Rainald Goetz, trans: Adrian Nathan West (Fitzcarraldo)
Never has a book title been so apt. Insane is an enjoyable and extremely disturbing examination of everyday life in an asylum. Originally published in 1983, Goetz’s debut novel is only now getting its first translation into English.
We follow Dr Raspe, a wide-eyed young psychiatrist with aspirations of revolutionising the profession when he enters the asylum. Slowly, he breaks down as he witnesses the brutal methods used by his peers, begging the question: who is truly mad? Raspe’s anger at the institution’s failures comes from Goetz’s own experiences as a psychiatrist. At times it’s almost apologetic, at others it’s a rant at the world.
The disturbing imagery is used throughout to hammer home that we are in the nightmare world we imagine asylums to be. Now, more than ever, we are taking mental health seriously, but within these pages lies a reminder of what it once was to suffer these problems.
Price: £12.99 Info: https://fitzcarraldoeditions.com/
words CHRIS ANDREWS