Post by polish6 on Mar 17, 2017 16:43:02 GMT
Dear All,
This is a book that rewards any time and effort spent on reading it!
It is all about 2 main characters, and revolves around the Dorothy Fish hospital for the mentally ill. Poppy Shakespeare is a new patient (in the book, these are called 'dribblers') admitted into the Dorothy Fish hospital. However, she is absolutely sure she is sane, and is desperate to prove this. The narrator, simply called N, is the other main character in the book, and is asked to be Poppy Shakespeare's guide. N has been admitted for most of her life. She tries to help Poppy Shakespeare to prove she is not mad. However, without wishing to give anything away, the focus of the book slightly changes. The conclusion of the book is well worth reading towards.
This book is based on the authors own time in a psychiatric hospital, and thus carries a tone of authority to it.
But the main reason that I enjoyed this book so much was the writing style. I found the story a little irksome, particularly at the beginning, which to me seemed to be a repeat of the film One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest. However, I persevered with it, and it paid off. The book is concerned very much with the burueacracy and paperwork of staying inside a hospital like the Dorothy Fish. There are some extremely funny moments. One such moment is when N tries to telephone on behalf of her friend, to prove that Poppy is not mad. Anyone who has had to call a big company will know exactly how she feels in this case! The narrator also has a nickname for each of the other patients, for example, Middle-Class Michael, Verma the Vomit, etc. I found that the humour was like that in Fawly Towers or The Office, where people wince because of the joke. The humour is as black as the ace of spades. But there is also a whiff of Catch-22 here. For example, Poppy is absolutley certain she is not mad. But in order to prove this, she has to get legal advice. But the lawyers who are handling such cases insist that those who contact them must be mad. You are damned if you do, and damned if you do not.
I would say that anyone who enjoyed One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest would enjoy this. Anyone who enjoyed Catch-22 would like this. Anyone who likes good writing would like this. Do read it,
Yours
Polish6
This is a book that rewards any time and effort spent on reading it!
It is all about 2 main characters, and revolves around the Dorothy Fish hospital for the mentally ill. Poppy Shakespeare is a new patient (in the book, these are called 'dribblers') admitted into the Dorothy Fish hospital. However, she is absolutely sure she is sane, and is desperate to prove this. The narrator, simply called N, is the other main character in the book, and is asked to be Poppy Shakespeare's guide. N has been admitted for most of her life. She tries to help Poppy Shakespeare to prove she is not mad. However, without wishing to give anything away, the focus of the book slightly changes. The conclusion of the book is well worth reading towards.
This book is based on the authors own time in a psychiatric hospital, and thus carries a tone of authority to it.
But the main reason that I enjoyed this book so much was the writing style. I found the story a little irksome, particularly at the beginning, which to me seemed to be a repeat of the film One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest. However, I persevered with it, and it paid off. The book is concerned very much with the burueacracy and paperwork of staying inside a hospital like the Dorothy Fish. There are some extremely funny moments. One such moment is when N tries to telephone on behalf of her friend, to prove that Poppy is not mad. Anyone who has had to call a big company will know exactly how she feels in this case! The narrator also has a nickname for each of the other patients, for example, Middle-Class Michael, Verma the Vomit, etc. I found that the humour was like that in Fawly Towers or The Office, where people wince because of the joke. The humour is as black as the ace of spades. But there is also a whiff of Catch-22 here. For example, Poppy is absolutley certain she is not mad. But in order to prove this, she has to get legal advice. But the lawyers who are handling such cases insist that those who contact them must be mad. You are damned if you do, and damned if you do not.
I would say that anyone who enjoyed One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest would enjoy this. Anyone who enjoyed Catch-22 would like this. Anyone who likes good writing would like this. Do read it,
Yours
Polish6