A cultural study that brims with humanity and intellectual curiosity.
A British medical anthropologist discusses India’s multifaceted approach to mental health, and how it may be miles ahead of modern psychiatry in the United Kingdom.
On its face, Tobert’s debut analysis of the mental health practices in Eastern civilizations is a straight-ahead academic research paper, comparing and contrasting Eastern and Western philosophies and procedures as it seeks to advocate the former. In this study of the city’s mental-health practitioners and their patients, she effectively examines a system that many Westerners might erroneously regard as backward. Along the way, she makes intangible, but potentially game-changing observations. She spends a good deal of time shadowing a highly trained Calcutta psychiatrist named Dr. Basu, who routinely works in conjunction with local mystics and holy men. Although Basu is thoroughly schooled in Western-style psychiatry, his approach to treatment is highly pragmatic, unreservedly incorporating the myriad healing traditions of his homeland. “In India the use of a multiplicity of medical, alternative, complementary, religious and/or spiritual strategies to address human suffering is not controversial,” Tobert writes. “It is normal syncretic practice for people to try a plurality of treatments to address their well being.” The author also finds that this practice stems, at least in part, from a cultural view that sees mental illness as an almost entirely transitory state—and one that can be overcome. Tobert’s experiences are also satisfying as a vivid, full-fledged travelogue. Her descriptions of communal therapy sessions, and her stories of patients traveling miles through tiger-infested jungles to attend their appointments, are truly eye-opening. Her intriguing encounters with patients, who candidly reveal their struggles with depression and anxiety, reinforce the truism that the world is a lot smaller than it sometimes appears.
A cultural study that brims with humanity and intellectual curiosity.Pub Date: April 29, 2014
ISBN: 978-1494962258
Page Count: 412
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: July 3, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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