xoshee's reviews
14 reviews

 

Opinion: Investigative mystery by Donnie Eichar uncovering the details behind the eerie Dyatlov Pass incident in 1959. I loved this book and Eichar goes the distance in uncovering this mystery, from pouring through old case files to partnering with case experts and traversing the mountains himself. Eichar does a good job of alternating between present-day investigations and past events; they are separate chapters throughout the book so some chapters are denser than others. At times I felt Eichar used too much creative freedom in recounting the past but when paired with photos and journal entries from the hikers, it created a real emotional connection for me, and I totally cried. At the end of the book, Eichar offers his own conclusions of what really happened, and I’ll leave it at that. 

Synopsis: Eichar exhaustively investigates the mysterious death of nine hikers in the Russian Ural Mountains by digging into case files, journals, and interviews. Eichar also teams up with scientists and current case experts and journeys to the Ural Mountains in an attempt to retrace the steps of these hikers. Eichar alternates from 1959 to present day in recounting the group’s final few weeks and the original investigation of their deaths. There are personal elements of the hikers throughout the book in the form of photos and journal entries. Eichar does exercise his own creative storytelling when recounting events, which may detract from the authenticity of events, but it makes for an immersive story. POTENTIAL SPOILER…

In the last chapter, Eichar takes full creative freedom (and explicitly mentions so) in recreating a story of the hikers’ last two days based on evidence.

 

Opinion: Great book written by mortician Caitlin Doughty exploring death culture around the world. This is the first book I read after discovering @themorbidlycuriousbookclub (the start of my descent into morbid books), I’m glad I chose it as my first book, and I would recommend it to anyone remotely interested in death and funeral practices. Doughty is an engaging writer who explains the subject material with respect and compassion, I never felt shocked or uncomfortable reading the details of death in this book. I will say though, there are cartoonish illustrations of death scattered throughout that may be a little jarring. 

Synopsis: Doughty visits eight locations, three of which are in the United States, exploring the different views on death, including how the dead are cared for and funeral rituals. Doughty often speaks on modern funeral practices here in the US, where our dead are hastily carried away and special care is taken to hide the realness of death from loved ones, ultimately leading to this anxiousness and fear of death in our society. Doughty’s aim is to inform the reader of different death practices, often more personal, so that we might feel more comfortable with inevitability of death. 

Opinion: Great book for anyone interested in a career in death work, complete with thorough interviews of the people involved and grisly details of a days work. I enjoyed reading the book for the aforementioned reasons and the memoir-style did not completely put me off, however, I felt that something was missing from the book, though I cannot pinpoint what. Perhaps a couple of the chapters seem hastily written, without as much information as the rest. Overall, Campbell does a great job of capturing the stories and emotions of the individuals who have dedicated their lives to working with the dead. 

Synopsis: Part memoir, part journalistic book by Hayley Campbell exploring twelve different death-focused careers, ranging from funeral director to crime scene cleaner to cryonics. Each chapter features a different career and point person who Campbell interviews, detailing their personal stories of why they chose the work and how it has affected them, while also weaving in her own past experiences and fascination with death, and why she chose to explore these careers. There is a grotesque nature to this book as Campbell describes her own observations in detail.  SPOILER…

The chapter Love and Terror contains descriptive infant death, which is incredibly upsetting to Campbell, as she references this event in subsequent chapters.