A Journey Round My Skull (New York Review Books Classics)
Author | : | |
Rating | : | 4.47 (597 Votes) |
Asin | : | 1590172582 |
Format Type | : | paperback |
Number of Pages | : | 312 Pages |
Publish Date | : | 2015-11-07 |
Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
. Karinthy is known in English for his novellas Voyage to Faremido and Capillaria. Frigyes Karinthy (1887—1938) was a Hungarian author, playwright, poet, journalist, and translator. He was the first proponent of the six degrees of separation concept in his 1929 short story, L‡ncszemek (Chains). Father of Ferenc Karinthy, he remains one Hungary’s most popular writers.Oliver Sacks
His poetry was a mixture of carefully polished, effectively classicist and broadly-rolling, Whitmanesque verse." –Adam Makkai“Karinthy gives a minute description of his ‘skull,’ a description that covers both the physical and psychological…but he also incorporates his readings (Thomas Mann’s Joseph and his Brethern, Scott’s account of his journeys to the South Pole, Jules Verne’s Michel Strogoff) and a variety of philosophical musings…What a pleasure to sit down with a witty, urbane, eminently well educated human being, to bask in his presence as he
Karinthy’s description of his descent into illness and his observations of his symptoms, thoughts, and feelings, as well as of his friends’ and doctors’ varied responses to his predicament, are exact and engrossing and entirely free of self-pity. Only then did he realize he was suffering from an auditory hallucination of extraordinary intensity. The distinguished Hungarian author Frigyes Karinthy was sitting in a Budapest café, wondering whether to write a long-planned monograph on modern man or a new play, when he was disturbed by the roaring—so loud as to drown out all other noises—of a passing train. Strange, Karinthy thought, it had been years since Budapest had streetcars. What in fact Karinthy was suffering from was a brain tumor, not cancerous but hardly benign, though it was only much later—after spells of giddiness, fainting fits, friends remarking that his handwriting had altered, and books going blank before his eyes—that he consulted a doctor and embarked on a series of examinations that would lead to brain sur
"Dreamlike Narration of Illness" according to Gary Schroeder. A Journey Round My Skull appears (based on reviews and cover blurbs) to be a classic of the 'sick patient' genre. I'm not exactly sure why. I found it to be a little challenging to stick with to the end. Part of the problem is the stilted translation from Karinthy's native language. It never flows well and reads very much like a translation inasmuch as the english phrases seem awkward, rough and not-quite-right. I almost never forgot that I was in fact reading a translation -- surely a sign of a less than stellar job.That aside, Karinthy's style never really caught on with . Fascinating and insightful I purchased this book because, upon browsing it in the bookstore, it mirrored much of my experience with seizures and brain surgery. His descriptions and the unreal experience of having a brain disease hit the bulls eye. The floating, stream of conciousness-like storytelling brings home the feelings involved with such a curious experience. I'm enjoying it immensely.. "An amazing description of the author's brain surgery without anaesthesia" according to Darryl R. Morris. Frigyes Karinthy (1887-19An amazing description of the author's brain surgery without anaesthesia Frigyes Karinthy (1887-1938) was an influential Hungarian novelist, playwright, poet and journalist. A Journey Round My Skull is a literary account of the development and successful removal of his brain tumor, which occurred near the end of his life. His symptoms begin insidiously, with auditory hallucinations, followed by headaches and vomiting of increasing severity, and loss of visual acuity. Despite these symptoms, which are suggestive of a brain tumor or another process that would cause increased intracranial pressure, the doctors in Budapest ignore his symptoms and fa. 8) was an influential Hungarian novelist, playwright, poet and journalist. A Journey Round My Skull is a literary account of the development and successful removal of his brain tumor, which occurred near the end of his life. His symptoms begin insidiously, with auditory hallucinations, followed by headaches and vomiting of increasing severity, and loss of visual acuity. Despite these symptoms, which are suggestive of a brain tumor or another process that would cause increased intracranial pressure, the doctors in Budapest ignore his symptoms and fa