Gulp by Mary Roach
Hi, I am Sarah. I am fourteen years old and an avid reader; it is one of my favorite things to do. Inspired by authors’ creations of magnificent places and surprising havens built by simple letters, I aspire to be an author and, meanwhile, nurture the love to write.
Have you ever wondered why we love crunchy food, or why if something smells bad, it might still taste good? Have you wondered if constipation could kill, or whether it did actually kill Elvis? Have you ever truly wondered what really happens once food disappears down your gullet?
Whether or not you’ve actually had these wonderings, Gulp is probably your best bet in finding the answers—and the most hilarious. What happens in our gut (and out our butt) is pretty taboo, yet intimately connected within our society, culture, evolution, and the biological process that literally keeps you kickin’. Mary Roach dives deep down the “alimentary canal,” following threads that may be gross (but not too gross) and certainly interesting. She finds the unlikliest people, studying everything from the physics of chewing to the correct ratio of flavorings on dog food, and brings their fascinating stories into light. Gulp is an adventure of a story. It is not your textbook on the human digestive system; rather, a celebration of how food and the ways we eat it has brought us together as a society and community. It displays how integrated food and our digestive system really is in culture, as much as it may only seem relevant in the plastic skeleton from biology class. In Roach’s words, “the human equipment—and the delightful, unusual people who study it—are at least as interesting as the photogenic arrangements we push through it.”
