Sebastian Faulks: Human Traces

The title implies an exploration of what it is to be human (as opposed to animal) – which is (partially) true but ironically this is explored through what is wrong with the human mind. – when this all clearly comes together. And it is only really at the very end of the book – almost the final chapter

I initially liked steady pace and unfolding of story but at times (e.g. university work at start and the subsequent transcripts of lectures) one does get little sense of being preacheed at and the learning is not worn lightly; indeed, it is occasionally over-emphatic to the detriment of the dramatic drive and focus of the novel. The academic/medical information does not always seem to come naturally from the unfolding of the story and the relationships. This is particularly true of the section located in Africa and of Great Rift valley.

Towards end, as the First World War approaches; large amounts of time covered very rapidly – too raodly in fact. But when we get trenches scene in Chapter 21, the quality of writing suddenly soars – like from different novel and as powerful as Birdsong – and it is noticeable that this sequence is focused and detailed, not larger-scale and generalized, as mentioned above. Rather a lot of the latter part seems less characterful and distinctive, perhaps as large amounts of time are being covered OR we are listening to a lecture – a certain rather generalized feel in the writing in the latter part of the novel generally.

The final chapter is a powerful and, to a degree, enigmatic but powerful conclusion – no absolute certainty, in a way, which is in keeping with the underlying theme of the often apparent impossibility of the human mind understanding itself.

The book, finally I think, is a meditation on what it is to be human, seen through the develop of medicine and psychiatry but at the end seems to take this theme and finish it in terms of a human individual – which is, essentially, what human existence is all about.