This winner of the 1988 Whitbread Prize is the story of Peter, a catatonic inmate of a mental institution. In an attempt to rehabilitate him, he is moved to another facility for some experimental treatment.

The entire novel is narrated by Peter. I think the author creates a believable interior monologue for Peter, and convincingly portrays the perceptions of a catatonic person. For that reason I enjoyed the book. However, while the book was thoroughly believable about what Peter's life is like in the present, it didn't successfully convey why and how Peter became the way he is, although much of the book relates his pre-catatonic life. I found this to be a weakness that hampered my enjoyment of the book. ( )

Winner of the 1988 Whitbread Award, "The Comforts of Madness" is narrated by a catatonic who never speaks. To the rest of the world he is an inert body and is subjected to a variety of experiments, but his own consciousness is vital and reflective.