At the urging of more than one friend, I put this book on my “to read” list a few months ago, and when some other friends were giving it away, I got excited at the change to read it.

Here are some things I’ve found:

1. Olver Sacks is a great writer.
2. I fundamentally don’t like clinical writing.
3. In spite of the former point, I found it impossible to get beyond the latter one.

I don’t know what my problem is. Maybe it’s the authors act of imposing himself on the narrative, or maybe it’s hard for me to have any grasp of the characters if they are predominantly a series of obscure neurological symptoms. Maybe it’s just that I find hospitals a bit too creepy. But then, in spite of whatever my problem was, I ultimately founnd the characters strong, their suffering and their stuggles palpable, and their triumphs exciting. Those qualities kept me reading.

So really, any criticism I might have of this book has more to do with the quirky, irrational nature of my personal taste, and less to do with any objective merits of the writing. I think you should read it and decide for yourslef.

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The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat :: by (published 1985) read: 1 August 2002 rating: [0]

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat ::
by (published 1985)
read: 1 August 2002
rating: [0]