A young man has a horrible motorcycle accident. He wakesup in the hospital to discover that one of his arms has been amputated. Then aportrait on the wall of his hospital room begins to speak to him. The subject ofthe painting introduces himself as Ambroise Par-the Frenchbarber-surgeon who revolutionized the art of amputation. From this wonderfullyabsurd premise, the two begin an imaginary conversation that takes them througha sweeping history of surgical amputation, from the Stone Age to the Space Age.Unencumbered by pathos or didacticism, this graphic novel explores the world ofamputation, revealing fascinating details about famous amputees throughouthistory, the invention of the tourniquet, phantom limb syndrome, types ofprostheses, and transhumanist technologies.
Playfully illustrated and seriously funny, TheBody Factory is sure to delight anyone interested in the history and future ofmedicine and how we repair-;and evenenhance-;
