Dying is Easy, Comedy is Hard
Mary Roach’s witty, conversational style makes Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers approachable and readable, despite the macabre and occasionally disgusting topic. While the author is never disrespectful or lurid, her arch commentary makes it much easier to absorb the fascinating information. (”The way I see it, being dead is not terribly far off from being on a cruise ship. Most of your time is spent lying on your back…”)
The book opens with plastic surgeons practicing face-lifts on decapitated heads. There are also chapters on automobile safety testing, cannibalism, gross anatomy labs, military equipment testing, forensic research, the medicinal use of cadavers, brain death and organ transplantation, decapitation and head transplants, test crucifictions, the history of body-snatching, and the funeral industry. It’s not for the weak of stomach, but it’s interesting enough that I highly recommend it anyway. Roach skillfully avoids going to far by diveritng the reader’s attention with a historical digression or personal observation; her pacing is excellent, and Stiff is a very good example of how to write about an uncomfortable topic for a general audience.
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