Han Yu (2)

In “Last Words,” the ninth and final chapter of Han Yu’s book on the human knee, the author discusses how she pitched her book to Columbia University Press. Scornful of the idea of “educating” her audience (which she equates with inducing textbook-style boredom in readers), Yu apparently proposed to do something more “daring”. She would “intrigue” and “surprise” less scientifically inclined readers with a diverse range of “fun” topics. So, in addition to covering show more the expected material on the knee—including information about its evolution, anatomy, pathology, the injuries it can sustain, and the treatments offered—she’d also address matters such as fashion, Chinese kowtowing, the symbolism of “taking the knee” (quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s protesting police brutality towards Blacks) as well as the use of the knee to inflict harm, by both martial artists and the likes of Derek Chauvin on Black citizens like George Floyd.

Before being accepted by the publisher, Yu’s book proposal had to be reviewed by a group of knee experts—anatomists, orthopaedic surgeons, and anthropologists—apparently to decide on the feasibility or worthiness of the project. It seems that one reviewer expressed concern that Yu (who is not an anatomist, kinesiologist, physician, or physiotherapist) was not “the proper person to educate the public.” That opinion galled Yu, but not as much as the criticism (possibly from the same “dissatisfied” person) about the “distracting” details she planned to include about women’s dresses, people kneeling, and the “sensational” matters of race and money.

Having now completed Yu’s somewhat unconventional text, I have to say that I basically agree with that dissatisfied reviewer. What I liked about The Curious Human Knee was the wealth of information it presented on expected subject matter: actual physical knees, their anatomy, how they function or malfunction, and the treatments offered when things go wrong. Also rewarding to me were the chapters addressing why women have more knee injuries than men and why non-Caucasians have more osteoarthritis of the knee and poorer knee-surgery outcomes. What I did not like were the long and tedious sections on women’s fashion (mostly concerning flappers), distressed jeans (and the third-world sweatshops they’re made in), kowtowing, and martial arts. Some, of course, might feel otherwise about this subject matter. I also acknowledge that the author’s discussion of Colin Kaepernick’s “taking-the-knee” protest and George Floyd’s death may be of interest to readers outside North America. Here in Canada, though, the stories dominated the mainstream media for weeks, even months. I had no desire to read about them yet again. The discussions seemed out of place in a work of this kind.

While I ultimately learned a fair bit from Yu, finding her book—dare I actually say it?—educational, the reading was sometimes hard going. I really have encountered textbooks that were more accessible and lively than this work. If Yu had wanted to make her writing more “fun” (her word choice, not mine) she’d have summarized research studies economically, placing finer details in footnotes. I also could not understand her resistance to calling the bones that make up the knee joint by their anatomical names. Yu does not hesitate to use the correct term for the knobs at the end of some long bones: “condyles”. Strangely, however, she persistently identifies the femur, tibia, and patella as the “thigh”, “shin”, and “kneecap” respectively. More oddly, she calls the fibula the “calf bone”. Calf bone? At first I didn’t know what she meant. The calf is muscle, “the fleshy back part of the leg below the knee,” not bone. Really, how hard is it for general readers, even the non-“sciency” ones Yu says she wants to reach, to keep four anatomical names in mind? Since the bones are repeatedly mentioned and illustrated, why not use the most correct word for them?

I have mixed feelings about The Curious Human Knee. Some sections are overcrowded with detail, the writing is occasionally awkward or too forcedly pally, and the material that is supposed to be “fun” bored me to tears. Maybe I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to read this book. Possibly I’m not the intended audience. Honestly, though, I am not quite sure who is. show less