Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty

55 reviews

asiaasiaja's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Moderate: Cancer, Miscarriage, Sexism, Suicide, Excrement, Vomit, Dementia, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Body shaming, Cancer, Cursing, Fatphobia, Xenophobia, and Colonisation

___christina___'s review

dark funny informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Medical content, and Grief

Descriptions and discussions of tough topics are written empathicly and humorously.

ssarahbbeth's review

dark funny informative reflective fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Suicide, Medical content, and Grief

Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug use, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, and Dementia

ange_reads18's review

dark funny informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Addiction and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Dementia and Car accident

cruelaz's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective relaxing fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

gwendle_vs_literature's review

dark funny informative medium-paced

4.0

A few years ago I would not have made it through this book, but watching Caitlin’s “Ask a Mortician” on YouTube over the past few years prepared me for the honest and sometimes startling way she describes the realities of death. I really enjoyed this book, and I got through it pretty quickly because it was engaging and that made it hard to put down. I can’t recommend it for everyone, as some people might find the frank descriptions of decay and of what happens to bodies in contemporary North-American funeral practices too difficult to get through. In that case I would be more inclined to recommend her second book “From  Here to Eternity” which explores a variety of different cultural practices regarding death from all around the world. That one I can recommend to almost anyone. 

Accidental pairing that I now recommend:

I happened to read this immediately after finishing “As I Lay Dying” — which may seem like I was on a theme, but it was just a coincidental timing of wait lists at the library. However, if you want to compare a factual discussion of death and our rituals surrounding it (past and present) with a classic of American literature on that topic written and set in a time after more modern death “management” (ie embalming and/or quick burials) had taken firm root, but when poverty and a desire to honour the last wishes of the dead lead a family to ignore those conventions, then it’s a pairing I can recommend. Caitlin’s information certainly made Faulkner’s novel more interesting for me by providing extra layers of context. Particularly if you have to read Faulkner for an English class, pairing it with “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” could make it more enjoyable for you, and could also provide some good essay topics. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Death

Moderate: Child death, Suicide, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

taleofabibliophile's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Cannibalism, Car accident, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Mental illness, Dementia, and Pregnancy

Minor: Cancer, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

CW: mention of JKR

thequeenofsheba3's review against another edition

dark informative medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Death

Moderate: Child death and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Drug abuse and Miscarriage

12dejamoo's review against another edition

informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.0

Touching, funny, serious when it needed to be. Just such a delight to read, and definitely provided some food for thought. This review is highly cliche but the book is good

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Suicide

Yes there are icky descriptions of dead bodies but it's not really done for shock value, just to tell stories and make observations. The tone is also very light so mostly it doesn't feel too agh

dafttom's review against another edition

dark informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

A bit girly but the information was unique and interesting. I definitely recommend it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Medical content, and Death of parent