Mary Roach
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers (2003)
Author: Mary Roach
Genre: Nonfiction (Science)
Book Summary:
Roach introduces the subject of her story by asking, “why lie around on your back when you can do something interesting and new, something useful?” (9) In this work, Roach explores the adventures that our bodies can experience after we die. Like a journalist looking to learn more about a topic she knows little about, Roach visits coroner labs, medical school anatomy labs, hospitals, graveyards, and funeral homes, among other places to learn about the ways that corpses can serve as subjects for research that helps us learn more about how our bodies function. Not only do readers get an inside look into an often unseen field of science but readers will also gain knowledge about strange historical cases and crimes involving cadavers, such as grave robbing, cannibalism, crucifixion experiments, and necrophilia. In the final chapter, Roach begins to discuss what she will do with her remains now that she has seen the various options available for a cadaver.
Geographical Setting: international
Time Period: Roach visits locations during the course of writing the novel but she also includes historical information that covers centuries
Appeal Characteristics:
Readers will learn a great deal about how cadavers are handled and what can be learned from experiments and tests done to them. Readers will feel like they have an inside view on a part of life that they may not know anything about; this gives the book and exotic frame filled with minute details about professions, experiments, etc. Interesting anecdotes about cases involving corpses in the past make the book a lively read. The story line is thought-provoking because death is an experience we are aware that we will all face. Also Roach interacts with a number of eccentric characters whose personalities are fleshed out through Roach’s skilled writing style. Even though the subject of the novel is cadavers, Roach’s writing is upbeat and playful at times. She reminds readers that she understands that death is sad and not to be taken lightly but that cadavers lead curious lives that are often humorous when looked at from the right angle. Readers who may be interested in donating their bodies after death will read about the options available. The book moves along at a steady, relaxed pace and readers will stay engrossed because of the in-depth treatment of the unusual subject matter. Roach’s writing style is direct but also very polished. It is clear that Roach did extensive research while writing Stiff and footnotes often include added information that gives the reader even more details about a specific fact or event.
Read-alikes: Fans of Stiff may want to read Roach’s other book titled Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife, which focuses on myths that attempt to explain what happens to our souls after we die. In Spook, Roach approaches the subject of the afterlife with the same rigor and scientific grounding as she tackles the subject matter in Stiff. Readers who enjoyed reading about the morbid subject matter of Stiff and the ways in which the living can learn about life from thinking about the dead, may also be interested in reading Thomas Lynch’s The Undertaking: Life Studies from the Dismal Trade, a collection of essays written about the experiences of being a funeral home director. In this work, the author reflects upon the lessons that he has learned over his career that have taught him about how the living react to death. Like Roach’s work, witty anecdotes in The Undertaking bring the characters and situations to life for the reader. Also, Lynch, like Roach, is careful to include specific details about his trade so readers are admitted into a new world that may be unfamiliar to them. Readers who were engrossed in Stiff because of facts given about the bizarre, and often times disturbing, experiments conducted on cadavers, may be interested in reading What the Doctor Didn't Say: The Hidden Truth about Medical Research by Jerry Menikoff and Edward P. Richards. This work focuses on bizarre, and often times dangerous, experiments conducted on willing living participants who may be uninformed about the possible risks to their health. Like Roach’s work, extensive research was conducted to collect the large number of true tales that fill this work. Readers who enjoyed Roach’s dark humor may be interested in kicking back with Miles Keaton Andrew’s Final Arrangements, which follows Casey Kight as he begins living his life-long dream of becoming an undertaker. Quirky and strange characters populate Kight’s world making this work absorbing. Readers who enjoyed Stiff may also enjoy watching episodes of Six Feet Under, a TV show aired on HBO about a family that runs a funeral parlor in their home. The writers of this show have a sense of humor and remind watchers that even when dealing with death on an everyday basis, the characters remember to smile at the sometimes absurd nature of life or death.
Red Flags: description of cadavers and bodily processes that occur after death, humorous tone used to discuss a subject that might be sensitive for some readers, and discussion of crimes related to corpses, such as necrophilia and grave robbing.
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