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It's not as good I think I rated both with 5 stars. Not as authoritative, but a bit more every-man, if that makes sense. Feb 08, Ellen rated it it was ok. I wanted to love this book and as I started reading it I did. How fascinating to read about a young woman learning about life as a Mortuary technician.
However, what with her pretty dull social life --going to the bar, dinner with family, hanging out with her boyfriend and dogs probably the publisher said--you've got to put some more stuff in here and not just talk about all your experiences with the dead! I started skimming to get back to her job. The nitty gritty of autopsies, prepping bodie I wanted to love this book and as I started reading it I did.
The nitty gritty of autopsies, prepping bodies for the postmortem and looking for forensic evidence of non-natural causes of death were terrific. Her descriptions of people she didn't like were offensive I sure hope she wasn't using real names and her voice began to grate. In addition, the book -originally published in the UK, needed an editor. Not a copy editor but an editor to cut repetition, cut unnecessary phrases and tighten the whole thing up. With some better writing I could see the book as a long article in The New Yorker.
But there's not enough meat for a book. Jan 13, Shawna rated it it was ok Shelves: When this author stuck to the morgue her book was enjoyable. What I wanted to read about was her learning the ropes of her new job. The bodies, the problems, the anxieties etc. However, when she meandered off into talking about her boyfriend, their dogs, and her family's holidays, I got very bored. I also noticed two different typos in the book. Also if I had to hear this woman say "we worked like beavers" or "he had hands like shovels" again, I was going to scream. I didn't realize when When this author stuck to the morgue her book was enjoyable.
I didn't realize when I got it that this book is about the English system, so included along with the gore were many asides about pubs and tea. I'd say, let this one pass you by. May 08, Megan added it Shelves: The parts dealing with the mortuary career were so interesting, but the book suffered from a lack of introspective depth. Williams described her actual work with verve, but the intellectual and emotional insights, or even just reflections, were few and far between.
The book was frustratingly shallow. And some of those few insights that were there just rubbed me the wrong way. In a throw-away sentence, Williams mused about whether family members were embarrassed that a fat relative's body required The parts dealing with the mortuary career were so interesting, but the book suffered from a lack of introspective depth. In a throw-away sentence, Williams mused about whether family members were embarrassed that a fat relative's body required additional effort and manpower to remove in the hour after his death, and I just scowled at the book.
I'm really not supportive of inflicting shame on people for their bodies--or the bodies of their loved ones, for Pete's sake! It was such an unnecessary show of being belittling. The intrusions of unnecessary descriptions of Williams's personal life brought the book down because, so often, all the chatter about her life outside the morgue was not relevant, or only barely relevant, and yet passages were devoted to lengthy descriptions of things like choosing a place to eat dinner.
The times when Williams' personal life did intersect with her work, those passages were memorable and moving. But like with the introspection, these times were infrequent. The quick anecdotes, the lack of connection between said anecdotes, and the chatty-but-shallow tone left me thinking that the book would have been better suited in the format of a blog.
Jun 26, Gayle rated it really liked it Shelves: I found this book delightful, despite or perhaps due to?
She also includes what they do during their off time, just in case we believe that working in a mortuary somehow makes you anything other than just a human. I enjoyed the humor—yes there is humor—probably because my dad loved death humor so I was exposed early and often! It was a weekend and the funeral home was closed, so they just slipped him under the door.
I swear, my dad was not weird! He was just really, really funny. I also recognized the people because I grew up in a very tiny town where everyone knew everyone else, and all stories were public. Believe me when I tell you that this was the event of the decade in that town!
Oct 30, Nancy rated it really liked it Recommended to Nancy by: Reading this book was like meeting an ordinary person on the bus and chatting about her day at work. Except in this case she works, not as an office office assistant or shop clerk, but as a mortuary technician. There was no grand story arc, just 51 short chapters, each about the events of one day. I must admit I finished the book wondering how she came to write it. The Michelle Williams portrayed here gives no hint of being interested in writing. What happened next in her life that lead to her w Reading this book was like meeting an ordinary person on the bus and chatting about her day at work.
What happened next in her life that lead to her writing a memoir? I might as well start off with the good , since there isn't much for me in this one Sorry Michelle. I really did like that I could relate to the writers anxiousness within a new job.
The trials and trivialization that come with diving in head-first. Here's a list of things I really didn't like: We get it, you go the pub often. How can someone working in a mortuary technicians position not want to further their education? In connection with that, how can someone with help from a f I might as well start off with the good , since there isn't much for me in this one Sorry Michelle.
In connection with that, how can someone with help from a forensic pathologist and constant experience on her side barely scrape through a mortuary technicians exam? To not know what the coronary circulatory system is after so much first hand experience is honestly just beyond me. Michelle just seems a lot like Graham, just wanting to get the job done without advancing much and likes the idea of it and telling people what she does more than anything else. As an aspiring mortuary technician it saddens me to see so much of the routine, work and terminology go over the authors head.
Something about this book and the reason for writing it just doesn't make much sense to me.
At least it was an easy read and there was some educational and fairly entertaining content. My impression is that the author definitely did make an impression on her colleagues and must be a likeable person, but I doubt this is her passion. Worst book EVER to read during my lunch break from work. But other than THAT. I do love memoirs about people's work life. This falls neatly into the good pile. Detailed, without being too detailed. Not too much medical jargon, but you really understand what it is she does for a living did for a living? Not sure if she still does it , what training was required, the hardships she faced.
And hey, I actually know what eviscerated means now. Which means I am going to use it endlessly. Especially the tongue part. Seriously, this book is so neat. Don't read it while eating. Sep 29, Rachel rated it it was ok Shelves: It's very interesting to see what goes on in a hospital mortuary, and to see how the author grew into the job. I was less interested in the constant trips to pubs with family and co-workers, and all the hangovers that resulted. Aside from the job, she seems relentlessly average. She talks a lot about how respectful she and her co-workers are to the dead and their families.
But she was blatantly disrespectful and contemptuous of a man who died while cross-dressed in women's clothing. That pretty It's very interesting to see what goes on in a hospital mortuary, and to see how the author grew into the job. That pretty much ruined the book for me. Mar 22, JennaL rated it did not like it Recommends it for: Not really certain how this writer got her book deal, short of some rude options involving either personal favors or perhaps she helped cover a death for a publisher. This is really dreadful. The concept could have made for a fascinating book but it would have been more entertaining to sit and listen to someone read the phone book in a monotone.
Wonderful to suddenly decide to take a new direction in you life, but if the goal was to demystify the last moments of existence before b Not really certain how this writer got her book deal, short of some rude options involving either personal favors or perhaps she helped cover a death for a publisher. Wonderful to suddenly decide to take a new direction in you life, but if the goal was to demystify the last moments of existence before burial, this is a failure. Not because it doesn't accurately explain what occurs during an autopsy - but because it is just so unrelentingly and blandly told.
Any job can be fascinating, any career can spark off interest in the right hands. But the author approaches both her job as a mortuary tech AND a writer with the exact same blank tone one takes reading off the directions on how to use a self-check out scanner at the grocery. Bland grey disconnected 'and this happened, while we listed to the radio and waited for the paperwork to come through' nonsense. I'm a fast read, but I still feel like I should be given the hour back I spent reading this.
Technical manuals are put together with more style. And I'm terribly sorry, but simply being able to string a grammatically correct statement together doesn't make you a write, if that's all that is required, Siri on my iPhone would be up for a Pulitzer. This might have been written to pull back some of the mystery, but if it was, please pull that sheet RIGHT back over the dead body of this book!
If 'due to paperwork snags' an obese corpse is allowed to mold, mildew, rot, leak and generally ooze for nearly a week in an unrefrigerated space - the mortuary the author wrote for should either be filing criminal charges against the ineffectual idiot who kept 'forgetting' to send the proper paperwork, or her bosses should be tried for criminal laziness for refusing to even TRY to move the process forward.
She rambles on and on about preserving the final dignities of a body, how she won't gossip about what happens to a person she won't talk details to family, but is fine writing a book and giving blow by blow descriptions of a body to the world? Talk about a seriously weird world view but this book is just There are dozens of writers who cover this type of material who do an amazing job - both in the fiction and factual worlds. Find something else to read. Looked at in the right light, reading that phonebook I mentioned above would at least leave you in the end with a bit of information lodged and a grasp of your local area codes.
The only thing I came away with after reading this is a serious irritation I stuck with it. Jan 13, John Paxton rated it liked it. While not as well written as Dr Melenick's book Working Stiff: Two Years, Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner but it's quite a different process one takes to be tech vs a pathologist. The book is set in the UK, I'm from there,there's no concessions when it comes to using idioms or referencing the culture,so while it didn't bother me it may be puzzling at times if American-English is your thing. Still we're here to learn What can you expect?
More like a series of blog posts,the only na While not as well written as Dr Melenick's book Working Stiff: More like a series of blog posts,the only narrative really is that of time moving forward,gaining experience and from the point of view of falling into the job vs education first,you can do this ass backwards in the UK though not during reconstruction please Her descriptions of the job,people and the various interesting states the dead arrive in are always interesting, non-repetitive and visceral and easily make four stars.
I would like to blame the editor, more than the author,for the pacing and while there's a lot of the personal that can be left in where it intersects with the job most of it is out of place,as I said reads like a blog over the years,a really good blog. Crime is a minor occurrence so for the most part it's natural and accidental death with the odd,there's at least one odd suicide and a few cases of misadventure that are probably best read prior to lunch. While criminal cases feature, and you get an insight how another country deals with the same issues, it's not the main focus and for that alone it's worth a read.
Review edited to fix a few glaring typos Oct 09, Claude rated it liked it. At first I thought this book was poorly edited as some sentences don't make sense. But after reading the whole thing I realised that the author actually writes sentences as she probably says them, in some sort of hideous English accent, using slang sentence structures that she are used amongst the people she knows.
It is always disappointing hearing the ENglish speak as it sounds so ugly, and this unfortunately can sometimes translate to text. I am being harsh, the book was kind of interesting At first I thought this book was poorly edited as some sentences don't make sense. I am being harsh, the book was kind of interesting, it's just a shame that a person from England wrote it, I am assuming she isn't very literary minded nor intelligent. Maybe it's just my mood today but I really dislike the English, and feel this book would have been better written by someone not so middle class. I never thought I would say that, but this girl aka the author, I imagine is the type of person that caused the French to hate the bourgeoisie.
She appears to only see what is directly in front of her!
Perhaps I am being vastly critical of an author I know little else about but her profession, but I do believe you can surmise a lot from the words she has written. She is a meat-eater and that alone tells me she is a fucked up selfish person that lives for her own gratitude.
She is old enough to know that such eating habits need to be reconsidered, or else people like me shall just deem her as a selfish materialistic cunt, meat-eating indicates that my criticism is not unfounded and that it is indeed accurate. I never insult the innocent. Jan 11, Melissa rated it liked it Shelves: This was not the best book and was full of a few mistakes.
One of the most confusing was on the back cover. It mentioned a guide dog leading his owner onto the railway track and leaving him there. There is only one store that really matches but it did not involve railroad tracks. The spelling mistakes were a bit easier to deal with but when it appeared a word was missing it was a bit harder. The way she writes and the people talk is a bit confusing though I understand they are from the United Ki This was not the best book and was full of a few mistakes.
The way she writes and the people talk is a bit confusing though I understand they are from the United Kingdom. Taking place in the UK the way things are done are a bit different though the author never really went into details on anything. I could not really believe though that they just let anybody get a job at the morgue without any real training or experience. If it was me or my family I hope the person cutting me up know what they are doing. Still not an really bad book. This is an intriguing, entertaining and honest account of life as a mortuary technician written during Williams' first year in the job following a change in career and a good bit of luck.
She is open and honest throughout the book and through her stories and those of her colleagues shows the work she and other technicians like her in a clear light, not shying away from anything including the joys of the decomposing dead. The writing isn't spectacular but as Williams is not a natural writer thi This is an intriguing, entertaining and honest account of life as a mortuary technician written during Williams' first year in the job following a change in career and a good bit of luck.
The writing isn't spectacular but as Williams is not a natural writer this is expected and she does write as herself without trying to be something she's not, which is a pleasant change from some biographies out there. Overall this is a really interesting read that gives a warts and all look into mortuary life and the characters that come through their doors. May 12, John rated it really liked it Shelves: I'm giving this one four stars for holding my attention so well.
The author's not a professional writer, nor does she claim to be; I'm fairly picky about writing quality, and was able to deal with the fact that she was relating anecdotes from her early days on the job, not penning an oeuvre. Things do get a tad grisly in places, though my squeamish self managed those okay. I didn't mind details of her personal life, and those of her colleagues, at all - they added to the story as to who would ta I'm giving this one four stars for holding my attention so well.
From the tragic to the hilarious they include: The fitness fanatic who was run over as he did pressups in the road on a dark night The decapitated motorcyclist The guide dog who led his owner on to the railway tracks - and left him there The forty stone man for whom an entire refrigerated lorry had to be hired because he wouldn't fit in the mortuary cooler Over the course of her first year Michelle has to deal with situations and emotions that few of us will ever experience, and does so while retaining a sense of humour and a sense of perspective.
The Best Books of Check out the top books of the year on our page Best Books of Looking for beautiful books? Visit our Beautiful Books page and find lovely books for kids, photography lovers and more. About Michelle Williams Michelle Williams started working for the NHS over 15 years ago where she worked as a senior health care assistant.
She has since worked as an anatomical pathology technician and is now a mortuary manager. She lives in Cheltenham. Book ratings by Goodreads. Goodreads is the world's largest site for readers with over 50 million reviews. We're featuring millions of their reader ratings on our book pages to help you find your new favourite book.