The Corpse Reader

A historical novel set soundly and appropriately in 13th century China, I didn't catch the usual historical novelization errors of imposing our cultural mores on the setting, which pleased me. The tale itself was gripping, and kept me absorbed in the characters. Although graphic at times, this was a more brutal era, one full of filth and blood outside the hidden jewels of the Palace where Song Cí eventually finds himself.

Through medical training in a world which was reluctantly giving up the idea of magic, Song Cí finds himself able to be a necromancer, and speak for the dead. Forced into a parody of what he really wants to do, he leaps at the chance to attend a prestigious school and study medicine and the law. But with fame comes a show more price, and one that could take not only his life, but those of people who have become dear to him...

The protagonist, Song Cí, is a real person, the man who is considered the father of forensics (now you see why I was so excited to not only find this, but realize it was well-done). The secondary characters come to life as well, and I found myself rooting for the hero as he tried to take care of his family and himself in a world with utter disregard for human life. I highly recommend this book. show less

First Line: Shang didn't know death was coming for him until he tasted the blood spurting up into his throat.


In obeyance with custom in 13th century China, budding forensic investigator Ci Song unwillingly gives up his studies to help his family. After another tragedy strikes, Ci finds himself a fugitive and has no other recourse but to take a job as a lowly gravedigger-- which does allow him to sharpen his skills as a "corpse reader." His abilities make him sought after, and he soon receives a summons from the Imperial Court itself-- a summons that will take every ounce of his corpse reading skill to keep the Emperor-- and Ci himself-- out of danger.

The author did much research on an actual person-- Song Ci, considered the founding show more father of CSI-style forensic science. Garrido tells us about his research and how he went about writing the book in a section at the end. This section is well worth reading. In fact I would have to say that I probably enjoyed it more than I did the story itself.

I found the villain to be glaringly obvious, but even more than that is the fact that Garrido's main character drove me crazy. As written by the author, Ci is academically brilliant and socially obtuse. For a person who is supposedly as brilliant as he at piecing together the most obscure forensic details, Ci is completely ignorant of the people around him. In addition, each time he's cornered by someone who's unraveled one of his personal secrets, his only reaction is to run-- yet he has the courage to face down the Emperor himself over a small forensic detail?

As you can see, my enjoyment of this book was hampered by two things: (1) my inability to put myself in the time period and cultural beliefs of 13th century China, and (2) my reaction to the main character. Something tells me that if I fell into a time machine and opened the door onto this era in China, I wouldn't last very long. I don't have a feudal "decapitate-first-don't-bother-asking-questions" mentality, and I've always had a problem-- in books and in real life-- with people who are book smart yet have absolutely no common sense.

This book sets you down right in the heart of China 800 years ago. If-- unlike me-- you can be more forgiving of that time period's mindset and of a main character who's almost too naive to live, your mileage will most certainly vary from mine. I sincerely hope it does, and even though everything was not to my liking, I really appreciated a glimpse into the mind of a truly brilliant man, Song Ci. show less

A great story of contrasts-poverty and riches, health and illness, loyalty and deception, tragedy and hope- set in 13th century China. I look forward to more works by this author.

This is historical fiction. The type that takes what we know about a person and expands on it.

Ci Song actually existed and was actually possibly the founder of forensic medicine, or at least of a great many investigative forensic methods. We don't know a whole lot about his life, however. Garrido takes many liberties, as one does, in creating the fictional Ci Song, who has almost finished his studies in medicine when he is forced to return to the country and somehow survive with his family. Circumstances change and he gets a second chance at studying dead bodies, sometimes acting on his own because official paths are not available to him.

He has to find his way around those whose jealousy try to get rid of him. Meanwhile people learn show more that the "corpse reader" might be able to discern what caused the deaths of their loved ones. He is able to examine so many bodies that he learns a lot about how death is caused and how it can be seen.

It's a long book but not boring. I was really surprised to learn that such a person was doing this kind of work so very long ago. It seems that a lot of it was ignored until quite recently. The book is not without drama and intrigue as well. show less

Una novela basada en la vida de Song Cí, conocido como el padre de la medicina forense. Nacido en la China medieval en 1217 fue un reputado forense o "lector de cadáveres", quien elaboró tratados y estudios del tema que hoy en día son considerados los precursores de esta actividad y que además en muchas de sus formas siguen siendo vigentes hoy en día.

Novelada magistralmente por Garrido, conocemos la vida de Cí, un hombre pobre que logró destacar por su inteligencia, sin embargo, y lo aclaro tal como lo aclara el autor en sus notas finales, esta es solo una novela donde se destaca el trabajo de Cí, el primer lector de cadáveres y que nos cuenta un thriller absolutamente absorbente.

Destaco no solo la historia que ya en sí es show more suficiente para catalogar este libro como uno de los buenos, si no el gran trabajo de documentación por parte del autor.

Una historia trepidante, contada de tal manera que es imposible soltar el libro y que me ha parecido muy ilustrativa, puesto que yo no tenía ni idea de que las raíces de la medicina forense fueran tan antiguas y provinieran además de China.

El autor al final del libro nos hace una largo comentario sobre lo que para él y para muchos conocedores sería catalogado como una "novela histórica" pero me quedo con esto "los libros solo pueden ser catalogados como buenos o malos" y éste lo dejo en la categoría de los muy buenos.

La parte novelada nos relata una trama de intrigas, asesinatos y juicios que realmente vale la pena leerse, eso sí toda la primera parte nos relata la vida de Cí y sus penurias para lograr llegar a la muy destacada academia donde podría poner en práctica su sueño de estudiar y convertirse en juez o alguacil. show less

I just love stories from/about the Orient. This one takes place in China at the beginning of the 13th century. It is the story of Ci who finds himself an orphan and his struggles to clear his father's name and to stay alive! Ci Song is a scholar and a forensic student. There is much intrigue in the courts and at the palace of the emperor. The book is about Ci Song's bad luck and stupid mistakes. I found it somewhat confusing with the plethora of minute characters. The last third of the book seemed to drag; it was about only one episodic story line. Another downside was that sometimes there was not enough differentiation amongst the Chinese names: Fung, Mung, Fang, Shung, Song, Shur, Shi, etc. All in all though, it was a good average show more read. 494 pages 3 stars. show less

Pearl Buck meets CSI in this historical mystery. Cí Song (based on a real person) is an intelligent boy who goes with his father to the capital city of Lin'an. There he goes to school and seems to be on his way to a promising career. However, his father has to return to the country and after Cí's brother, Lu, is accused of murder, he discovers a talent for seeing clues in dead bodies.

Disaster after disaster occurs until Cí is discovered by the master of an academy, Ming, who takes him under his wing and trains him. Cí is called in to investigate a series of murders in the Imperial Palace and is himself accused of murder by a jealous schoolmate.

I would ordinarily love a novel like this but I felt the author was manipulative in show more generating all the events that formed Cí's young life, forcing him along like a rat in a maze. The setting was different, however, and I enjoyed how Cí performed without the fancy machines enjoyed for forensic scientists today, or even without being able to go inside the bodies which is forbidden by the Buddhist religion. show less