Into The Silent Land - Softcover

Broks, Paul

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1843540347 ISBN 13: 9781843540342

Publisher: Atlantic Books, 2004

Synopsis

'Genius... personal, poetic and truthful. [It] reads as light as a soufflé, yet also has the resonant depth to haunt you for the rest of your days.' Guardian
Into the Silent Land marks the debut of an astonishing new voice. Paul Broks draws on his many years as a neuropsychologist to present an unforgettable narrative about memory and personal identity. Into the Silent Land describes ordinary people whose extraordinary situations have much to teach us about chance, compassion and human resilience in the face of adversity. It is a book that penetrates the reader's imagination and lingers in the memory long after the final page.
'Paul Brok's wonderful book... is full of wonders and unsettling new perspectives.' Independent on Sunday
'A beautifully written addition to brain literature... will mesmerise anyone curious about the mass of goo inside our heads.' Time Out, Book of the Week
'A debut of considerable distinction.' Sunday Times
'Paul Broks is set to be the new Oliver Sacks... knife edge sharp [and] uncompromising. Brilliantly unsettling' Ian Finlayson, The Times
'Into the SilentLand is a small, strange, beautiful gem... Broks is as much poet as scientist... Indelible' Atul Gawande, author of Complications

About this title

Review:

Like some aberrant surgeon, neuropsychologist Paul Broks' debut book, Into the Silent Land peels apart the skull and declines to cauterise. We are plunged straight into the macabre world that Broks inhabits--an infernal and tragic look at people with bits of their brains missing. We meet Michael and Stuart, textbook cases of equal and opposite brain wreckage; Jeanie, who believes herself already dead and Robert's tumour that "reset his personality dials". But this is no travelling freak show. Broks is careful and gentle with his subjects, recognising the humanity in each, which turns Into the Silent Land into a rare work of compelling, cerebral genius.

Broks is as much a part of this book as any of his patients. He turns the glare of his analysis on himself as intensely as he does on any of his other "characters", revealing his own deepest concerns. He also includes professional anecdotes and other interesting phenomena that will be familiar to students of consciousness--phantom limbs, out-of-body experiences, ghosts, emotional response and the social instinct.

He goes on to explore his doubts as to whether neuropsychology can truly attain its stated aim of understanding consciousness. But despite his deft touch and elegant, sparse style, toward the end he begins to leap fretfully from subject to subject before coming to an abrupt end. Nevertheless Into the Silent Land is as unsettling, mentally engaging and unusual a book as you are likely to read for some time. --Dan Green

Review:

'A beautifully written addition to brain literature... will mesmerise anyone curious about the mass of goo inside our heads' -- John O’Connell, Time Out Book of the Week

'Full of wonders and unsettling new perspectives' -- Independent on Sunday

'Reads as light as a souffle, yet has the resonant depth to haunt you for the rest of your days' -- John McCrone, Guardian

'Rich with disturbing images, eerie characters, wistful philosophical reflection... in terms of sheer prose ability he is a modern master' -- Andrew Marr, Telegraph

About this edition

• Publisher: Atlantic Books
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1843540347
• ISBN 13: 9781843540342
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256