Human Traces
Ratings2
Average rating2.5
Sebastian Faulks's bestselling new novel. As young boys both Jacques Rebiere and Thomas Midwinter become fascinated with trying to understand the human mind.As psychiatrists, their quest takes them from the squalor of the Victorian lunatic asylum to the crowded lecture halls of the renowned Professor Charcot in Paris; from the heights of the Sierra Madre in California to the plains of unexplored Africa. As the concerns of the old century fade and the First World War divides Europe, the two men's volatile relationship develops and changes, but is always tempered by one exceptional woman; Thomas's sister Sonia.Moving and challenging in equal measure, Human Traces explores the question of what kind of beings men and women really are
Series
Series
2 primary books#1 in Austrian Trilogy
Austrian Trilogy is a 2-book series with 2 released primary works first released in 2005 with contributions by Sebastian Faulks.
Reviews
Popular Reviews
Reviews with the most likes.
The book has a protracted plot spanning decades from the childhood life of Jacques Rebiere into his adulthood and finally old age. It passes as a tiring read and it is easy to forget events and details at the beginning due to many settings and failure of an overriding setting. However, the research done for the psychological ailments in the story is excellent, details are accurate and fascinating too, it might fit the bill of a psychology fan facts book. But the again, it seems there was too much emphasis on the details vis-a-vis the storyline.
As a historical novel, the book perfectly captures the scenes of the 18th and 19th centuries. Among the outstanding ones was the depiction of lifestyle and medical changes occasioned by invention of electricity and other industrial machines. The story ends on an anti-climax, in-fact the story has no climax, it's flat. The pace it starts on is maintained through out the plot.
