杏吧原创

THIS splendidly edited book activated both my inner child, fascinated with all that鈥檚 revolting, and my social conscience. In it, six essayists dwell on the themes of skin parasites, shitting on slum streets, dumpsite scavenging, menstrual blood, sex, bacteria and landfill. The vicarious thrills are amplified by startling images of female cholera victims who have turned blue from dehydration, racist soap adverts of a bygone era, and 9/11 wreckage in landfill.

S-bends, sewers and refuse collection have made it easy to forget where our waste goes. Meanwhile, a child dies every 15 seconds from diarrhoea caused by drinking water contaminated with excrement.

This book, which accompanies an exhibition at the Wellcome Collection, London (read our review, 鈥淎bsolute filth on show鈥�), is unique in having led me to tweet about sanitation and to debate the links between sexual violence and the lack of private toilets in much of the world.