- Hardcover: 347 pages
- Publisher: Sceptre (2 Aug 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0340823062
- ISBN-13: 978-0340823064
- Product Dimensions: 21.8 x 13.8 x 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,567,054 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
'Gripping ... the plot gradually unravels in a most absorbing manner, clues and hints subtly weaving their way into the book ... a new voice in original, entertaining and challenging fiction.' -- Cathryn Scott, Big Issue 'An unsettling, weirdly evocative novel, evidently superbly researched ... the novel's images of the dawn of modern psychiatry and its portrait of doctor and patient struggling together towards the light remain memorably poignant.' -- Jon Barnes, Times Literary Supplement '[An] interesting, elegant tale' -- Jessica Mann, Sunday Telegraph 'Hannah's inner thoughts are delicately handled ... and her story is touching.' -- Eva Figes, Guardian
Cathryn Scott, The Big Issue (Cymru), August 23rd 2004
...gripping...the plot gradually unravels in a most absorbing manner...a new voice in original, entertaining and challenging fiction.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A moving and richly human novel of depth and understanding, at once a psychological and a historical novel.
Claire Dudman offers an original and offbeat perspective of life in a Frankfurt assylum in the 1850s.
A Jewish girl, Hannah Meyer, labelled as a nymphomaniac, is admitted to a Frankfurt insane assylum , in a deep and extremely debilitating state of melancholia. Dr Heinrich Hoffman, a Frankfurt physician who runs the sanatorium, and also the well known author of the book of children's poems known as Sturmwetpeter, undertakes to treat her, all treatments fail until Dr Hoffman patiently talks to her about his own life and patiently coaxes, slowly coaxes her out of her crippling melancholic state and teaches her to talk and respond again.
Her own inner thoughts and recounting of her own inner thoughts are recounted in italics, used in an intelligent and pertinent way.
Deeply in love with a German gentile who woos her and secretly marries her, and then cruelly spurns her, with strong anti-Semitic words, this incident has brought on her depressive state. The novel also focuses on the staff and other inmates of the asylum.
The novel also focuses on the staff and other inamtes of the assylum.
It is at once a window into 19th century Germany, the progressive thinking of Dr Hoffman, the inner world of the mentally ill and the anti-Semitism of the time.
An evocative novel despair and hope, love and cruelty, and ultimately the search for purpose and the reason for being, hence the name 98 reasons for being.
Claire Dudman offers an original and offbeat perspective of life in a Frankfurt assylum in the 1850s.
A Jewish girl, Hannah Meyer, labelled as a nymphomaniac, is admitted to a Frankfurt insane assylum , in a deep and extremely debilitating state of melancholia. Dr Heinrich Hoffman, a Frankfurt physician who runs the sanatorium, and also the well known author of the book of children's poems known as Sturmwetpeter, undertakes to treat her, all treatments fail until Dr Hoffman patiently talks to her about his own life and patiently coaxes, slowly coaxes her out of her crippling melancholic state and teaches her to talk and respond again.
Her own inner thoughts and recounting of her own inner thoughts are recounted in italics, used in an intelligent and pertinent way.
Deeply in love with a German gentile who woos her and secretly marries her, and then cruelly spurns her, with strong anti-Semitic words, this incident has brought on her depressive state. The novel also focuses on the staff and other inmates of the asylum.
The novel also focuses on the staff and other inamtes of the assylum.
It is at once a window into 19th century Germany, the progressive thinking of Dr Hoffman, the inner world of the mentally ill and the anti-Semitism of the time.
An evocative novel despair and hope, love and cruelty, and ultimately the search for purpose and the reason for being, hence the name 98 reasons for being.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4 reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
A moving and richly human novel of depth and understanding
24 May 2009
Format:Hardcover
A moving and richly human novel of depth and understanding, at once a psychological and a historical novel.
Claire Dudman offers an original and offbeat perspective of life in a Frankfurt assylum in the 1850s.
A Jewish girl, Hannah Meyer, labelled as a nymphomaniac, is admitted to a Frankfurt insane assylum , in a deep and extremely debilitating state of melancholia. Dr Heinrich Hoffman, a Frankfurt physician who runs the sanatorium, and also the well known author of the book of children's poems known as Sturmwetpeter, undertakes to treat her, all treatments fail until Dr Hoffman patiently talks to her about his own life and patiently coaxes, slowly coaxes her out of her crippling melancholic state and teaches her to talk and respond again.
Her own inner thoughts and recounting of her own inner thoughts are recounted in italics, used in an intelligent and pertinent way.
Deeply in love with a German gentile who woos her and secretly marries her, and then cruelly spurns her, with strong anti-Semitic words, this incident has brought on her depressive state. The novel also focuses on the staff and other inmates of the asylum.
The novel also focuses on the staff and other inamtes of the assylum.
It is at once a window into 19th century Germany, the progressive thinking of Dr Hoffman, the inner world of the mentally ill and the anti-Semitism of the time.
An evocative novel despair and hope, love and cruelty, and ultimately the search for purpose and the reason for being, hence the name 98 reasons for being.
Claire Dudman offers an original and offbeat perspective of life in a Frankfurt assylum in the 1850s.
A Jewish girl, Hannah Meyer, labelled as a nymphomaniac, is admitted to a Frankfurt insane assylum , in a deep and extremely debilitating state of melancholia. Dr Heinrich Hoffman, a Frankfurt physician who runs the sanatorium, and also the well known author of the book of children's poems known as Sturmwetpeter, undertakes to treat her, all treatments fail until Dr Hoffman patiently talks to her about his own life and patiently coaxes, slowly coaxes her out of her crippling melancholic state and teaches her to talk and respond again.
Her own inner thoughts and recounting of her own inner thoughts are recounted in italics, used in an intelligent and pertinent way.
Deeply in love with a German gentile who woos her and secretly marries her, and then cruelly spurns her, with strong anti-Semitic words, this incident has brought on her depressive state. The novel also focuses on the staff and other inmates of the asylum.
The novel also focuses on the staff and other inamtes of the assylum.
It is at once a window into 19th century Germany, the progressive thinking of Dr Hoffman, the inner world of the mentally ill and the anti-Semitism of the time.
An evocative novel despair and hope, love and cruelty, and ultimately the search for purpose and the reason for being, hence the name 98 reasons for being.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Complex and satisfying
13 Feb 2006
Format:Hardcover
After the first several pages, I almost gave up. Reading italics seems so gimicky and needless. But no - it's a sly and clever way to make you see the story from two points of view, the doctor's and the patient's. The time period is interesting, the characters are interesting, the plot, while simple enough, has a true feeling. I would slow down, savor this, enjoy.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Enthralling writing style for an enchanting book
21 May 2010
Overall, an excellent read. I found the characters to be extremely dynamic and multidimensional. The story was also at times heartbreaking as well as uplifting. Yet, it was the writing style that made this book exceptional to read. There were sections of narration that were interrupted by case studies performed by the psychiatrist as well as the thoughts inside the main character's mind. Though I would not go as far to say that it is postmodern, the way that the story is presented is certainly nontraditional.
Basically, it is the story of a Jewish girl who is brought into a mental institution because she refuses to talk. Through her treatment, she encourages the doctor and other patients to open up and free themselves from their own demons. Of course, not all are saved and there are numerous characters that can be deemed as "not good". Still, the complexities of the characters makes them seem more real than the paper on which they are described.
Basically, it is the story of a Jewish girl who is brought into a mental institution because she refuses to talk. Through her treatment, she encourages the doctor and other patients to open up and free themselves from their own demons. Of course, not all are saved and there are numerous characters that can be deemed as "not good". Still, the complexities of the characters makes them seem more real than the paper on which they are described.
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