Comforts of Madness, The [Paperback]

Paul Sayer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1991

Winner of the 1988 Whitbread Award, "The Comforts of Madness" is narrated by a catatonic who never speaks. To the rest of the world he is an inert body and is subjected to a variety of experiments, but his own consciousness is vital and reflective.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"The war between the U.S. and Mexico, often passed over lightly as a sort of rehearsal for the American Civil War, is dealt with by Eisenhower as an event of major significance in our nation's history," said PW , judging this a "well-written, comprehensive history."
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Anchor (January 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385267789
• ISBN-13: 978-0385267786
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,762,283 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Whitbread Prize winner - out of print. Why ?, July 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Comforts of Madness, The (Paperback)

This is a bleak novel recounting the tale of Peter, a young man in a catatonic state. At times it is humourous, but you feel you are reading a satire or, even harsher, an indictment. But of what ? The failure of Social Services to care for a boy in an abusive household who is not able to speak ? Mental health services ? Whilst the treatment is often brusque and uncaring, with Peter perceived as an opportunity for the Director of the new fangled institute to make his name, generally they seem to be doing the best for him. Finally they "experiment" with euthanasia, but in the circumstances one can but feel that it a justification of assisted death. He has nothing to live for, is in physical pain and deteriorating and has been rejected by his sister. If this was a novel written in the former Soviet Union this could be read as an allegory for the citizen under Communism. In the west you are left wondering where the target lies. Notwithstanding this it is a fine piece of writing. The judgement of publishers and booksellers has to be questioned allowing this titile to go out of print it won the Whitbread Prize in 1988

4.0 out of 5 stars Not even speaking when spoken to, November 23, 2011

By 

Lost John (Devon, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Comforts of Madness, The (Paperback)

Before writing this, his first novel, Paul Sayer worked as a psychiatric nurse. Notwithstanding the disclaimer on the copyright page to the effect that no character or situation in the book bears any relation to any real person or actual happening, we may presume it is based on his very real experience of the patients and people who worked in the large, predominantly Victorian, mental institutions in the UK that pre-dated Margaret Thatcher's `Care in the Community'. His portrayal of the experience and inner thoughts of 33 year old Peter, who all his life has declined to communicate, is remarkable for its empathy and credibility.

The story both opens and closes in a large institution, but much of the action takes place in an experimental rehabilitation unit - where various attempts are made to coerce Peter into speaking and using his body - and in a long retrospective on Peter's childhood. Peter was born into a family that neighbors regarded as odd. They functioned successfully as a family for a while, and both his parents and his sister were generally kind and understanding towards him, but after they fell into debt and did a 'moonlight flit' to squat in an abandoned cottage on top of an eroding cliff, things rapidly fell apart. Mother went into mental hospital, in due course discharging herself in company with another patient, who murdered her. Sister Alison returned to live in town and after mother's funeral was seen by Peter just once, and that only very briefly. Father, an alcoholic, eventually took to his bed and died.

When living at the seaside, Peter one day discovered a toad lurking beneath a stone. It observed him, but made no movement. Peter replaced the stone. Later, he saw a girl carrying the toad, impaled on a stick. Still the toad observed silently, not making any move; to do so would have been to inflict pain on itself. The parallels with Peter, as he sees himself, gradually become obvious. He observes, but makes no sound; others intrusively observe him, he makes no move; he is trussed-up, subjected to many indignities, still he neither squirms nor makes any sound. Ultimately, he imagines how satisfactory it must be for the toad when its protecting, concealing stone is replaced. We finish the book thinking that in terms of comfort in madness, replacement of the stone is as good as it gets.

This is a disquieting book, very skillfully written. General lack of dialogue, Peter never responding when spoken to, is scarcely noticed as the action at all times moves purposefully forward. An excellent book from the 1980's, an award winner and best-seller in its time, that is most undeservedly out of print.