STIFF Review

STIFF
By: Morgan Keller

I would like to note that I read this book solely because it was recommended to me by a full 2 people. Before this, I read(or at least tried to read) a book about the mafia and all the cool things they do. It turned out to be quite boring, which led me to Stiff, by Mary Roach. I am not interested in being a doctor, a coroner, or a scientist of any kind, so I don't have much of an interest in cadavers. That being said... this book was pretty fascinating.

Narrated by the author herself, she does a fantastic job of drawing her audience into the disgusting world of human cadavers. And when I say disgusting, I mean disgusting. She doesn't fail to tell you all of the gory details about what she researched. Some people may think it's too much to talk about cadavers being crucified, but not Ms. Roach. That's what makes this book so interesting though, the fact that she doesn't dance around her subject and goes for the more straightforward approach.

Just because it's straightforward doesn't mean that it's not entertaining. She manages to work in her own humor and flair into every story she tells. Which is probably the strongest indicator of the audience she aimed towards. The fun tone she brings to the subject of cadavers is the perfect way to teach a younger audience about this strange world. Plus the way she describes the gore is another indicator that this book is for a teenage audience.

The thing I find most impressive about this author is that she isn't even a scientist. She simply researched the crap out of this subject so she could share it with the world. I mean cadavers aren't a very sought after subject, but Mary Roach does a great job of making this whole book interesting. If I had to rate it I would give it 4 severed fingers out of 5 because she dragged on in a few paragraphs.


Side note: I have decided to omit all music videos, gifs, and pictures. Why? Because it is third quarter now, and I am basically a mature adult now. So I refuse to add a sweet picture of Aladdin at the part where I mention the introduction of a strange new world. Or some cool picture of Jesus at the crucifix part. Even though it would be awesome. And super cool.