Sacks’s writing has gained poignancy since 1985, as Sacks himself later discovered that he, just like the title character of his book, had face blindness-further emphasizing the close empathetic bond between Sacks and his subjects. Sacks’s role, in a way, is that of a translator and an interpreter, who uses medical knowledge, philosophy, and basic human decency to de-stigmatize mental illness and show readers how his patients maintain their spirit and dignity. At times, particularly in the fourth part of the book, Sacks can barely conceal his contempt for the way society treats people with mental illnesses, shunning them and dismissing their unique gifts. He’s interested in investigating people with rare neurological conditions, not simply because of his duties as a doctor, but because he wants to understand how human beings live with their conditions and adapt accordingly. Sacks is an erudite man (sometimes comically so) whose knowledge of music, literature, and history matches his knowledge of neurology. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat: And Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks at the best online prices at eBay Free delivery for many products. Although Sacks’s primary role in the book is that of an observer and a dispassionate scientific researcher, we gradually get a distinct sense of his personality. The author and narrator of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Oliver Sacks spent many years working with patients with rare neurological disorders, and his research formed the basis for the book (each chapter is structured around a different patient).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |