All That Remains (2019) by Sue Black

 Theme: *Mortality*

We’re all facing up to our mortality and so Nick wisely decided it was time to take a look at what’s coming down the line

Nick confronting mortality

READ: All That Remains (2019) by Sue Black

Sue Black is one of the world's leading forensic anthropologists who is also an anatomy professor at Dundee University, and unsurprisingly an expert in her field.

In All That Remains: A Life in Death, Sue Black discusses her many encounters with death and illustrates the developments in forensic science with reference to some of the cases she has worked on (e.g. war crimes in Kosovo, missing person crimes, the 2004 Tsunami)

To varying degrees we all liked it

The gushing reviews and a strong opening chapter had us all primed for a gripping read. After that visceral first chapter that details Sue Black's first human dissection, some  thought the book tailed off.

The next third of the book details a lot of biographical information centred around the deaths of some of Sue Gray's close relatives.

We all appreciated the sections about the bodies donated to medical science, the trauma caused by sudden and violent deaths, and the science of forensics. 

Perhaps this book tries to do too much: memoir, science, and a meditation on death? Some would have settled for just the science, others felt this was just the ticket.

Nick 8 / Tristan 7 / Nigel 6 / Keith 8 / Roland  8 / Robin 8 / Hamish 6

LISTEN: Ghosteen (2019) by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

Nick Cave confronts an unbearable tragedy - some felt it works brilliants others were less convinced, but a musical version of Mythago Wood? C’mon Roland

WATCH: The Straight Story (1999) dir by David Lynch

To varying degrees we were all very positive about The Straight Story despite being distinctly un-Lynch-ian. In other Lynch news Robin loves Mullholland Drive and describes it as “hot”. Oooh

HBG endorse it: 27 October 2022 -> 24 November 2022

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