Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

Roach immediately establishes the irreverent, humorous tone throughout Stiff by comparing death to “being on a cruise ship” in that “most of your time is spent lying on your back” (9). The impact of cadaver research is difficult to quantify, Roach says, due to the fact that their effects are so far-reaching: “For every surgical procedure developed, from heart transplants to gender reassignment surgery, cadavers have been there alongside the surgeons, making history in their own quiet, sundered way” (9). Roach readies the reader for a sweeping account of the dead’s affect on the living.

The studies performed upon the dead are often brutal, but these studies are necessary, and afford strong, positive influence on the living. In this way, cadavers make useful contributions to society, offering up their bodies for the betterment of mankind. Recasting them in a more positive light, Roach compares the work of cadavers to superheroes: “The don’t endure anything. Cadavers are our superheroes: They brave fire without flinching, withstand falls from tall buildings and head-on car crashes into walls” (10).

Stiff, at its most basic level, is a book about the “notable achievements made while dead” (10). Roach does not want to minimize the impact of death upon the living;she is careful to distinguish the difference between a person, as we know them, and the cadaver they become after they are dead.