with that isn't exactly clear. The first 75% of the book is focused heavily on the ins and outs of being a forensic pathologist, while the last 25% takes on more of a personal reflection. While I am not averse to both being in the same book, I feel like it might have been more successful if these were interwoven more, rather than being in discrete sections.
I think the author has a wonderful ability to cut to the heart (pun intended) of things, which makes for an easy read in many respects. It also means that it was easy to understand what could have been, in other hands, complex biological/medical jargon. The problem, however, is that a lot of the time, the anecdotes about interesting cases 1) were very short, and sometimes felt a bit truncated, and 2) didn't connect to the paragraphs before and after it, which made them feel more like a list. I think that with a bit of editing, these could have flowed a lot better.
On the whole, however, I really enjoyed this book. I would recommend to fans of science and true crime.
For me, Autopsy was a super interesting read for the most part. I was fascinated by the realities of working as a forensic pathologist, especially in areas where resources are limited. There were also some really interesting cases, and lots of fun facts (my idea of fun might be a little more macabre than other people, but still.) This book falls somewhere between popular science and a memoir, and to begin with that isn't exactly clear. The first 75% of the book is focused heavily on the ins and outs of being a forensic pathologist, while the last 25% takes on more of a personal reflection. While I am not averse to both being in the same book, I feel like it might have been more successful if these were interwoven more, rather than being in discrete sections.
I think the author has a wonderful ability to cut to the heart (pun intended) of things, which makes for an easy read in many respects. It also means that it was easy to understand what could have been, in other hands, complex biological/medical jargon. The problem, however, is that a lot of the time, the anecdotes about interesting cases 1) were very short, and sometimes felt a bit truncated, and 2) didn't connect to the paragraphs before and after it, which made them feel more like a list. I think that with a bit of editing, these could have flowed a lot better.
On the whole, however, I really enjoyed this book. I would recommend to fans of science and true crime.