The non-fiction “Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers Book” by Mary Roach is a fascinating and detailed narrative following the history and uses of cadavers.
This unexpected gem of a book blends together morbidity with humor to create a light-hearted yet informational book.
It becomes more thought-provoking than many would assume it to be simply because of her curious tone in the novel.
Through the book, Roach offers the exploration of human cadavers’ place in the world and their contribution to science, medicine, and culture.
Though it covers many gruesome topics that some may find appalling, Roach is able to combat those hard subjects to create a more entertaining enlightenment rather than a harsh information dump.
As the book goes on about the practical uses of cadavers in the beginning, the author provides vivid detail of how they have helped shape our current society.
Her anecdotes range from strange to poignant while also balancing humor with respect for the bodies that she mentions, keeping the book engaging without being irreverent.
This book also tackles the ethical questions that surround these cadavers and their use. Roach successfully tackles concepts and topics like body donations, grave robbing, and current controversies over consent.
These discussions add so much depth to the novel to keep the readers invested enough to reflect on their personal beliefs involving the dead, and to also reflect on the intersection of medicine and respect for the bodies.
What truly allows for stiff to stand out is Roach’s ability to humanize the matter of dead bodies and death rather than just speak about it like an abstract, horrific idea.
It dives into not so fun topics like decomposition and wild post-mortem experiments, but it also celebrates the lives of those lost by showing how they prove to be helpful to the living even after their death.
This writing creates a lighter tone on death and helps the readers understand that even when dead, the human body still has value and meaning to it.
Additionally, her ability to take the readers through an informational story jam packed full of facts and make it not feel overly academic is very impressive.
These and her quirky questions surrounding it all to help develop her novel more truly make her novel a must read.
Even though there are times when the subjects become difficult to read because of the grotesque descriptions, it is ultimately captivating.
It challenges the readers to take on a new attitude towards death and consider what they want to leave behind when they eventually die.
For anyone curious about science, history, or how humanity tends to push boundaries in odd ways, this book is perfect.
