Guests on Earth: A Novel
2 journalers for this copy...
This book was offered on LibraryThing in the Early Reviewers selections for June 2014 and I was selected to receive a copy. From the back cover:
It's 1936 when orphaned thirteen-year-old Evalina Toussaint is admitted to Highland Hospital, a mental institution in Asheville, North Carolina, known for its innovative treatments for nervous disorders and addictions. Taken under the wing of the hospital's most notable patient, Zelda Fitzgerald, Evalina witnesses cascading events that lead up to the tragic fire of 1948 that killed nine women in a locked ward, Zelda among them.
It's 1936 when orphaned thirteen-year-old Evalina Toussaint is admitted to Highland Hospital, a mental institution in Asheville, North Carolina, known for its innovative treatments for nervous disorders and addictions. Taken under the wing of the hospital's most notable patient, Zelda Fitzgerald, Evalina witnesses cascading events that lead up to the tragic fire of 1948 that killed nine women in a locked ward, Zelda among them.
I guess I could say that I enjoyed this book but "enjoy" doesn't seem quite right for a book about such a dark subject. Perhaps appreciate would be a better choice of words because I did think that Lee Smith managed to make a book about an insane asylum interesting.
Evalina Toussaint was the daughter of a dancer and lived in the French Quarter of New Orleans. When her mother died of an opium overdose Evalina was taken in by the family of her mother's lover. Needless to say this was not a good situation and Evalina was traumatized by the loss of her mother and everything that was familiar. She refused to eat and was sent away to the Highland Hospital, a mental institution in Asheville, North Carolina. Dr. Carroll, the director of the hospital, had ideas for treating the insane that were unusual at the time (1930s) which included lots of physical exercise and projects in art, horticulture, music etc. His wife took Evalina on as a piano student and Evalina had a real gift. One of the other patients at the time was Zelda Fitzgerald. Evalina crossed paths with her in the art studio and Zelda mistakes Evalina for her daughter, Patricia. With no other family the patients and staff of the hospital become Evalina's family and the hospital a home. However she went to Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore to continue her musical education. There she fell in love with an opera singer that she accompanies and follows him around the world. The relationship ended tragically and Evalina returned to Highland in a catatonic state. Back in familiar territory she quickly recovers and makes new friends. Zelda Fitzgerald also returned to Highland for treatment at this time. Unfortunately Zelda and 8 other women died in the Highland Hospital when a fire consumed the building they were locked into at night.
The details about the hospital and the treatment of the patients are completely accurate. It was a shock to me to learn that people were deliberately put into diabetic comas to treat their mental illness. This article, written by a doctor who administered Insulin Coma Therapy (ICT), explains why it was performed at that time. Thankfully with modern drugs available to psychiatrists people ICT is no longer necessary.
Zelda and many of the other people in the book really were in the Highland Hospital but Evalina is fictional. Fiction is a very effective way to expose realities and Lee Smith has done an excellent job. My one criticism is that I found it difficult to keep track of all the lesser characters who appear. A list of dramatis personae would have helped.
Evalina Toussaint was the daughter of a dancer and lived in the French Quarter of New Orleans. When her mother died of an opium overdose Evalina was taken in by the family of her mother's lover. Needless to say this was not a good situation and Evalina was traumatized by the loss of her mother and everything that was familiar. She refused to eat and was sent away to the Highland Hospital, a mental institution in Asheville, North Carolina. Dr. Carroll, the director of the hospital, had ideas for treating the insane that were unusual at the time (1930s) which included lots of physical exercise and projects in art, horticulture, music etc. His wife took Evalina on as a piano student and Evalina had a real gift. One of the other patients at the time was Zelda Fitzgerald. Evalina crossed paths with her in the art studio and Zelda mistakes Evalina for her daughter, Patricia. With no other family the patients and staff of the hospital become Evalina's family and the hospital a home. However she went to Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore to continue her musical education. There she fell in love with an opera singer that she accompanies and follows him around the world. The relationship ended tragically and Evalina returned to Highland in a catatonic state. Back in familiar territory she quickly recovers and makes new friends. Zelda Fitzgerald also returned to Highland for treatment at this time. Unfortunately Zelda and 8 other women died in the Highland Hospital when a fire consumed the building they were locked into at night.
The details about the hospital and the treatment of the patients are completely accurate. It was a shock to me to learn that people were deliberately put into diabetic comas to treat their mental illness. This article, written by a doctor who administered Insulin Coma Therapy (ICT), explains why it was performed at that time. Thankfully with modern drugs available to psychiatrists people ICT is no longer necessary.
Zelda and many of the other people in the book really were in the Highland Hospital but Evalina is fictional. Fiction is a very effective way to expose realities and Lee Smith has done an excellent job. My one criticism is that I found it difficult to keep track of all the lesser characters who appear. A list of dramatis personae would have helped.
I passed this book on to BellBelle who has read it and it is now with another member of our work book club.
Our work Book Club read this book and discussed it in March. I wasn't at the meeting but the report was that people found it interesting.
I have now passed this book on to my sister because I thought she might find it interesting.
I agree with Gypsies Mom that I couldn't say I enjoyed this book. However I found it extremely interesting - the details about treatment of the mentally ill and about Zelda Fitzgerald's life and death. This was all so factual and matter of fact it made Evalina's own choices seem disconnected, fanciful and unbelievable.
