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

The age of Wonder : how the romantic generation discovered the beauty and terror of science/ Richard Holmes ,Harper Press, 2008

“In wonder all philosophy began: in Wonder it ends….but the first Wonder is the Offspring of Ignorance , the last is the Parent of Adoration” Coleridge Aids to Reflection

The book is a celebration of romantic science a movement which spanned perhaps two generations beginning with Captain Cook’s expedition in 1768 and Darwin’s voyage aboard the Beagle in 1831 .Richard Holmes asserts that the notion of “wonder” unites romanticism as a cultural force and the spirit behind scientific quests during the period. The scientific discoveries of the time had a great influence on the writings of poets and writers of the time including the composition of the remarkable science fiction and cult novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. It was a great age of scientific lectures and also an age when the monopoly of the elite Royal Society was beginning to be openly challenged.

The book is interspersed with numerous references to writings of famous Romantic poets and descriptions of how the various scientific theories affected the works of these brilliant writers. The book carries interesting insights into the lives of men and women and the existing practices in various aspects of human society during the times. Lives of Joseph Banks,the astronomer Wilhelm Herschel, the chemist Humphry Davy and others are portrayed in such a manner as if they are characters involved in a cosmic drama . The spirit of romanticism underlies the fluent narrative and strikes you repeatedly as you get completely engrossed in the story. It is a well researched document and can be enjoyed for its many exotic and rare stories.
Joseph Banks , the official botanist to H M Bark Endeavour commanded by Lieutenant James Cook first” clapped eyes” on the island of Tahiti on 13 April 1769 .Contrary to legend Endeavour was not the first European ship to reach the fabled island .The French botanist Philibert Commerson had already described Tahiti as a sexual Utopia. The book describes the experiences of Banks and his team during their stay in the Polynesian island .Sexual bartering was common and Endeavour lost hundredweight bag of nails in the process stolen by its crew. Thieving was common but the norms of social ethics were different. Tahiti had a life changing impact on the young Banks who on his return broke off his engagement as he found himself at the moment unfit for marriage and civil life.
Some of the expeditions were unsuccessful like Mungo Parks second expedition to Africa in search of the mythical land of Timbuctoo. He lost an entire team of over forty people including his own life in the heart of Africa. Mungo Parks abandoned a successful medical career in pursuit of the unknown. The book has references to medical practices of the times. Fanny Burney underwent a painful operation for breast cancer without the application of anaesthetic. It was carried by the famous French military surgeon Larrey .Fanny Burney screamed all throughout the operation but went on to survive and live for another twenty years.Larrey was known to have performed 200 amputations in twenty four hours after the Battle of Borodino.
The debate around decline of British Science , the infighting around the presidential elections of Royal Society , the release of Charles Babbage salvo “Reflections on the Decline of Science in England “ in 1820 reflect the nature of changing times when science was gaining prominence in other European nations.

The 554 page book reads like a story book and is full of absorbing anecdotes. It is a good way to know about the exciting times of western science especially for people who have little knowledge of scientific history. Richard Holmes writes brilliantly .While reading the book I remembered the strap line of a popular advert of a leading daily “Simply unputdownable”. The paperback edition which is a later edition should be avoided .The print size is difficult on the eyes. The book has lovely illustrations including a photograph of William Herschel’s forty-foot reflector telescope and a Victorian image of the death of Mungo Park on the river Niger. There is a very informative cast list at the end –short biographical entries on different personalities mentioned in the book. Richard Holmes is a Fellow of British Academy and was a Professor of Biographical Studies at the University of East Anglia. Shortlisted for BBC Samuel Johnson Prize ,the book can be enjoyed by anyone including students of literature and humanities.

Links

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/nov/02/enlightenment-science-art

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/295631-19#

Geek Nation : How Indian Science is taking over the world by Angela Saini

Angela Saini is an award winning  young science journalist based in  UK. The book is a record of her impressions and observations on her various visits to Indian scientific and technical institutions. It is a journalist's impression and she writes with enthusiasm.
I enjoyed reading the book .The content is interesting and not too geeky though the writer hops from one geek world to another. This is a book on changing India and the realm is science. At the moment anyone and everyone seems to be interested in India . Indians and non- Indians are equally involved in the debate around India’s emerging position as a global power. Some of the chapters are quite informative and you get to know the views of some very interesting geeks. The writer does not make too many critical comments and the observations are pretty open-ended without trying to draw any definitive conclusion on sensitive issues. It is a good read .I personally got to know about some of the great work being done with e-governance , agriculture and farming in different states of India. The stories around innovations and progress in IT are pretty hackneyed by now . But very few people are aware about the achievements in other disciplines .

I found the chapters on Vaimanika Shastra pretty amusing .I  have not seen any reference to the document in any contemporary writing I have come across.