Book Count (since 1 January 2012)

Book Count (since 1 January 2014): 30

Sunday 4 July 2010

The Quickening Maze by Adam Foulds

Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2009

This novel is about an asylum in Epping Forest in the 1840s. A peasant poet (John Clare) is a patient, as is Alfred Tennyson's brother Septimus. The novel describes the interaction between the asylum owner's family and the patients. Although there is some historical analysis of asylums in the 19th century, the book is mainly about personal relationships rather than mental illness.

Personally, I thought this book was really boring and it didn't really spark any reaction in me, good or bad. The writing is quite descriptive and is neither offensive or inspiring. It is a quick read but very forgettable. Distinctly average.

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