4 Stars
“Cadavers are our superheroes: They brave fire without flinching, withstand falls from tall buildings and head-on car crashes into walls. You can fire a gun at them or run a speedboat over their legs, and it will not faze them. Their heads can be removed with no deleterious effect. They can be in six places at once.”
If you know me, you already know that I have a different sort of relationship with the dead. You know, the kind where you dress them up . . .
and playoffensive hysterical games with them . . .
Obviously once I heard about Stiff it had to go right to the top of my TBR. In all honesty, I was expecting something just a smidge more entertaining than my high school biology book that only a morbid weirdo like myself could truly enjoy. To say I was pleasantly surprised is the understatement of the year.
Most of us are already familiar with the potential a cadaver has to continue on after his expiration date . . .
Stiff takes it to a whole new level, covering just about every potential “career” one can have after death . . .
^^^^ Yes, please.
As well as tackling everything from burial to composting as a potential “disposal” method. Not to mention dealing with the more taboo subjects that relate to the dead . . .
As a bonus, all of the above subject matter was written about with such charm and humor that I found myself LOLing for real at times. Mary Roach is the type of gal I’d like to have a drink with. Not only was she able to write about “stiffs” with a sense of humor, she also shamelessly owned up to her own oddities . . .
“I ask whether he thinks it’s bad that I like the smell, which I don’t really, or maybe just a little. He replies that it is neither bad nor good, just morbid.”
If reading a “smart people book” (a/k/a non-fiction) is something you’d like to do more of, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers is one I’d highly recommend.
If you know me, you already know that I have a different sort of relationship with the dead. You know, the kind where you dress them up . . .
and play
Obviously once I heard about Stiff it had to go right to the top of my TBR. In all honesty, I was expecting something just a smidge more entertaining than my high school biology book that only a morbid weirdo like myself could truly enjoy. To say I was pleasantly surprised is the understatement of the year.
Most of us are already familiar with the potential a cadaver has to continue on after his expiration date . . .
Stiff takes it to a whole new level, covering just about every potential “career” one can have after death . . .
^^^^ Yes, please.
As well as tackling everything from burial to composting as a potential “disposal” method. Not to mention dealing with the more taboo subjects that relate to the dead . . .
As a bonus, all of the above subject matter was written about with such charm and humor that I found myself LOLing for real at times. Mary Roach is the type of gal I’d like to have a drink with. Not only was she able to write about “stiffs” with a sense of humor, she also shamelessly owned up to her own oddities . . .
“I ask whether he thinks it’s bad that I like the smell, which I don’t really, or maybe just a little. He replies that it is neither bad nor good, just morbid.”
If reading a “smart people book” (a/k/a non-fiction) is something you’d like to do more of, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers is one I’d highly recommend.
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