Comic of the Week: "Get Back On That Horse"

Illustration copyright 2013 by Kara Muller.

"My Lobotomy" Book Review

My Lobotomy by Howard Dully
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"At twelve, Howard Dully was guilty of the same crimes as other boys his age: he was moody and messy, rambunctious with his brothers, contrary just to prove a point, and perpetually at odds with his parents. Yet somehow, this normal boy became one of the youngest people on whom Dr. Walter Freeman performed his barbaric transorbital—or ice pick—lobotomy.

"Abandoned by his family within a year of the surgery, Howard spent his teen years in mental institutions, his twenties in jail, and his thirties in a bottle. It wasn’t until he was in his forties that Howard began to pull his life together. But even as he began to live the “normal” life he had been denied, Howard struggled with one question: Why?

“ 'October 8, 1960. I gather that Mrs. Dully is perpetually talking, admonishing, correcting, and getting worked up into a spasm, whereas her husband is impatient, explosive, rather brutal, won’t let the boy speak for himself, and calls him numbskull, dimwit, and other uncomplimentary names.'

"There were only three people who would know the truth: Freeman, the man who performed the procedure; Lou, his cold and demanding stepmother who brought Howard to the doctor’s attention; and his father, Rodney. Of the three, only Rodney, the man who hadn’t intervened on his son’s behalf, was still living. Time was running out. Stable and happy for the first time in decades, Howard began to search for answers.

“ 'December 3, 1960. Mr. and Mrs. Dully have apparently decided to have Howard operated on. I suggested [they] not tell Howard anything about it.'

"Through his research, Howard met other lobotomy patients and their families, talked with one of Freeman’s sons about his father’s controversial life’s work, and confronted Rodney about his complicity. And, in the archive where the doctor’s files are stored, he finally came face to face with the truth.

"Revealing what happened to a child no one—not his father, not the medical community, not the state—was willing to protect, My Lobotomy exposes a shameful chapter in the history of the treatment of mental illness. Yet, ultimately, this is a powerful and moving chronicle of the life of one man. Without reticence, Howard Dully shares the story of a painfully dysfunctional childhood, a misspent youth, his struggle to claim the life that was taken from him, and his redemption."

This was an inspiring and fascinating account of the medical community's atrocious practice and how it affected one man's life for over forty years. It is scary to think that this type of 'medicine' is used on children today for nefarious reasons. It really sucks that his stepmother was the evil stepmother seen in fairy tales, that his brothers were too skittish to talk to their own brother for years afterward, and that his own father wasn't man enough to admit that he was a terrible protector of his own flesh and blood. The whole community was at fault there. But at the end, he found his way to be happy in life and that is the part that counts, for him anyway. As for the rest of us, we need to make sure this type of stuff doesn't happen to the following generations of children. Seriously recommend this book! Also: Hilary Mantel's "Giving Up the Ghost: A Memoir" is very similar and a good read, though sad.

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"The Little Book" Book Review

The Little Book by Selden Edwards
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"An irresistible triumph of the imagination more than thirty years in the making, The Little Book is a breathtaking love story that spans generations, ranging from fin de siècle Vienna through the pivotal moments of the twentieth century.

"The Little Book is the extraordinary tale of Wheeler Burden, California-exiled heir of the famous Boston banking Burdens, philosopher, student of history, legend's son, rock idol, writer, lover of women, recluse, half-Jew, and Harvard baseball hero. In 1988 he is forty-seven, living in San Francisco. Suddenly he is - still his modern self - wandering in a city and time he knows mysteriously well: fin de siècle Vienna. It is 1897, precisely ninety-one years before his last memory and a half-century before his birth.

"It's not long before Wheeler has acquired appropriate clothes, money, lodging, a group of young Viennese intellectuals as friends, a mentor in Sigmund Freud, a bitter rival, a powerful crush on a luminous young American woman, a passing acquaintance with local celebrity Mark Twain, and an incredible and surprising insight into the dashing young war-hero father he never knew.

"But the truth at the center of Wheeler's dislocation in time remains a stubborn mystery that will take months of exploration and a lifetime of memories to unravel and that will, in the end, reveal nothing short of the eccentric Burden family's unrivaled impact on the very course of the coming century. The Little Book is a masterpiece of unequaled storytelling that announces Selden Edwards as one of the most dazzling, original, entertaining, and inventive novelists of our time."
It was very good. I loved the way it was written with so many details. But I feel it went a bit slowly. That may be because there was so much to remember and absorb. Overall, a wonderful and beautiful book.

UPDATE: I also want to point out that this book introduced me to the tragic story of Empress Elisabeth. She is only mentioned within the story when the main character meets her and asks her for help, but it's a part I remember very well.

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"Paths of Glory" Book Review

Paths of Glory by Jeffrey Archer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Some people have dreams that are so magnificent that if they were to achieve them, their place in history would be guaranteed. Francis Drake, Robert Scott, Charles Lindbergh, Amy Johnson, Edmund Hilary, Neil Armstrong, and Lewis and Clark are among such individuals.

"But what if one man had such a dream, and once he’d fulfilled it, there was no proof that he had achieved his ambition?

"Jeffrey Archer’s latest book, Paths of Glory, is the story of such a man---George Mallory. Mallory once told an American reporter that he wanted to climb Mt. Everest, 'because it’s there.' On his third attempt in 1924, at age thirty-seven, he was last seen six hundred feet from the top. His body was found in 1999, and it still remains a mystery whether he ever reached the summit.

"But only after you’ve turned the last page of this extraordinary novel, inspired by a true story, will you be able to decide if George Mallory’s name should be added to the list of legends, in which case another name would have to be removed. Paths of Glory is truly a triumph."
As fabulously well-done as this book was, it has only made me crave for more information regarding this singular person. I enjoyed the book a lot. Found Mallory himself fascinating, as well as his relationship with his family and comrades and one other singular man named Finch. Wonderful book. I recommend it and I hope to read more of this author's work.

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