Human Traces by Sebastian Faulks , Vintage International Edition, 656p

Sebastian Faulks was the literary editor of The Independent. Human traces was published in 2005  and it took Faulks five long years to complete the story.  Though he is more known for his book Birdsong which was made into a film, Human Traces is  also an interesting book  about consciousness and   the human mind.  The Tavistock Clinic in association with the University of East London awarded him an honorary doctorate for his contribution to the understanding of psychiatry in Human Traces.

Set in the late nineteenth century the story is about two young men who become friends and embark on a joint partnership to unravel the world of psychiatry. Jacques Rebiere  son of a forester lives in rural France and grows up to study  medicine in Paris .His brother Olivier is mentally challenged  and lives in a world of  his own. Jacques is determined to help his brother . Thomas Midwinter lives in England and is resigned to study medicine as per his father’s wishes . At the age of twenty the two men meet at a French sea side resort and become friends and partners on a lifelong path of scientific study and discovery. The two men  become pioneers in the nascent field of psychiatry.

The story revolves around the  lives of  the two  men . Sonia is Thomas’s sister who comes to live with her parents  after her husband  releases her from a loveless marriage but only after  he signs a lucrative  deal with Sonia’s father.  Jacques falls in love with  Sonia and marries her. Jacques and Thomas start working together . They face serious professional conflicts  which threaten to destroy their partnership.  The book captures details of the conditions of the asylums and the suffering of the patients in those times.  Psychiatry is a specialised discipline and generally people tend to ignore issues related to mental health problems unless they personally face such matters directly or indirectly. It is not easy to come across good psychiatrists in the same fashion that one might come across cardiologists or gynaecologists in cities infested with doctors of all shapes and kinds.

 I feel it requires some courage to write a story around such a complex theme. Around the central theme the story also talks about relationships – both Thomas and Jacques have very strong, supportive partners.  Jacques’ love for his brother, Thomas’ love for his sister and Sonia’s love for her brother -every relationship is beautifully built into the theme . A lengthy and a leisurely read , I found it quite easy to read Faulks since this was the first time I was reading  Faulks.

Ref:  above picture and further reading

http://www.k1bond007.com/2008/03/28/human-traces-us-paperback/ 

http://contemporarylit.about.com/od/historicalfictionreviews/fr/humanTraces.htm

Medicine's Strangest Cases (Strangest series) [Paperback],published by Portico ,315p.This edition published in 2009

The book contains over 100 anecdotes from over five centuries of medical history. This collection of true tales ranges from the painful to the hilarious. We were brought up in an era when doctors were regarded as God in most Indian homes. Patients and their families never thought of questioning the doctor’s judgement at any point of time. Times have changed and the patient-doctor relationship is full of suspicion and mistrust nowadays. Almost two decades ago a young doctor who was going to the UK to complete his MRCP degree had remarked that doctors should be treated like any other professionals .They had to deliver against payment and that is where the transaction ended. I had found the logic contrary to my understanding of the noble mission of medical profession. Michael O’Donnell’s book portrays the profession from a wide range of angles. The stories are strikingly refreshing written in a concise manner in two to four pages each .The headings are imaginative and sometimes quite    humorous.

Followed by a brief introduction the book opens with a chapter called “The case of the vanishing father figure” where O’Donnell talks about Hippocrates and the Hippocratic Oath. In 1973 the science writer Dr Robert Reid wrote “It takes little consideration of the Hippocratic oath to conclude that it is a bigoted and dangerous document. It embraces hardline trade union practices…… As well as encouraging nepotistic incompetent hierarchies, it hands out totally ambiguous ethical advice.” O’Donnell writes “ One dangerous effect of the Hippocratic inheritance is the way  it is used by those who think that because they have acquired a medical degree, a divine light sparkles somewhere about their person”. I was pretty amused reading this statement but I must say the doctor is not alone guilty .Often divinity is bestowed upon them by well meaning patients and their families.

Trust me I ‘m a doctor recounts the story of Alexander the Great and the young doctor Philip the Acarnanian .Alexander was struck down  by a debilitating disease during his sojourn in Asia Minor . When the king’s physicians refused to treat him Philip agreed to try his skills. In spite of receiving a warning that Philip might poison him Alexander went ahead and swallowed the potion that Philip gave him. He recovered to win the battle against Darius.

In The Surgical Triple Whammy the author narrates the funny and sad story of the surgical speedstar Robert Liston a daring and successful Scottish surgeon who was known for his operating speed .Before the coming of anaesthetics the most admired of a surgeon’s skills was his operating speed. Sometimes his speed had “side-effects”. Once while amputing a patient’s leg in his standard two and a half minutes time his flashing knife removed the poor man’s testicles and on another occasion he inadvertently removed the fingers of his young assistant.

Large fees and how to get them is about doctors attempt to balance the demands of Hippocrates and Mammon. Faddy about his Food  tells the story of a three year old Spanish child who refused to eat and was taken to various doctors  by the anxious mother .The child thereafter  underwent a stomach operation which revealed he had swallowed 30 pebbles, two collar studs, two  buttons, two coins ,one screw and two plastic gambling chips.

The tales are extremely well chosen and is eminently suitable for lay readers. An excellent read for information, leisure and entertainment. Michael O’Donnell was a practising doctor, was editor of World Medicine and wrote a weekly column for BMJ.

The book can be ordered directly from www.anovabooks.com .Other topics under the strangest series – boxing,golf,sailing,tennis,television,scientific inventions political characters etc.

Ref:
http://www.amazon.com/Medicines-Strangest-Cases-Michael-ODonnell/dp/1906032904 - #