"Classical science has no use for the concrete - it is equated with the trivial in neurology and psychiatry. It needs a 'romantic' science to pay it its full due - to appreciate its extraordinary powers...and dangers…"
What Oliver Sacks has attempted to do in this collection of essays is not only present some of the oddest neurological cases he's seen in his lifetime, but also convey his patients' hidden skills and talents, prior adversity and trauma, and ultimately, their perseverance (if applicable). As alluded to in the quote above, many require more than just a medical exam, IQ test, or prescription to truly understand their disorders and their pain.
As someone with no background in medicine at all, I was able to enjoy and appreciate most of the stories, without knowing the corresponding neurological jargon. However, while those with the proper background might recognize and appreciate his frequent (yet sudden) references to publications/people I've personally never heard of, to me it came off a bit jarring. Despite this, though, I was intrigued throughout, and walked away with a slightly better idea of the inner workings of the human psyche.
“All time is all time. It does not change. It does not lend itself to warnings or explanations. It simply is. Take it moment by moment, and you will find that we are all, as I've said before, bugs in amber.”
Being my first book by Kurt Vonnegut, I really had no idea what to expect going in, other than hearing that this was ‘some sort of anti-war book’ (what an understatement), and that Vonnegut was one of the most popular satirists in the postmodern era. Regarding the many themes in this book, I don't really think this review will add anything that hasn't already been said by someone else somewhere, but I would like to at least emphasize my favorite theme in this book: time.
Instead of following the life of the main character Billy Pilgrim in chronological order, we are taken back and forth through different times in his life – his adolescence, time at war, and career/family life. His life events are also intertwined with his time in outer space with the Tralfamadorians, an alien species that lives in four dimensions, meaning they can move through time.
To me, the Tralfamadorians teach Billy one of the most comforting thoughts in the whole book: that time always is, and past, present, and future all occur at once. To me this is a comforting thought: with the bad there is always good, and those who seem like they only exist in the past, currently exist, and will always exist. This idea is then taken and toyed with throughout, in the context of Vonnegut’s own experience in war.
