3.5 out of 5 stars
On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads
How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie Amber's Review Team, of which I am a member.
This is a novella length story; I wondered if such a plot could be fitted into a novella, and if there would be a lack of detail, but it is well structured and fits nicely into the shorter length.
Xanthe Schneider from Cincinatti arrives in Cambridge as a student, six months before the outbreak of World War Two. During her childhood, she was endowed with a love of and talent for crosswords by her father, and, in England, during the 'phoney war' of the first eight months following September 3rd, 1939, she gets to know the mysterious Ralph Lancing, a code cracking enthusiast. Then Ralph disappears, and Xanthe is approached by war officials to take part in the world of British espionage.
One thing I liked about this was the portrayal of the England at the time; it's very well done, but subtly, and it came over, to me, a bit like a black and white film. I also liked that Boyle has used real life characters, such as Goebbels, and I felt Xanthe's growing fear; the atmosphere of menace certainly worked. Sometimes I felt the choice of words was a little odd, and I wasn't always sure about the way in which, for instance, a naval commander spoke to Xanthe, a woman he had only just met.
This is a good read for the historical detail in itself, and it is well plotted; an undemanding, enjoyable book with which to curl up for an afternoon.
4 out of 5 stars
On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE
On Goodreads HERE
How I discovered this book: It was a submission to Rosie Amber's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.
The name R D Laing is one that I've often seen around, probably on my parents' bookshelves, too, but I've never really known who he was. I've long been sceptical about psychiatric diagnoses, so this book piqued my interest. It's only novella length, so I knew it wouldn't be a huge chore to get through if I didn't like it. Happily, I did.
Laing was an unorthodox Scottish psychiatrist who challenged methods of psychiatric treatment during the 1940s and 50s, was greatly influenced by existential philosophy and became a cult figure in the 1960s. This book is not long enough to be a biography; it's more an overview of his life and an examination of his principles, theories and work in relation to the trends of the time. David Boyle writes intelligently, clearly and in language plain enough for the general reader with no knowledge of the subject. He gives a few instances of Laing's experiments when working in psychiatric hospitals, such as this one: '...In one ward, he reduced the drugs to practically zero and locked the door. In the first week of the experiment, about 30 windows were smashed. Nobody was hurt, so from the second week onwards he unlocked the doors and found there was no rush to leave, and the windows stayed intact...'
Like others of his brilliance, philosophies, era and convention-challenging ideas, Laing sank heavily into the bottle and became something of a caricature of himself. I was interested in much of what Boyle touched upon, found myself constantly nodding and highlighting passages, and will find out more, I am sure, probably from the bibliography at the back. This mini-bio ends at 87%, after which there is the beginning of another work by David Boyle, and a list of others, which I was interested enough to look at.
'He had a complete lack of interest in any kind of small talk or going through the social motions'. Hang on while I go and look him up on YouTube...
