Book Review: Dr. Joe Bell

Dr. Joe Bell: Model for Sherlock Holmes

By Ely M. Liebow

Published December 1982, reprinted March 2007

University of Wisconsin Press

286 pp.

ISBN 0-879-72198-7

Date reviewed: September 25, 2007

Originally reviewed at: BookReview.com

His long fingers forming a steeple in front of him, the tall man looked at the workman in front of him with keen grey eyes. In a calm and intelligent voice, before the workman even said a word, he asked if he had enjoyed his walk through the southern part of town. When asked how he had come to that conclusion, the man simply replied “It was elementary,” and pointed out how the mud on his boots betrayed his previous location.

If you identified the tall man as Sherlock Holmes, you’d only be half right. The legendary detective did make this observation on at least one occasion, but it was inspired by another source: Scottish physician Joseph Bell. Known chiefly to Holmes fans and medical historians, Dr. Bell received his public credit in “Dr. Joe Bell,” a 1982 biography by Ely Liebow. Now reprinted 25 years later, its writing has stood the test of time.

Liebow provides a complete picture of the doctor’s life, showing us a man who was startlingly intelligent, extremely pious and devoted to his family. A legend around the hospital for his diagnoses, he was also an avid shooter, respected medical textbook author and an early advocate for hospital cleanliness. Especially interesting is the fact that Bell served as a forensic expert to the British government around the time of Jack the Ripper – and may have even solved the famous series of murders, which ceased a week after his final report.

But the book is of interest to more than just Holmes fans – Bell’s life was irrevocably tied to medicine, and there is a wealth of stories on its procedure in the late 1800’s. These include the development of the Edinburgh hospital and medical school (seen as one of the best in England), as well as the expansion of women in medicine and antiseptic procedures. It’s useful to anyone interested in that timeframe, with historical background on Bell and other key figures.

Liebow’s research is incredibly in-depth, with dozens of sources ranging from poems and medical articles written by the doctor to obituaries and newspaper articles. Despite this amount of detail, the book is extremely accessible thanks to Liebow’s discursive, almost conversational tone – it’s clear that he is both a scholar and a Holmes fan.

That tone is what keeps “Dr. Joe Bell” interesting. Liebow could have written a dry history on a medical practitioner, but he kept it easy to read, casually mentioning on multiple occasions how you can see Bell’s mannerisms overlap with Holmes. Like Holmes and Bell, the book never loses sight of its objective, and gets there in admirable fashion.

Cardinal Column #6: NaNoWriMo

(Editor’s note: This one I like for the idea I was covering, as well as the focus on trying to balance it with a student lifestyle. I’ve tried to do this each year since, but the same rules apply – if it’s not school work it’s a draining job or an utter lack of motivation. I have gotten some loose notes together for future books out of it though, so it’s never been time wasted. This foul year of our Lord, 2008, I’m going to try to set it up where I spend an hour each day working on it and maybe more if I hit the zone. Money is going to be tight in Portland after all, so anything I can occupy myself with that costs nothing is a solid choice.)

Les’ magnum opus: coming in three weeks?

Originally published in The Daily Cardinal, November 5, 2005

As is true with most writers, I frequently bite off more than I can chew when taking on new writing projects. Ignorant of the fact that there is only so many words I can produce in a day I take on new essays, reviews and rants on an almost daily basis, driven by the self-challenging urge that got me started writing in the first place.

And now I’ve given into that masochistic streak by signing on to a brand new challenge: National Novel Writing Month, which gives writers the task of creating a 50,000-word fiction novel by the first of December. It’s one of the most ambitious projects any writer can undertake – and so far, I’m under the impression it’s not one most writers can do.

According to the NaNoWriMo Web site the project adopts a “kamikaze approach” to creating a novel with an emphasis on word count over style and editing. The process is designed to be highly informal, encouraging participants to “value enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft” – as long as it meets the word count it can be about anything or written in any style.

When I began the project, I had high hopes for the month as visions of gigantic cups of coffee and an endlessly clicking typewriter filled my head, giving into the old adage that everyone has a great book inside of them. I can see myself held captive to the mystic blend of adrenaline and caffeine that interesting writing is born of, putting together piles of paper that could win Pulitzers and impress the opposite sex.

Unfortunately, that glorious image has so far failed to come to fruition – and not just because I’m out of coffee filters and my typewriter is back at my mom’s house. For starters, when I committed myself to the project I failed to recognize that I was in the middle of midterm season, facing a term paper, exam and thousands of little reading assignments that no one wants to do but come back to haunt you on the final exam.

These class assignments heavily obstruct the novel writing process – when you spend all day hunched over a computer in the library trying to form an opinion on John Stuart Mill or agriculture in ancient Rome, there’s little energy left in your brain to write a detective of fantasy book. Even writers have their limits, and there comes a point where all you want to do is sit down and watch “Law and Order” reruns after six hours typing.

I also failed to fully comprehend the fact that in order to write 50,000 words in a month you need to have something worth writing 50,000 words about, and a topic has so far escaped me. It’s not easy to stick with something when new ideas come up all the time – no sooner do 500 words get written on a western than an idea for a crime novel comes up, only to be abandoned after watching “Lord of the Rings” for the fiftieth time.

However, there are still three weeks left until the deadline, and the one thing years of writing college essays teaches us is that a ridiculous amount of words can be written in a very short time and not have to make any sense at all. There’s still time to play with these ideas and go off on new tangents, even if that time has to war with classes and “Law and Order” reruns for my attention.

We’ll have to see what comes out of this effort in the remaining three weeks of the month, be it a Pulitzer Prize, a pile of gibberish or some anecdotes that may come in handy for another story. At the very least, it’s something to keep my mind off of writing that term paper.

Book Review: New Jersey

New Jersey

By Betsy Andrews

Published January 2007

University of Wisconsin Press

72 pp.

ISBN 0-299-22140-7

Date reviewed: August 29, 2007

Originally reviewed at: BookReview.com

The first image that comes to mind when I think of New Jersey is the opening montage from “The Sopranos,” an image anyone who’s seen the show knows is less than pleasant. There is decaying concrete and metal, dreary views of water and a haze that seems to permeate every aspect of the city. It summarizes the world that the show’s characters inhabit, and also shows the stereotype of the state as bitter and decayed.

Poet Betsy Andrews sees the exact same jaded atmosphere – but unlike others who turn it into a punchline, she embraces it in her book-length poem “New Jersey.” In a sprawling epic format reminiscent of Walt Whitman or Allen Ginsberg, Andrews takes the reader on a drive that shows us the state’s soul as much as it does its exterior.

Andrews sees every ugly aspect of the Garden State, painting a picture of desolate bureaucracy and manufacturing centers falling apart in a way that evokes an affectionate regret for what has been built. But her poem is not just about Jersey – in ruined buildings she reminds us of American troops stomping through Iraq, and in the chemical pollution we see the country’s veins running with poison. Her poetry is an observation of our own wreckage, and almost critical of any who would cruise past it without paying attention.

This culture and insight is a clear descendant of Beat poetry, and Andrews evokes their frustrated voices perfectly. Verses such as “dog like a cat mewling, magnetically encoded toll ticket emitting its supple wave/notion of isolationism in tempered vision, molded petroleum, as steel and buoyant as a feather” are rich in Ginsberg’s articulate sensuality and Jack Kerouac’s blues-like poetic rhythm.

The poem is also strengthened by several recurring phrases and poetic devices. A chorale provides the dual nature of the state, taking accomplished residents and pairing them with fast food outlets “and an ATM.” The imagery of an elephant is used repeatedly, and its behavior – gorging itself on whatever it can find, forming a part of the architecture or lumbering down the turnpike – provides the feeling of an unknown, inexorable force incapable of direction.

Though it doesn’t come to a dramatic conclusion (my only complaint – it seemingly stopped in mid-verse), the poem is overall a captivating and well-crafted read. Andrews takes the poetic form and does something seemingly impossible: she goes into the depths of industrial Jersey and makes you want to look closer.

Book Review: Teeth

Teeth: A Horror Fantasy

By Marcus Damanda

Published June 2007

Outskirts Press

288 pp.

ISBN 1-432-70680-2

Date reviewed: August 20, 2007

Originally reviewed at: BookReview.com

When we’re kids, we’re taught to avoid the dark because of all the monsters lurking in it – the witches, vampires and werewolves waiting to swoop in and take us for nefarious purposes. Of course, when we grow older we realize those stories were told chiefly to shelter us from the more realistic danger of murderers and kidnappers waiting to drag us into their vans.

But what if those murderers and kidnappers actually were the monsters of our youth and not simply disturbed individuals? That blend of real and imagined danger is the core of “Teeth: A Horror Fantasy,” the debut novel of writer Marcus Damanda. A tense, shocking novel, it offers a more contemporary type of vampires and makes them as frightening as any serious Dracula depiction.

The story centers on a small Virginia town, where a small clan known as the Damworths have come to feed. As they settle in and begin preying on the residents, they will cross paths with two of the town’s resident outcasts: an albino high school student named Nicholas and a dishonored deputy named Frank Gillis. This contact will lead to an escalating body count and exercise of supernatural powers, culminating in a night-long siege on a juvenile hall.

“Teeth” advertises itself as a horror fantasy, and it certainly matches its title. Damanda creates horrifying scenes such as a ritual slaughter by the Damworths and a midnight forest battle between Nicholas and a wolf-creature, all of which are blood-drenched and vividly written. The climactic siege is particularly alarming, rolling out all levels of vampiric powers and turning children into combatants against the police.

Characterization is also very important to the novel. The vampires are not the stereotyped Europeans but a mix of different personalities, including a coldly proficient leader, a gregarious black music fan and an emotional stargazing redhead. Nicholas, who suffers excessive torment from bullies and his father, is the poster child for troubled teens and is depicted as excellently conflicted between his humanity and the chance to escape it. This psychological debate is almost as frightening as the violence, for the possibility that thousands of students in his shoes would eagerly take the option.

“Teeth” is the sort of novel that makes you look twice at any nondescript van in a parking lot, look over your shoulder at an unlit forest and eat a heavier dose of garlic at dinner – in short, an excellent thriller. It shows the reader a very dark and compelling world that, despite the unnerving feeling, is worth sticking around for.

Book Review: Soul Identity

Soul Identity

By Dennis Batchelder

Published July 2007

NetLeaves

268 pp.

ISBN 0-979-80560-0

Date reviewed: August 13, 2007

Everyone is interested in the concept of immortality: the idea that our existence doesn’t have to end with our death, and that something of us survives to another level or comes back in a new form. Most of these theories are tied to a spiritual idea but Dennis Batchelder’s debut novel “Soul Identity” offers a new God-free idea of reincarnation – and does so in a very entertaining read.

Scott Waverly, a wisecracking security expert well-known for poking holes in his client’s systems, is contacted by an organization known as Soul Identity. The organization has a radical mindset: it claims to track the souls of its members through successive generations. Selected to help bring Soul Identity into the digital age, Scott must decide if he believes in their claims of soul connections while at the same time dealing with the machinations of ambitious members.

The idea of finding someone’s soul through an ocular fingerprint may seem like science fiction, but “Soul Identity” reflects a lot of thought on the author’s part to make it believable. Batchelder has written a compelling history for the group that spans ancient Egypt and Alexander the Great, and goes into considerable depth on the faith and interest that draws members into the organization.

This depth is backed up by an interesting group of characters and sites, such as a beautiful Russian computer expert, a group of Tibetan Buddhists and an elderly fortune teller with culinary-challenged nieces. Using extensive dialogue, the book creates distinct characters with such traits as Scott’s clear familiarity with computer security and the villains’ penchant for using Latin phrases.

Unfortunately, the dialogue is also tied to the main problem I had with the novel: with most pages consisting of at least 50 percent conversation, there is a lack of details such as scenery and description. When the book is focused solely on what people say, it also means that the action of the book is slowed down and the tension tends to fall away. (One personal complaint of mine: it gets a little annoying when every time a character says something in Latin, Russian or some other language they immediately provide a translation as if they were speaking to the reader directly.)

Despite this dependence on speech, I found “Soul Identity” to be a compelling novel with an interesting mythology and a sense of humor. Batchelder promises the series will continue endnotes, and if the same soul travels from book to book it should be equally engaging.