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sofijakryz's review
4.0
An interesting one. I did not like it at first but then it somehow captured me and I could not put it down.
Usually, even those people who have heard of Yersin know about one textbook line about him: "discovered Yersinia pestis". Full stop.
I knew as much, essentially. And wondered - a lot of those Pasteurian guys spent their whole lives on developing the field of microbiology, vaccines and other life-saving interventions. Why would some shoot like stars and then go into oblivion? Was it merely the usual stroke of luck many a biologist is superstitious about?
I gladly picked up the book. And God how right I was to do this. Because behind that textbook line or two there was a very interesting human being.
Just think of this. Working for Pasteur Institute, even these days, is quite a thing. The late Monsieur Pasteur was one of his kind. Perhaps there were others loading straws one by one on a camel's back and waiting for it to break, but it is usually Pasteur (along with Koch) who is referred first to as one of the men who made the paradigms shift. Basically, steering the whole field of medicine from leeches and miasmas towards the platform on which the field of modern medicine is built is even more of a "quite a thing". Had he not died a few years early, Pasteur would have received a Nobel prize. Koch did.
And Alexandre Yersin could have too.
Except for one thing: he always yearned something else. And so he did other things.
Imagine, he spent two years working with Pasteur. Was recognised for becoming one of the co-discoverers of the diphtheria toxin. And there - f... that, he wants to be a medical doctor in a ship. Just like that - because why not? Two years later... Why not treat the locals on the beautiful shores of the mysterious land of Annam and do some exploration on the side? To the level of making geographic discoveries of importance enough to be published by the Geographical Society?
For a medical microbiologist, not bad, I should say.
He also did "Ebay" and "Amazon" like orders before it was cool. You know, when there is will, there is a way.
And then all these other passions. Social anthropology, agriculture, agronomy, astronomy, cars... And he was good at those. Making money too. Yersinia pestis line in the textbooks only appears because the Pasteurians literally had to beg him for years to return to research. Well, it's not he abandoned microbiology or vaccines completely. It's just the guy had other, competing passions, enough for 5, 6 people. And yet he managed. You live only once, you know.
And I sometimes suspect I have ADHD.
And this is exactly what separates people like that from the rest of the mortals. They take the risks that seem wild for us, those used to our comfortable lives. They compute those risks far quicker and more extensively what we do. And they win by making the most of the opportunities doing something they really want to do. While we - most often - do not understand. Or believe. Because there must always be something else to their reasons, isn't there? Otherwise... why?
I just could not refrain from thinking about one of those anime archetypes. You know, the Hattori Hanzos and the Yohis of this world. The guys that always laugh it off and permit you not appreciating their essence but once they feel the need - forced or just because they feel now is the right time.
Yersin was one of these, at least, that's how Deville portrayed him to me.
One interesting thing about this book is that at first it was not so easy to read for me. You know, I expected this whole dates and wheres and how longs set-up. That's not what Deville wrote. He permits himself a very literatury styles, those French digressions, not keeping strictly to the dates unless he really feels he needs to and so on. He uses flashbacks, not everything is chronological. He does use subjective interpretations, makes jokes of the people as if they were merely characters. He rushed sometimes. And that was not what I expected. So it took quite some time to get used to. But then it clicked. And I swallowed the whole book like a candy.
Those sneaky French! A quick stroke there, a quick stroke here and - voila!- you have a most beautiful and colourful of paintings: ballerinas, lillies or a portray of a very curious and peculiar man who loved the lands that are now known as Vietnam and his multiple hobbies more than anything else.
One drawback here - sometimes I wanted Deville to stop and expand a bit. On the technologies of the day - whether lab techniques or the physics of a steam car (I thought they were all petrol from the start :/) or the politics of the time. I was curious to learn more about Yersin's contemporaries and his interactions with them - Kitasato, for instance. The politics of the time played a huge role in the development of the biological sciences in the conjuncture of the two centuries. Adding in both the positives and the negatives. And it would have been so interesting to know more of that.
But Deville, evidently, was more interested in Yersin. And he claims Yersin was anything but political.
It would have been interesting to know more about the lands that became today's Vietnam. I know so little about that part of the world (except for that they had this horrible war in the 60s, that they use European alphabet so untypically for the region and that their food is wonderful).
But the book is about Yersin.
Definitely recommend. You do not have to be a biology geek to enjoy it. This one is about a man who saw the world a bit differently and more sharply than most of us do.
Usually, even those people who have heard of Yersin know about one textbook line about him: "discovered Yersinia pestis". Full stop.
I knew as much, essentially. And wondered - a lot of those Pasteurian guys spent their whole lives on developing the field of microbiology, vaccines and other life-saving interventions. Why would some shoot like stars and then go into oblivion? Was it merely the usual stroke of luck many a biologist is superstitious about?
I gladly picked up the book. And God how right I was to do this. Because behind that textbook line or two there was a very interesting human being.
Just think of this. Working for Pasteur Institute, even these days, is quite a thing. The late Monsieur Pasteur was one of his kind. Perhaps there were others loading straws one by one on a camel's back and waiting for it to break, but it is usually Pasteur (along with Koch) who is referred first to as one of the men who made the paradigms shift. Basically, steering the whole field of medicine from leeches and miasmas towards the platform on which the field of modern medicine is built is even more of a "quite a thing". Had he not died a few years early, Pasteur would have received a Nobel prize. Koch did.
And Alexandre Yersin could have too.
Except for one thing: he always yearned something else. And so he did other things.
Imagine, he spent two years working with Pasteur. Was recognised for becoming one of the co-discoverers of the diphtheria toxin. And there - f... that, he wants to be a medical doctor in a ship. Just like that - because why not? Two years later... Why not treat the locals on the beautiful shores of the mysterious land of Annam and do some exploration on the side? To the level of making geographic discoveries of importance enough to be published by the Geographical Society?
For a medical microbiologist, not bad, I should say.
He also did "Ebay" and "Amazon" like orders before it was cool. You know, when there is will, there is a way.
And then all these other passions. Social anthropology, agriculture, agronomy, astronomy, cars... And he was good at those. Making money too. Yersinia pestis line in the textbooks only appears because the Pasteurians literally had to beg him for years to return to research. Well, it's not he abandoned microbiology or vaccines completely. It's just the guy had other, competing passions, enough for 5, 6 people. And yet he managed. You live only once, you know.
And I sometimes suspect I have ADHD.
And this is exactly what separates people like that from the rest of the mortals. They take the risks that seem wild for us, those used to our comfortable lives. They compute those risks far quicker and more extensively what we do. And they win by making the most of the opportunities doing something they really want to do. While we - most often - do not understand. Or believe. Because there must always be something else to their reasons, isn't there? Otherwise... why?
I just could not refrain from thinking about one of those anime archetypes. You know, the Hattori Hanzos and the Yohis of this world. The guys that always laugh it off and permit you not appreciating their essence but once they feel the need - forced or just because they feel now is the right time.
Yersin was one of these, at least, that's how Deville portrayed him to me.
One interesting thing about this book is that at first it was not so easy to read for me. You know, I expected this whole dates and wheres and how longs set-up. That's not what Deville wrote. He permits himself a very literatury styles, those French digressions, not keeping strictly to the dates unless he really feels he needs to and so on. He uses flashbacks, not everything is chronological. He does use subjective interpretations, makes jokes of the people as if they were merely characters. He rushed sometimes. And that was not what I expected. So it took quite some time to get used to. But then it clicked. And I swallowed the whole book like a candy.
Those sneaky French! A quick stroke there, a quick stroke here and - voila!- you have a most beautiful and colourful of paintings: ballerinas, lillies or a portray of a very curious and peculiar man who loved the lands that are now known as Vietnam and his multiple hobbies more than anything else.
One drawback here - sometimes I wanted Deville to stop and expand a bit. On the technologies of the day - whether lab techniques or the physics of a steam car (I thought they were all petrol from the start :/) or the politics of the time. I was curious to learn more about Yersin's contemporaries and his interactions with them - Kitasato, for instance. The politics of the time played a huge role in the development of the biological sciences in the conjuncture of the two centuries. Adding in both the positives and the negatives. And it would have been so interesting to know more of that.
But Deville, evidently, was more interested in Yersin. And he claims Yersin was anything but political.
It would have been interesting to know more about the lands that became today's Vietnam. I know so little about that part of the world (except for that they had this horrible war in the 60s, that they use European alphabet so untypically for the region and that their food is wonderful).
But the book is about Yersin.
Definitely recommend. You do not have to be a biology geek to enjoy it. This one is about a man who saw the world a bit differently and more sharply than most of us do.
nnnnnnnnnn's review
1.0
I've been trying to get through this book for the past two months, and it hasn't made it easy. It is very slow moving, unnecessarily wordy, and very difficult to engage with. People who are more fond of complex and philosophical 'literary fiction' than I am might enjoy this, but it's not my genre and I found it all a bit too hard. By all means, give it a go if you feel like reading something a bit challenging and thought-provoking, though!
cauchemarlena's review against another edition
3.0
Yersinia pestis - see on sõnapaar, millele inimesed üldiselt ei mõtle. Mõne jaoks on need täiesti tundmatud. Ometi märgivad need kaks ladinakeelset sõna tohutult suurt muutust inimkonna ajaloos. Must surm. See, kes selle kohutava nakkushaiguse levikule punkti pani, oli Alexandre Yersin. 1894. aastal tuvastas ta esimese inimesena katku põhjustava bakteri ning töötas välja sellevastase vaktsiini. Ta ei saanud selle eest ei Nobeli preemiat (sest seda lihtsalt ei olnud veel) ning tänaseks on tema nimi suuresti vajunud unustuse hõlma.
Patrick Deville'i raamat "Katk ja koolera" räägibki Yersini elust ja saavutustest. See põhineb tõestisündinud lugudel, teadlase kirjavahetusel ning arhiividokumentidel, kuid on siiski väljamõeldud romaan. Seda lugedes tundsin, kui mõnus see oleks audioraamatu või raadios etteloetava järjejutuna. Ise lugedes oleksin selle õhukese raamatu peaaegu aga pooleli jätnud.
Mulle ei meeldinud absoluutselt see, kuidas Deville peategelast kujutas. Mulle meeldisid ajastutruud kirjeldused, aga see, milline oli Yersin raamatukaante vahel tegi mind kurvaks ja ei sobinud minu visiooniga inimesest, kes tegi kõike seda, mida tegi Yersin oma eluea jooksul. Mulle jäi mulje, et hoolimata oma põhjalikust uurimistööst, ei suutnud autor leida seda kokkupuutepunkti, mis lähendaks teda teadlasele. Ta üritab kirjutada tema elust, kuid teeb seda valusalt läbi tagasivaatava tundmatu silmade. Yersin jõuab kogu oma elu jooksul teha väga palju mitmetes erinevates valdkondades, kuid lugejale jääb ta minu arvates selle teose jooksul ikkagi võõraks.
Patrick Deville'i raamat "Katk ja koolera" räägibki Yersini elust ja saavutustest. See põhineb tõestisündinud lugudel, teadlase kirjavahetusel ning arhiividokumentidel, kuid on siiski väljamõeldud romaan. Seda lugedes tundsin, kui mõnus see oleks audioraamatu või raadios etteloetava järjejutuna. Ise lugedes oleksin selle õhukese raamatu peaaegu aga pooleli jätnud.
Mulle ei meeldinud absoluutselt see, kuidas Deville peategelast kujutas. Mulle meeldisid ajastutruud kirjeldused, aga see, milline oli Yersin raamatukaante vahel tegi mind kurvaks ja ei sobinud minu visiooniga inimesest, kes tegi kõike seda, mida tegi Yersin oma eluea jooksul. Mulle jäi mulje, et hoolimata oma põhjalikust uurimistööst, ei suutnud autor leida seda kokkupuutepunkti, mis lähendaks teda teadlasele. Ta üritab kirjutada tema elust, kuid teeb seda valusalt läbi tagasivaatava tundmatu silmade. Yersin jõuab kogu oma elu jooksul teha väga palju mitmetes erinevates valdkondades, kuid lugejale jääb ta minu arvates selle teose jooksul ikkagi võõraks.
vincent29240's review against another edition
4.0
L'épopée du plus curieux des pasteuriens, de la Suisse à l'Indochine. Esprit génial et solitaire, comme en quête perpétuelle de la vérité sous ses multiples formes.
wookiee's review against another edition
4.0
Para aquellos que conozcan la vida de Yersin igual esta biografía novelada por su estilo austero y desapasionado quizás no les diga nada, a mi, que nada sabia de el y me gustan este tipo de libros me ha encantado conocerle, aunque si reconozco que otro autor le habría dado quizás un tono mas épico a sus muchas y extraordinarias andanzas.
beldc's review against another edition
3.0
Comienza despacio y puede resultar difícil de seguir; después mejora y cuenta la interesante vida de Yersin, un científico renacentista que vivió entre los siglos XIX y XX. Al final me ha gustado y lo he leído con avidez. Es interesante la forma de contar la vida del científico mezclada con la emocionante historia de su época.
cintiandrade's review against another edition
4.0
"À esquerda um pavilhão laranja e amarelo espetado com bastões de incenso. Os dois metros quadrados azul-celeste de território vietnamita que foram o centro do reino. Encontrou ali o repouso, encontrou o lugar e a fórmula. Poderíamos escrever a Vida de Yersin como uma vida de santo. Um anacoreta retirado em um chalé na selva fria, avesso a toda obrigação social, a vida de um eremita, um urso, um selvagem, um personagem genial, um belo esquisitão."
Este livro conta a vida de Alexandre Yersin, bacteriologista suíço que descobriu o bacilo da peste. Um gênio que abandonou o instituto Pasteur no ápice de sua fama como cientista para explorar o mundo (e se afastar da política). Afastado do laboratório, um gênio continua sendo um gênio - Yersin se torna médico, agrônomo, engenheiro, mecânico, avicultor, seringueiro, rei do quinino. Em todas as áreas pelas quais se interessou, se tornou um especialista. E continuou observando, estudando o mundo e escrevendo até seus últimos dias. Que homem incrível.
Este livro conta a vida de Alexandre Yersin, bacteriologista suíço que descobriu o bacilo da peste. Um gênio que abandonou o instituto Pasteur no ápice de sua fama como cientista para explorar o mundo (e se afastar da política). Afastado do laboratório, um gênio continua sendo um gênio - Yersin se torna médico, agrônomo, engenheiro, mecânico, avicultor, seringueiro, rei do quinino. Em todas as áreas pelas quais se interessou, se tornou um especialista. E continuou observando, estudando o mundo e escrevendo até seus últimos dias. Que homem incrível.
flogigyahoo's review against another edition
5.0
Goodreads did not find the English version of this book, but I assure you it exists. I read it as a paperback only on an outward bound flight to the USA and finished it only on the return home, hence the long reading period. This is a lovely book that tells of the life of Alexandre Yersin, the discoverer of the cause of plague although he did not connect it with fleas. The bacillus is named after him as yersina pestis. But if you expect a straight forward biography, it is not. It is purely a novel, starting in 1940, with flashbacks and flash forwards, sometimes our hero young and starting out, yet old and at the end of his life in some of the most beautiful prose I have ever read. His life of Yersin tells of a man who constantly asks questions, he grows plants in Indochina, makes a fortune in rubber only to invest it in his research and medical facilities there while studying quinine, he is interested in everything. He becomes famous but never wins a Nobel prize. One caveat: The title is Plague and Cholera but there is little mention of cholera in this novel nor in Wikipedia. So the title is misleading. No matter. J. A. Underwood is listed as translator. An intelligent job of a brilliantly written life of a great man.