A review by circularcubes
Body of Work: Meditations on Mortality from the Human Anatomy Lab by Christine Montross

5.0

This book is astoundingly beautiful. Gruesome in some ways, yes, but really beautiful. It captures the awe and mystery of the human body, the unnaturalness of breaking down a human body, and how doing so is vital if one wants to understand how a body works, so that live bodies can one day be brought back to wholeness and health. I was so touched by how Montross describes her relationship with Eve, a body she comes to know intimately while in the course of a human anatomy course in medical school. I loved the history tidbits that Montross ties into her narrative, and her own relationships and friendships both inside and outside of the lab. I almost cried at the end of the book, when Montross describes how her grandparents dealt with their illnesses late in life. Honestly, I probably would have cried if I wasn't reading through that bit in a shared office on my lunch break. I will say, though... this book is not one to be read over meals. But read it anyway, because it's beautiful, and you'll come out of it more appreciative for the human body, and modern medicine, and the compassion that can exist between two strangers, even when one of them is no longer alive.