Status
Checked out
Due 29 May 2023
Genres
Description
The story of a psychiatrist, his patients and family, and the pressures they bring to bear upon each other. This is Tony Blair's former spin doctor Alastair Campbell's first novel.
User reviews
LibraryThing member LyzzyBee
(BookCrossing 25 February 2012)
I picked this up because my friend, Meg, pressed it upon me, and because I’ve already read Campbell’s “The Happy Depressive” and was interested to read his novel on the subject. I was not disappointed. Martin Sturrock is a top psychiatrist, entrusted with the
Over the course of a long weekend, several lives appear to start to unravel, including Sturrock’s own, spiralling into boundaries being overstepped in a variety of ways, both positive and negative. Thoughtful, very perceptive about men’s and women’s experiences, and with a surprise denouement that is part of a schema or process of surprises that leave the book with a hopeful and positive ending, notwithstanding the somewhat brutal events along the way.
Recommended, especially for the eloquent portrayal of depression.
I picked this up because my friend, Meg, pressed it upon me, and because I’ve already read Campbell’s “The Happy Depressive” and was interested to read his novel on the subject. I was not disappointed. Martin Sturrock is a top psychiatrist, entrusted with the
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care of a range of people, from a Kosovan refugee to a Cabinet Minister, and his favourite patient, David, who expresses his own and Martin’s depression in a way that is both lyrical and precise.Over the course of a long weekend, several lives appear to start to unravel, including Sturrock’s own, spiralling into boundaries being overstepped in a variety of ways, both positive and negative. Thoughtful, very perceptive about men’s and women’s experiences, and with a surprise denouement that is part of a schema or process of surprises that leave the book with a hopeful and positive ending, notwithstanding the somewhat brutal events along the way.
Recommended, especially for the eloquent portrayal of depression.
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LibraryThing member martensgirl
I was very impressed with Campbell's insight into the world of mental illness- his experiences in his personal life add a richness to the characters. My only gripe is the occasional clumsy language and the surfeit of characters. I would have preferred fewer characters developing a deeper
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relationship with their psychiatrist. Show Less
Awards
Waverton Good Read Award (Longlist — 2009)
Bad Sex in Fiction Award (Shortlist — 2008)