Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body's Most Under-Rated Organ, by Giulia Enders

Staff review by Chris Saliba

All you ever wanted to know about digestion, but were too afraid to ask! Giulia Enders tackles your answers with humour and intelligence.

An unexpected bestseller, Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body’s Most Under-Rated Organ, has sold over a million copies in Germany alone. Even more surprising, the book’s author, scientist and PhD student Giulia Enders, is so young. Born in 1990, she was twenty-four (or thereabouts) when Gut was first published in 2014. 

So, what’s all the fuss about? The book basically provides an overview of the current science on digestion. It’s written in a rather delicate and charming manner, with many a good joke. For example, Enders writes, “Burping or breaking wind might sound a bit gross, but the movements involved are as delicate and complex as those of a ballerina.” This fairly well sums up the tone. Enders looks upon all the working of the body, and especially that of the bowels, as like a brilliantly produced ballet. Many of her humorous descriptions of bowel functions did make me laugh out loud. What a gift she has for making the prosaic findings of science so entertaining and fascinating. It’s probably this, her whimsical style mixed with a good head of common sense, that has made the book such a runaway success.

For anyone experiencing tummy troubles, Gut provides a good introduction to the digestive system and sensible tips for getting help. For the rest of us simply interested in maintaining good gut health, Enders has made a tricky business a little more stress free.

Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body's Most Under-Rated Organ, by Giulia Enders. Published by Scribe. ISBN: 9781925106671 RRP: $29.99

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