Review by Booklist Review
Campbell's fascination with dead bodies began in childhood. In her first book, she sets out to interview individuals who work in fields related to death: funeral directors, gravediggers, embalmers, autopsy instructors, pathologists, and crematorium employees. Along the way, her focus gradually widens to include specialists in disaster and crime scene cleanup, executioners, bereavement midwives, and a death mask sculptor. Campbell provides straightforward descriptions of technical aspects of these careers, and shares conversations ranging from how her subjects chose their occupations to musings on motivations, attitudes, life, and death. Campbell's genuine curiosity, careful reporting, and insightful commentary make for an engrossing read. Without sensationalizing or squeamishness, Campbell offers interviews rich in candid insights. One strong thread that emerges is the desire to be of service; another is deep, profound respect. Visiting a cryonics institute, where individuals opt to have their bodies frozen until scientists of the future can (hopefully) revive them, Campbell admits that she half expected to find a cartoonish cult; instead, she discovers it's just another way for people to commemorate their loved ones. Readers who share Campbell's healthy obsession will appreciate both her meticulous reporting and her marked compassion.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Journalist Campbell (The Art of Neil Gaiman) delivers a gripping look at professionals who deal with the end of life and their efforts to give people "dignity in death." Although more than 55 million people die around the world every year, Campbell points out, the mechanics of disposing of dead bodies remain mysterious. The book's colorful cast includes Nick Reynolds, son of the mastermind behind the 1963 heist known as the "Great Train Robbery" and the last maker of death masks in the U.K. Campbell also profiles Neal Smither, a "California stoner" turned crime scene cleaner; assists a funeral director in dressing a body; and delves into the history of autopsies and the contributions they've made to medical advances. She notes that the practice of donating one's body to science dates to 1832 and explains how today's medical students train on virtual autopsy tables. Campbell also attends the Mayo Clinic's annual Convocation of Thanks for people who donated their bodies for anatomical study and visits a "white-label" company that helps other companies deal with mass fatalities. Though the morbid details won't be for everyone, Campbell is a sharp and witty observer who successfully conveys her own fascination with the subject. This is a vivid and open-minded look at a taboo topic. (Aug.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A wide-ranging book about the business of death. Campbell has been fascinated by death since she watched her father, acclaimed comic book artist Eddie Campbell, create illustrations for Alan Moore's From Hell. In her debut, Campbell works her way through the machinery of the death industry, interviewing morticians, embalmers, crime scene cleaners, executioners, and others. Clearly unafraid of getting her hands dirty, she chronicles how she held a brain during an autopsy and learned to dig a perfect hole from two cheery gravediggers. At a crematorium, she finds that "cancer is the last thing to burn." This sounds bizarre and even a little ghoulish, but the author's quest reveals a wealth of surprising grace and impressive courage. Most of the people she interviewed and shadowed are content in their roles, viewing their work as inherently important. "They are trying to do what they believe is right," she writes. "They cannot reverse the situation and make people live again, but they can change how it is dealt with and give them dignity in death." There are many touching moments and characters--e.g., a funeral home director who, in the early days of the AIDS epidemic, would secretly allow lovers and friends into the mortuary to say their goodbyes. Campbell's encounter with a bereavement midwife, who specializes in stillbirths and deliveries of babies who will soon pass away, is strikingly poignant, as is the author's admission that she will be haunted by the image of a dead child. Some of her interviewees understand what she means, noting that the atmosphere of death can leak into your soul. Nevertheless, the author concluded her journey with a greater understanding of life and death. She suggests that we should be willing to be more involved in the passage of loved ones, both for our own closure and as a recognition of the importance of life--sound advice in a remarkable book. A careful, moving investigation of existential matters told with a keen literary sense and memorable personal insights. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
