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The story of eight months’ experience of a tubercular patient in a sanatorium, and his final death: A first-hand record in novel form of what goes on in the patient's mind and in the minds of the sanatorium population: A rather terrible bit of realism, marvelously well done, and foreshadowing a brilliant future for the author, who puts it forth as his first novel.
The high lights of medical and psychological interest revolve about a few motives. Outstanding among these is the almost utter helplessness of a patient in the hands of a physician who has at his back the organization of a big medical institution. The power which such a position wields may be beneficent. On the other hand, as in the particular case described in this novel, where the physician is childish, irritable, easy to anger, dominating and overbearing in his attitude toward the patient, it is easy to suspect that his tendencies to operate are sadistically over-determined. Then one sees very well the play of jealousy, hate, and the aggressive instincts generally as between the patients, particularly addressed to anyone who seems to be getting better, especially if by any chance he on his part should exhibit the same tendencies and flaunt his improvement in their faces. And finally, the almost nauseating repetitiousness, the everlasting rehashing, talking over among themselves of the subject of tuberculosis in all of its aspects, seemingly an effort to project, or in the sense of Schilder to externalize, their disease by a