Bill Schutt’s book features a few psychopaths but dwells on the functions of cannibalism in human and animal societies
Cannibalism, suggests the biologist Bill Schutt in his entertaining but slightly unorganised account, is an “enduring aspect of life” that leaves none of us “untouched”. At this point, the reader may be checking his or her neck for bite marks. But Schutt clearly means that we are touched by cannibals in some kind of all-encompassing but non-literal sense. From the child-eating hag of “Hansel and Gretel” to Hannibal Lecter, Schutt argues that cannibals are central to human stories.
In many single-topic books, there is an element of special pleading. It’s an understandable form of salesmanship in a market of too many books and not enough readers. Whether the book is about cod or clocks, the author attempts – sometimes more convincingly than others – to persuade us that this tiny sliver of life on earth is more pivotal than anything else. As someone who wrote a book suggesting honeybees are – in multiple ways! – the key to human civilisation, I am not the person to criticise such writing. On the other hand, it can go too far. Schutt’s final paragraph tries to make the case that cannibalism is highly underrated. Maybe it’s even the key to everything:
Far from being the nightmarish aberration we tell ourselves it is – in films, novels and tabloid sensationalism – cannibalism has woven itself into our myths and legends, formed the basis of miracle cures, ancient and modern, helped discipline naughty children (and entertain good ones), popped up in the Bible, fascinated anthropologists, zoologists and biologists and – sadly – played a significant role in colonialism, conquest and war.
In the Wari’ tribe, eating a small piece of a deceased relative is believed to help with the grieving process
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