Asylum

Patrick McGrath, having fashioned his own unique literary design, has been a marvelous discovery for me, with this work “Asylum” being my initial undertaking. Breaking from his acclaimed “Gothic-Mystery” composition pattern, he has nevertheless provided us with a somber and deeply reflective work that explores the inner workings of the human psyche not quite chronicled in a literary context before.Told in a third person singular approach by Asylum psychiatrist/administrator Dr. Peter Cleave (we never really learn of the sanctuaries’ official name or location, only that it is close to London) who recounts this extraordinary tale from far past its denouement, we learn that he himself is a man not without his own peculiarities. As he divulges this fascinating account from its innocent beginning to its rather somber ending, he only solidifies an unsaid truth about his character…that he is certainly not all that he seems or claims to be.McGrath presents an overall melancholic and pedantic narrative that nonetheless draws the reader in with an air of mystery and subtlety that quickly becomes quite intoxicating…I found myself not able to put this book down while, quixotically, pages on end realized very little forward progress in the actual plotline, a true dichotomy.Max and Stella Raphael are a young couple who move inside the Asylum’s inner walls, Max being a psychiatrist of some intellect who has ambitious visions of becoming the facilities top administrator. Literally pouring himself into his work, his marriage, conversely, takes on a predictably chilly turn, almost to the extent that he and Stella stay together only for the sake of their son Charlie.But Stella is an exceedingly passionate women who quickly becomes acquainted with and then involved with Asylum patient Edgar Stark, a seemingly normal man who is assisting with the restoration of a conservatory on the Raphael’s property. But Edgar has a dangerous past...having been committed five years earlier for viciously killing his wife and insanely dismembering her. We hear Cleave at this point clinically break down Stark’s true psychosis and why any intimacy between him and Stella would only end disastrously.Cementing their emotions at the annual patients/staff dance, Edgar and Stella nevertheless begin a passionate and illicit affair…McGrath brilliantly describes their subsequent rendezvous’ with equal parts longing, despair and danger, shrewdly balancing their passion with their need to keep it discreetly under wraps. And as the affair burgeons, it of course leads to dire decisions and circumstances for both of them and for those who are immediately affected.This point in the book, for me, offered the best of McGrath’s writing…without attempting to give anything away, he expands the novel here in ways that may in fact bore some readers but it was nevertheless a brilliant breakdown into multiple psychotic reactions. Taking the time to truly analyze and understand human desire against the demand of proper etiquette, McGrath glowingly elucidates common addictive behavior as we witness our protagonists act out in ways not initially fathomed. And as the story continues, one somber event after another occurs but not without ample and almost excruciatingly introspective time to experience the deep nuances of the mentally disturbed. Only the ending, I believe, will display the utter misconceptions that our narrator was under and how little, contrary to his highly informed background, he truly understood about all facets of mental illness.With all of this emotion aside, “Asylum” to me is an outstanding work and one worthy of any fiction loving reader’s time. I again will reinforce that there are moments where the plot seems to decamp, but please keep up with these interludes as it is very important in establishing emotional and mental positions toward the stories’ conclusion. Overall, I loved this work and look very much forward to other acclaimed McGrath books…my guess here is that most other readers will feel the same.

I highly recommend this book. Not a tale for the fragile of heart. Stella, a vibrant woman, seemingly overlooked by her husband, becomes entangled with a psychiatric patient at the hospital where they are stationed. The patient is Edgar Stark and the attraction is immediate, sexual and all consuming. A sad, dark tale all round. Culminating in the death of a child, suicide and the destruction of a seemingly normal woman (Stella). I was quite intrigued by the dark turn of Dr. Peter Cleave, a friend to all. He came out in this story as a kind of malignant presence, who masqueraded as the opposite. This was a dark and often sad tale, but life is not happy for most of us. The descriptions of the bleak Welsh countryside resonated deeply. This is a worthy, well written tale, but very dark and heavy, very sad and you will feel like weeping over what happens to the characters. Brilliant writing, crafty suspense, and a real insight into the heaviness of the heart.

A psychiatrist narrator recounts how his "friends" (we begin to wonder the narrator's true motives as the novel moves along), fellow psychiatrist Max and Max's wife Stella, suffer a failed marriage. Max is effete, inept, egotistical, completely lacking in passion and intimacy. His whole life is defined by his work at an asylum for criminal patients. Stella's marriage to Max in a way is the real asylum. Tormented by passions and lusts, Stella begins a completely irrational affair with one of the patients, thus beginning a whole new kind of torture. This is a novel of extremes--extreme loneliness, extreme passion, extreme repression, extreme self-abandonment. Humans were not designed for healthy relationships, the narrator seems to be saying, and thus are doomed to a life of imprisonment whether it be that of the frosty cell of a passionless marriage or the mercurial tumult of illicit sexual passion. McGrath has created an assured, suspensful novel wrought with psychological complexity and universal themes, which makes it one of the best novels in the last ten years or so. If you enjoy this novel, I hope you will try James Lasdun's The Horned Man, another great novel about repression told by a dubious narrator, and a perfect complement to Asylum.

Fascinating story of obsession. A beautiful woman and a psychopath fall in lust. Stella is a completely self-absorbed character who causes great harm to those who love her. She throws herself at the wrong man and they begin a strange relationship that excludes reality. I couldn't put the book down and found it well written and mesmerizing.

Some friends and I picked this book to read for a book dicussion group. I thought maybe it would be dark and haunting in a kind of spooky way, like Shirley Jackson's "House on Haunted Hill" and so forth. I was disappointed on that end, but that doesn't mean this isn't a very well written book.The main thing that struck me about this book was that its entirely accurate picture of what a depressive state can do to one's mind and attitudes about things happening in their life is contagious; I walked away from this book feeling incredibly depressed! Maybe I empathize too much, but I found the feelings depicted here to be very accurate, so maybe that makes the book a little more educational.One of the very good things about this book is the narrator; I particularly liked that aspect. Overall, a very well written book but perhaps too dark in a realistic way for some people.

I found this book extremely compelling - so much so that I couldn’t put it down and read it continuously over the course of two days. Having been involved in a morbidly obsessive relationship myself, I have not found a literary treatment that better captures the all-consuming nature of such affairs. This author has really seen something in human nature and successfully translated this into literature. I felt slightly let down by the end of the book, which I felt lacked credibility. How in the world would Stella and the criminal lover she aided and abetted have ended up in the same prison??? - just weird! It also violates all standards of psychotherapeutic ethics for Cleve to have been treating Stella in the second half of the book when he had known her personally in the first half. I have worked in psychology for many years, and these sorts of things just would NOT happen in a reputable institution run by professional psychiatrists. One of the first things you learn when you a training to be a psychotherapist is that you can NEVER treat someone you have a shared history with because there are issues involving boundaries and confidentiality. Even though this fact spoiled the credibility of the novel for me somewhat, I’m still giving this book 5 stars because it was a cracking read and truly captured the nature of a pathological state.

Now I don't know much about McGrath's work but this description from Penguin leads me to believe that the `unreliable narrator' is a preferred tool of his and it definitely works in this context with our narrator being Dr Cleave, another psychiatrist, seemingly removed for the actual events going on and a lot of the novel is made up of things that Stella told him, therefore completely unreliable!It was a funny angle to read from if I'm honest, as from the blurb I was expecting to be reading from the point of view of the husband Max or from a completely omniscient narrative perspective but this wasn't the case. I'm not sure I understand exactly why McGrath chose to use Cleave as his narrator, aside from the fact that he's a medical superintendant and therefore suitably qualified to discuss both Edgar and Stella's mental states.I definitely found this novel thought-provoking as I find its subject matter thought provoking but I felt nothing for any of the characters. I don't know if it was intentional but there wasn't a single character drawn with any empathy, even Stella and Max's young son Charlie appears neutrally. I'm used to finding at least one character I can get involved in but this novel seemed to focus more on story than characterisation and it was fairly fast-paced which I enjoyed.Would I recommend it? If you're interested in the history of mental health treatment/psychiatry and such like - Yes.

I don't intend to give a synopsis of the story here as many other reviewers have done this far better than I can but I did want to say what an extraordinary book this is and I would recommend it 100%.I would put this book in my top 5, it was such a compelling read, I simply could not put it down and felt almost bereaved when I had finished it. I have been unable to start another book yet as I am still ruminating on the story I have just finished - it is one of those that stays with you a long time after The End.The essential simplicity of the plot belied the tragic happenings that occur, right up to the final tragedy. The main theme is the ruination of people's lives when one acts on selfish instinct (in this case, sexual obsession) with little regard for the carnage left in its wake. McGrath develops his characters with his distinctive but understated prose and you get such a 'feel' for each of them very early on in the book. I also found myself with a vivid picture of each scene he describes, in remarkable detail in my mind, it was a book that sucked you in and would not let you go.For any discerning reader with an interest in mental illness, the affairs of the heart and the human condition, you will not be disappointed.

I finished this in two days and was gripped from the start. In the beginning you have a lot of sympathy for Stella, but gradually you want to shake her for her pure selfishness as she destroys everything she touches. Especially sad were the heart-breaking scenes with her son Charlie towards the end of the book when he just wants his mother to go on the school trip with him. My sympathies were with Max at the end of the book as his whole life unravels. The narrator is manipulative and controlling and apparently in the film he is played by Sir Ian McKellen who would be the perfect actor for the character. The story was tragic and you could guess the terrible ending but I had little sympathy for Stella and her deceitful ways. What carnage she left behind.

I love the dark mood of this book. I couldn't put it down. I don't want to spoil the story for future readers by saying too much, but it is a very good portrayal of obsession & mental illness.