The subject matter in Lia Purpura’s “Autopsy Report” is well-suited for the visual language Purpura employs in her essay; in it, the human body—already a familiar subject—is compared to a wide and wild variety of images. Ribs become “ice-shelves, sandstone” (1), the body she inspects “turns to marble before us” (3), and layers of fat seem “yellow as a cartoon sun, as sweet as sweet cream butter” (6). These comparisons are rather unexpected, as things which might normally be considered off-putting or distasteful or —the innards of the human body—are made to seem rather ordinary, and, at times, even elegant.

The perspective of the narrator does much to direct the attitudes of the reader toward the subject material, as well. For example, Purpura describes how she laughed when first introduced to a row of bodies. That she is taken by the “weird gestures” of the bodies, which “looked entirely staged” (3) causes the reader to view the scene as less gruesome as they adopt the viewpoint of the narrator. Visual language in “Autopsy Report” works to soften the harshness of real autopsies. Images of a human organs assembled on a table, of a brain being held firmly to prevent its “jiggling,” or of bullet holes tearing open a chest are not ones commonly associated with heaps of fruit and constellations. Purpura’s decision to do so is a bold one that allows her to tackle a difficult and rather grisly topic in an appropriate and accessible manner.