Clare Dudman

98 Reasons for Being takes place during the mid 19th Century, when the science of mental illness was in its infancy. It centers around the German physician Heinrich Hoffman and his patients and staff, including a young female patient from Frankfurt's notorious Jewish ghetto, who no longer eats or speaks. Hoffman is desperate to "cure" her and uses all methods at his disposal (some, as you can imagine, are quite barbaric). Slowly as readers we learn both Hannah and Dr. Hoffman's story.

Many of you (on Club Read) might remember how much I raved about Dudman's One Day the Ice Will Reveal All Its Dead, the fictionalized story of the German scientist and explorer Alfred Wegener. It remains my favorite of her novels thus far, but 98 Reasons for Being is another very good book, often riveting. The story elements are carefully researched with much attention to history; German, Jewish and that of medicine at the time, and that, with excellent storytelling, makes for a damn good read.

So, 2 for 2, I went looking to see what else she has and bought: A Place of Meadows and Tall Trees, the story of 19th Century Welsh colonists in Patagonia. It's in the TBR pile.… (mere)

Mooi verhaal over een psychiater in de 19e eeuw die een patiente krijgt die niet wil praten. Door tegen haar te gaan praten over zijn eigen leven en over andere patienten komt ze langzaam terug naar de 'gewone' wereld en vertelt uiteindelijk ook haar verhaal.
Elk hoofdstuk begint met een stukje uit een rapport, een brief of een artikel. Het schetst de tijdsgeest, hoe er gedacht werd over joden, over vrouwen, over de behandelingsmethoden van 'gekken' en dergelijke.
Goed geschreven, spannend, interessant en leerzaam.… (mere)