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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
In “The Aging Brain”, Oliver Sacks recounts a neurobiological model that attempts to define age-related stages shared by all cultures. He highlights that the achievement of the last stage -namely, old age- is “[...] the integration of vast amounts of information, the synthesis of a long lifetime’s experience, coupled with the lengthening and enlargement of the individual’s perspectives and a sort of detachment or calm.” I cannot come up with a most suiting definition for Everything in Its Place: First Loves and Last Tales, Sacks’s posthumous collection of essays.
Divided into three blocks, Everything in Its Place offers a well-rounded representation of Oliver Sacks. First Loves is a journey of firsts: who influenced him; discoveries that came to shape his identity; the start of some of his lifelong interests; his love for libraries and fortuitous encounters that inspired him to write. Clinical Tales gathers some heart-wrenching medical essays, showcasing a perfect balance of hope and wonder. Finally, Life Continues exposes the author’s prevailing concerns during his last stages of life.
Oliver Sacks was for me the benchmark; the medical and scientific writer by which all others were judged and largely found wanting.
I remember watching a series of programmes he made for UK television when I was a teenager and being amazed by the vastness of his knowledge, his enthusiasm and his humanity. A few years later having watched and read Awakenings his writing became a permanent fixture in my reading. As each new book came out it instantly went to the top of my 'to read list'. This though will be his last new book and what a book it was.
Sometimes these kind of books, collections of essays and monographs can be a little hit and miss, they tend to collate things the writer never intended to go into a book as they don't fit or weren't right. This though is a gem. Every article has been thought about and curated perfectly to show the breadth of Sacks' work and interests. If I'm honest this isn't his best book (nothing could top either Awakenings or On The Move) but as it's his last it gets *****.
Beautiful from cover to cover.
