Helpful Score: 19
Wow. I will admit that I went into this book knowing very little about the lobotomy except what little I had picked up here and there. I had heard about the author's piece on NPR (linkage: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5014080). Before I read the book, I listened to the NPR story (if it doesn't make you cry or at least sniffle a little bit, I'm sorry, but you aren't human). The book basically goes into a lot more detail than the NPR piece.
The thing that strikes me most about this book is the writing style. It's extraordinarily flat. You can tell where the co-author did most of the writing (the history and other fill in pieces) and where Howard did. That's not to say it's a bad thing. You ARE reading a book written by and about a man who has undergone a lobotomy. That's not to say that this man doesn't have feelings, he so obviously does, but you get the sense that his emotions are dulled in some way - whether that is by his "operation" or just the way he is, I don't know.
I was struck by how normal he seemed as a child. Oh, he was a hand full - I imagine he would have spent a lot of time in the time out chair at my house. *laugh* But being naughty doesn't excuse the abuse this man underwent as a child - it certainly doesn't make it okay for someone to stick a big metal stick in your eye and scramble your brains.
Ah, and then the anger. I am very aware this all happened 50 years ago, but reading this I was so disgusted by his step-mother, the people around this little boy - and his father. Oh, Howard is a better person than I am, I still hate his father for letting this happen to him. I was so angry with everyone in this book that surrounded this child. It was like no one was paying attention. Yes, it was different times, blah blah blah.... but ARGH! What really peeved me was those that seemed to know it wasn't the kid's fault and still did what the insane step-mother said.
Having said that, there are a few times you have to laugh. Howard is a good storyteller. He kept me interested and he made me smile. He obviously has had time to look back on his life and see how things went wrong after his "operation" and can laugh about some of it now. I also cried. I cried for this little boy, for who he was - even if it was this crazy, lovable, unruly, spirited child, for who he could have been, and for who he is. I want to rewind the clock 50 years or so and take this little boy into my home and make him a grilled cheese sandwich or something so utterly normal. Just normal.
Anyway, it was a good book. Read it.
The thing that strikes me most about this book is the writing style. It's extraordinarily flat. You can tell where the co-author did most of the writing (the history and other fill in pieces) and where Howard did. That's not to say it's a bad thing. You ARE reading a book written by and about a man who has undergone a lobotomy. That's not to say that this man doesn't have feelings, he so obviously does, but you get the sense that his emotions are dulled in some way - whether that is by his "operation" or just the way he is, I don't know.
I was struck by how normal he seemed as a child. Oh, he was a hand full - I imagine he would have spent a lot of time in the time out chair at my house. *laugh* But being naughty doesn't excuse the abuse this man underwent as a child - it certainly doesn't make it okay for someone to stick a big metal stick in your eye and scramble your brains.
Ah, and then the anger. I am very aware this all happened 50 years ago, but reading this I was so disgusted by his step-mother, the people around this little boy - and his father. Oh, Howard is a better person than I am, I still hate his father for letting this happen to him. I was so angry with everyone in this book that surrounded this child. It was like no one was paying attention. Yes, it was different times, blah blah blah.... but ARGH! What really peeved me was those that seemed to know it wasn't the kid's fault and still did what the insane step-mother said.
Having said that, there are a few times you have to laugh. Howard is a good storyteller. He kept me interested and he made me smile. He obviously has had time to look back on his life and see how things went wrong after his "operation" and can laugh about some of it now. I also cried. I cried for this little boy, for who he was - even if it was this crazy, lovable, unruly, spirited child, for who he could have been, and for who he is. I want to rewind the clock 50 years or so and take this little boy into my home and make him a grilled cheese sandwich or something so utterly normal. Just normal.
Anyway, it was a good book. Read it.
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