98 Reasons for Being takes place during the mid 19th Century, when the science of mental illness was in its infancy. It centers around the German physician Heinrich Hoffman and his patients and staff, including a young female patient from Frankfurt's notorious Jewish ghetto, who no longer eats or speaks. Hoffman is desperate to "cure" her and uses all methods at his disposal (some, as you can imagine, are quite barbaric). Slowly as readers we learn both Hannah and Dr. Hoffman's story.

Many of you (on Club Read) might remember how much I raved about Dudman's One Day the Ice Will Reveal All Its Dead, the fictionalized story of the German scientist and explorer Alfred Wegener. It remains my favorite of her novels thus far, but 98 Reasons for Being is another very good book, often riveting. The story elements are carefully researched with much attention to history; German, Jewish and that of medicine at the time, and that, with excellent storytelling, makes for a damn good read.

So, 2 for 2, I went looking to see what else she has and bought: A Place of Meadows and Tall Trees, the story of 19th Century Welsh colonists in Patagonia. It's in the TBR pile. ( )

Mooi verhaal over een psychiater in de 19e eeuw die een patiente krijgt die niet wil praten. Door tegen haar te gaan praten over zijn eigen leven en over andere patienten komt ze langzaam terug naar de 'gewone' wereld en vertelt uiteindelijk ook haar verhaal.
Elk hoofdstuk begint met een stukje uit een rapport, een brief of een artikel. Het schetst de tijdsgeest, hoe er gedacht werd over joden, over vrouwen, over de behandelingsmethoden van 'gekken' en dergelijke.
Goed geschreven, spannend, interessant en leerzaam. ( )

I enjoyed this enough that I'll look out for other things she's written. It's about the author of Struwelpeter, a doctor in charge of a nineteenth-century insane asylum. He's tried all the things he can think of to help a Jewish girl, and as a last result he tries a moral cure, which involves talking to the patient about their life. The problem is that she won't say anything, so he tries to engage her by telling her stories about the other inmates and about his own family. ( )

Overall, an excellent read. I found the characters to be extremely dynamic and multidimensional. The story was also at times heartbreaking as well as uplifting. Yet, it was the writing style that made this book exceptional to read. There were sections of narration that were interrupted by case studies performed by the psychiatrist as well as the thoughts inside the main character's mind. Though I would not go as far to say that it is postmodern, the way that the story is presented is certainly nontraditional.
Basically, it is the story of a Jewish girl who is brought into a mental institution because she refuses to talk. Through her treatment, she encourages the doctor and other patients to open up and free themselves from their own demons. Of course, not all are saved and there are numerous characters that can be deemed as "not good". Still, the complexities of the characters makes them seem more real than the paper on which they are described.

www.iamliteraryaddicted.blogspot.com ( )

Having read birdy47's review of this book I feel compelled to scribble my own quickly.

I loved this book, I loved the detail and the history in it. The insight into mental healthcare at this time was fascinating it is terrifying to think some of these treatments still goes on today.

I also enjoyed the characterisation. The nurses were horrible bullies but what hard lives they had had. I could identify and feel empathy with so many characters in this book.

It was a book which I would describe as thought provoking and certain themes and concepts raised in it stayed in my thoughts for some days after I had finished it. ( )