Bright young men bond in their teens and vow to become doctors to cure the brother of one. His infliction: schizophrenia, cruelly treated at that time. Both qualify and follow opposing sides of the developing science, one rational, one Freudian. This is an impressive work which details their long lives and the study of the early theories of psychiatry. It's beautifully written as one would expect, just, perhaps, a tad too long I felt.
'Shocking and enlightening... touching and affecting' DAILY MAIL
'A masterpiece . . . one of the great novels of this or any other century' INDEPENDENT
As young boys, both Jacques Rebière and Thomas Midwinter become fascinated with trying to understand the human mind. As psychiatrists, their quest takes them from the squalor of the Victorian lunatic asylum to the crowded lecture halls of the renowned Professor Charcot in Paris; from the heights of the Sierra Madre in California to the plains of unexplored Africa.
As the concerns of the old century fade and the First World War divides Europe, the two men's volatile relationship develops and changes, but is always tempered by one exceptional woman; Thomas's sister Sonia.
'Structurally intricate, yet intensely focused on the lives of individuals . . . replete with interesting ideas and . . . exceptionally fine writing' OBSERVER
'A bold and remarkable work of imagination . . . to write so well for so many pages is an amazing feat of intellectual athleticism' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
