It feels strange to say that a book about death, or what happens to the body after death, is funny. But this book was funny, yet never disrespectful. Roach has done the unthinkable here by taking the almost taboo subject of death and making it almost lighthearted. I never quite forgot how macabre her subject is, but all the same I found myself sniggering at some of her wittisms. She greets you with a killer (oops, no pun intended) line “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.” and doesn’t let you go until the very end, where she confesses that if her husband goes before she does, she’s going to donate her brain to Harvard’s Brain Bank.
Not for the weak of stomach, Stiff is “curiously” interesting and very informative.
Everytime I see this title mentioned I get all curious, but then never look for it. Weird.
I did read a strange book (fiction) about a couple who get murdered where the author describes how the bodies decay. Its interesting in a good but strange way.
What was the book? Was it Jim Crace's Quarantine? I have that one, but haven't read it yet.
It was by Jim Crace but don't think it was called Quarantine. The reason being that everytime I see that book in the library I go over, pick it up, muse about reading it, and yet always leave it down. Hany on I'll go investigate.
…
Talk about a DOH! moment. It is called Being Dead
Ahhh! I knew it sounded like him. I had it confused and it is Being Dead that I own. I have too many books; in fact I think I have both of them.
Somewhere…
Don't be silly. You can never have too many books. Too little space perhaps, and not enough time, but never too many books
Yeah, I know, I wasn't serious
Although hubby would probably say I do. He thinks it's terrible to have so many books and not have read them all. I tell him I'm working on it.–>