5.0 out of 5 stars
Shining a Light on the Dark Side, May 24, 2004
This review is from: What About Bill Gates? (Paperback)
I'm guessing that many people who come across this title had another Bill Gates in mind when they clicked the
"search" button. In fact, the Bill Gates of Pridmore's novel lives in a world far removed from Microsoft, trillionaires (I'm not even sure how to spell that) and the power of technology.
He is a pharmacist at a hospital in Australia, and we join him as he struggles with inner demons of several dimensions.
In short, I think the book is superb. Anyone who has been involved with mental disorders - and let's face it, few of us make it through life without some sort of connection, either personal or vicarious - will identify with this very accessible account.
Pridmore has structured the book intelligently - balancing the dark, difficult and ultimately tragic elements of the story with the human, the hilarious, the mundane. His clever balancing makes it digestible for the general reader, while still (I'm told) credible and interesting for the health professional.
It's not easy to track down "What About Bill Gates?", but I think it's worth it, both for interest and insight. It is not a long book, but is a very memorable one. From what I read on the Amazon site, Pridmore's other books are non-fiction. I'm only sorry he didn't have another go at communicating his obviously considerable talent through the fiction medium. Enjoy!
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