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Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain

par Kirsten Menger-Anderson

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10617255,130 (3.39)14
"An ingenious and appealing collection of linked stories" about archaic medical procedures, centuries of history, and one remarkable New York City family (Chicago Sun-Times).   In 1664, Dr. Olaf van Schuler flees the Old World and arrives in New Amsterdam with his crazy mother, two bags of medical implements, and a carefully guarded book. He is the first in what will become a long line of peculiar physicians.   Plagued by madness and guided by an intense desire to cure human affliction, each generation of this unusual family is driven by the science of its day: spontaneous combustion, phrenology, animal magnetism, electrical shock treatment, psychosurgery, genetic research. As they make their way in the world, New York City is also evolving--from the dark and rough days of the seventeenth century to the towering, frenetic metropolis of today.   "Good literary fiction about science and scientists is hard to find, probably because it is so hard to write. . . . Fortunately there are some writers who bridge the gap well: Richard Powers, Andrea Barrett, and Alan Lightman, to name a few. And, now, Kirsten Menger-Anderson, whose debut, Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain, offers sharp, entertaining, moving, and above all provocative stories about doctors and their work and raises profound questions about the role of medicine in American life. . . . Darkly funny, often sad, frequently frightening, and sometimes hopeful, they are the product of a gifted literary writer." --The Boston Globe   "A fascinating kaleidoscope ride across generations of physicians and their patients . . . In this quirky, moving collection, Menger-Anderson illustrates the power of medicine--and family." --San Francisco Chronicle   "An unforgettable literary experience." --Mary Roach, author of Stiff… (plus d'informations)
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Doctor Olaf Van Shuler's Brain is a compelling collection of short stories which begins in 1664 with Doctor Olaf Van Shuler and continues into the present with chapters chronicling his many descendants. All these descendants become doctors. Treating an extremely diverse variety of illnesses. In this sense, the book acts not only as a strong work of fiction, but as an interesting, detailed and educational history of New York. All of New York's citizens are represented, from the rich right down to the poor. The stories all have a somber tone to them and no matter how much I rooted for the characters, things never seemed to work out well. Makes one wonder why so many people, despite their best efforts, just can't seem to achieve happiness. ( )
  kevinkevbo | Jul 14, 2023 |
Latently insane medical man Olaf von Schuler and the generations of his progeny practice their quackery (although it is always accepted medical practice for it's time) on unsuspecting patients down through the years. Helping literally nobody to get better, and killing and crippling some, the "novel" is really a series of generationally linked stories primarily focusing on the doctors but sometimes on the patients. The stories begin with Dr. Schuler's emigation to America in the 17th century and ends in the modern day. The doctors are all male, of course, until you get to the last generation.

The novel is sometimes quite funny in an ironic sort of way, but often sad and even tragic. Once you understand the structure and theme it is almost suspenseful wondering what the next generation will be and do. You keep hoping they might at least help somebody. In the end you begin to wonder if even today the cure isn't often worse than the disease.

I had fun with it. It is not a difficult read, Menger-Anderson's prose is largely unobtrusive. I was surprised it wasn't rated higher on GR. ( )
  Gumbywan | Jun 24, 2022 |
A lovely collection of interconnected short stories that center around a multi-genenerational family of doctors living in New York City. The stories are presented in chronological order: the first is set in 1664, the last in 2006. Many of the stories use a now-outdated treatment as a set-piece (mesmerism, phrenology, lobotomies, radium cures, silicone breast implants). However, they are so well-written and character-centered that the device (however repeated) doesn't feel over-used. Overall, the beautiful language and tight complexity of these stories make this a collection worth reading. ( )
  pursuitofsanity | Jan 3, 2017 |
What an interesting book!

The premise is smartly done: A doctor in the 1600s, just after the middle ages, starts the book with his story, then progresses very nicely through the generations of his family tree ... doctor after doctor after doctor. The chapters read as short stories, and indeed, some were published separately in various publications apart from appearing in this book.

Not all of the stories center around the doctor. Some center around how the doctor is treating the main character. There is talk of bleeding someone as a cure, drinking a tincture to become pregnant, shock therapy, a very early lobotomy, and the move away from silicone breast implants. The stories follow the latest in medical procedure and technology, ending in the year 2006. And not all treat physical ailments. The science of phrenology is examined, as is "hysteria" and retardation.

Very compelling, very clever, nice writing and extremely fluid, giving the single thread that weaves through the book. Highly recommended for a different sort of reading experience! ( )
  CarmenMilligan | Jan 18, 2016 |
Being a collection of short stories which have been cobbled together to resemble a novel and which describe moments in the lives of the descendants of a Nieuw Amsterdam quack down through the centuries till to-day. The family line, at least those members described, consists entirely of individuals who make a living practicing on the outer fringes of medical respectability. It is, of course, not particularly easy to believe in a premise which involves 350-some years of a family all involved in the same subprofession, and staying in the same city, but that's why they call it fiction, I suppose. Although this is a fascinating premise, it may have sounded better in theory than execution. Most of the stories are mildly interesting, but hardly page-turners (contrary to the over-enthusiastic blurbs, written by individuals who clearly are very easily impressed). The potential for the generations lapping over into each other's stories is not realized very often; if said characters recur, it is mostly as brief memories who don't affect the action. This book, for its merits, seems mostly to me to represent a missed opportunity. ( )
  Big_Bang_Gorilla | Dec 9, 2013 |
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"An ingenious and appealing collection of linked stories" about archaic medical procedures, centuries of history, and one remarkable New York City family (Chicago Sun-Times).   In 1664, Dr. Olaf van Schuler flees the Old World and arrives in New Amsterdam with his crazy mother, two bags of medical implements, and a carefully guarded book. He is the first in what will become a long line of peculiar physicians.   Plagued by madness and guided by an intense desire to cure human affliction, each generation of this unusual family is driven by the science of its day: spontaneous combustion, phrenology, animal magnetism, electrical shock treatment, psychosurgery, genetic research. As they make their way in the world, New York City is also evolving--from the dark and rough days of the seventeenth century to the towering, frenetic metropolis of today.   "Good literary fiction about science and scientists is hard to find, probably because it is so hard to write. . . . Fortunately there are some writers who bridge the gap well: Richard Powers, Andrea Barrett, and Alan Lightman, to name a few. And, now, Kirsten Menger-Anderson, whose debut, Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain, offers sharp, entertaining, moving, and above all provocative stories about doctors and their work and raises profound questions about the role of medicine in American life. . . . Darkly funny, often sad, frequently frightening, and sometimes hopeful, they are the product of a gifted literary writer." --The Boston Globe   "A fascinating kaleidoscope ride across generations of physicians and their patients . . . In this quirky, moving collection, Menger-Anderson illustrates the power of medicine--and family." --San Francisco Chronicle   "An unforgettable literary experience." --Mary Roach, author of Stiff

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