A Shitty Book-Review
Warning: Another one of those posts that might make you question my sanity and sense of propriety.
I recently finished reading this:
As crazy as it may seem, this is a very interesting book about something that we are all familiar with. And George starts off by talking about the word “shit” and why it is the best word to use to describe it instead of all the euphemisms we have created through the years.
The book is both entertaining and informative. Just don’t read it while eating lunch.
She covers the history of toilets and the cultural sociological aspects of defecation. It’s more interesting than you realize. For example, two hundred years ago relieving one’s self in the presence of others was common while blowing your nose in public was the epitome of bad form. Look at how far we have come.
I was almost in tears as I read about the life of “night scavengers” in India. These are the people of the lowest caste who clean dry latrines(Dry latrine sounds better than it is). The night scavengers are all but slaves. Some times they go months without getting paid and when they are paid it may be nothing more than bread that is rotten. It is all illegal but happens anyway.
I read how some people have improved the lives of rural farmers in China by teaching them to build bio-gas latrines. It made a big difference in the lives of women. Now they have energy for a stove and light powered by bio-gas. They no longer cook in smoky kitchens. They have more time to do other things that bring income to the family.
“The 1.8 million child deaths each year related to clean water and sanitation dwarf the casualties associated with violent conflict. No act of terrorism generates economic devastation on the scale of the crisis in water and sanitation. Yet the issue barely registers on the international agenda.”
The need for society to address the management of human waste is a constant in the book. And it is not just under developed countries. Cities in the United States are dumping sewage into oceans, lakes and rivers. The same water you are drinking.
The book is also humorous. There is a discussion of the Japanese and how much effort they put in to developing toilets. Who would have thought there is something other than the common flush toilet we use each day?
The Japanese have toilets with built in bidets that include heated seats, air drying and sound effects to mask other sounds. The description of the research that goes into these will have you either rolling on the floor in laughter or getting rather grossed out.
And something that I am sure wives and mothers would appreciate, the promotion of separation toilets that require men to sit.
Just don’t mention this post to my brother. I got this book for him for Christmas but had to read it first. He is a civil engineer and works in this area. He is the one who often laments the fact that in the United States we spend so much effort and energy to clean up our water just to turn around and shit in it. It really doesn’t make sense when you think about it. This book gives us some other ideas about what to do about that.
He maintains that what he does is the most important job on the planet. After reading the book I would have to agree. The book gives one something to think about. Maybe more than you want to think about. But hey, it’s not like yours doesn’t stink.
Tags: sanitation
December 23rd, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Sounds like a very interesting book. I may have to check it out!
December 23rd, 2008 at 6:59 pm
An excellent review of what seems to be a very interesting book since clearly it goes beyond the obvious to explore the socio-economic and cultural mores in different cultures. My one suggestion is that you might want to describe what is a “dry latrine” since it is not obvious to someone not familiar with it.
While I don’t profess to know much about the rural life in India since I have always been a city-girl born and raised in New Delhi, it is important to note that the Indian government is and has been taking many affirmative actions to uplift and integrate these folks into society since Independence. Upliftment of these folks was a cause dear to one of the greatest leaders in modern world and who led India’s independence, Gandhi.
Also remember that while there is a lot of truth in what is written by Western authors, there is also a subsconscious exaggeration/sensationalization of reality because some these social aspects are just so incredibly foreign to thinking here. Just a note of caution.
Having said that it is something modern and educated Indians are not proud of in their culture. What made me realize in my many travels back home is how the thinking of the average Indians is gradually evolving -slowly but surely.
You might want to also check a post that I did a few months ago where I talked about how the women at least are now becoming aware of their rights and role, at least in the urban areas. I don’t want to write another post in Red’s domain but I feel I need to give a perspective which only I being an Indian can bring:
http://rbksrealm.blogspot.com/2008/07/travels-to-homeland-part-v.html
December 23rd, 2008 at 8:07 pm
Okay, RBK asked so here it is. A dry latrine according to the book really isn’t a latrine at all. A latrine implies some sort of tank or receptacle. A dry latrine often consists of two bricks set squatting distance apart.
The scavengers not only clean these up but they are also employed cleaning up feces along rail road tracks, clogged sewers etc. There are still trains running in India that have toilets that just empty out of the train and onto the side of the tracks.
What RBK says is true and the author does talk about many sides of the issue. And she points out Dalits(the lowest caste) who are very accomplished. She puts as much of the blame on the British as anyone for promoting and continuing the practice. There are people and programs trying to solve the problem. But like waste management in all countries, including our own, it doesn’t often get the attention or funding it should.
The one universal aspect of this topic across all countries is that most of us don’t care about our own shit if we don’t have to deal with it. We flush and forget. We don’t think about everything we put down the drains and its impact down stream.
December 23rd, 2008 at 8:26 pm
British rule like any other imperialist empire was out only for its own interest and drained India’s wealth completely and caused problems that are lingering till today. Tempting as it is, I will not go into a whole history lecture, but stop here.
If anyone wants to learn more they can go and read my articles on partition which was the end-result of the infamous policy of divide and rule.
December 24th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Toilets with heat seats and sound effects? What kind of sound effects? Claps of thunder, race car engine revving, or possibly artillery fire? I’ll quit before anyone thinks less of me. As if there is a chance of that!
December 24th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
I like the artillery fire.
December 26th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Nice…..I will have to recommend this book to my son. really!