I just recently realized a theme present in the book Atmospheric Disturbances by Rivka Galchen that has been present the whole book. Galchen makes the point that an extended drive toward deciphering the words of the mad can drive the curious pursuant of the truth mad as well. It is rather difficult to find quotes for this theme, since the author has been supporting this theme since the beginning of the book, and I just haven't noticed. One time madness may be overcoming Leo is in the library, when he is researching the works of Tzvi Gal-Chen. He decides that he has not "abandoned my faith in experimental controls. I quickly wrote down three more note cards: HERONS, WOOL PROCESSING, HEMOCHROMATOSIS"(55). These three research topics are totally random, but Leo thinks they may lead him to results based upon random occurances that seem coherent. This ideal much the same as Leo's patient, Harvey's assumptions about his day based upon the weather. Leo has spent so much time hunting down his missing psychosis patient that he is also going crazy. Another example of Leo's possible descent into psychosis is when Leo is taking a 'primary investigation' of where Harvey is. He decides to take "the number 1 train heading downtown... Near the bottom of the island, I exited, ascended, crossed the street, redescended, waited, and reboarded the subway going uptown."(33). Leo is so obsessed with finding Harvey and learning his thought patterns that he also goes crazy, trying to find 'evidence' by taking the subway in circles.
Another thing that the author Galchen does to make her novel interesting is add strange thoughts that everyone thinks but no one voices to her book. Leo wakes up from a nightmare, and it is still the middle of the night. He complains that "I tried to fall back asleep, and I think I did, but it was the kind of sleep where one later wakes up exhausted, with the convction of having slept not more than minutes"(49). This has happened to everyone at some point, and helps us conect this book to reality. It also is interesting and refreshing to see that in a book, since so little of these obscure phenomena are actually published. Later, Leo is talking about a trip he had to Austria with Rema, and says to her (honestly, he thinks at the time), that he can 'more or less' speak German. He later reflects that "I thought I'd remember German despite having never actually forgotten it, having never-as I vaguely felt I might have- listened to German radio broadcasts, or spoken German as a child. But we get these wrong feelings sometimes, feelings like articles slipped into our luggage but not properly ours"(56). This has happened to me quite a lot, where I gte the feeling that I have done something I haven't. When I read this, I was interested by how perfectly this matches the experience I have had with this phenomena. Soon after, I asked my parents if they have noticed this happen, and they have. It is incredible how widespread this observance is. These observations help keep Galchen's novel alive and readably interesting. They also help set up Leo's eccentric and detail oriented persona.
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5 comments:
I find this book to be extremely intriguing. The information and random everything that she puts in this book do make it seem real. I have one question however. In your first post, you speak solely of how Leo was convinced that he had a "false wife". But in this section, you speak of his insanity. Is his need to have his wife driving him insane? Or, is his wife actually there and he just thinks she's not, and thus insane?
This book seems very in depth and interesting! I am with Chris in that I'd love to read this if I find some time, and the question, is he insane? Or is he driving himself towards insanity? I've often thought about things like this. The little things that everyone thinks about but nobody really says that your author writes about is also very interesting, I'm glad I'm not the only person that thinks I've done or known something but actually hasn't! Sounds like an awesome book!
Your writing in the post is what makes me think that this is an interesting book, as I am sure it is, but also your spirit by the language you used shows that the book has really interested you. I could understand him going insane after trying to put himself in a crazy man's shoes. It is a sort of scary idea since he probably doesn't realize it is going on. I am glad you are enjoying it.
He's going crazy by trying to think like the person who he's trying to find thats also crazy. The man is confused at his own actions as he tries to find for this person, but we see that he becomes more and more confused and loses himself. The book's connection to reality is also important because many times when people are stressed out or tired they fall asleep, or think they did, and wake up an hour later to find out they slept only minutes.
I hate it when that happens to me. I find it quite infuriating when I'm nearing the end of a novel and suddenly a theme that has been around since the beginning of the book jumps out at me, if makes me feel rather pigheaded for not noticing it earlier. Sanity is a bit of a strange subject whose parameters are shrinking daily. Nowadays, it is much easier to be diagnosed with some mental syndrome or another than it was many years ago, and I doubt that it is because of proliferation of mental issues, I believe that the field is getting too wide for just one school or doctrine.
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