Doctor Olaf Van Shuler's Brain is a compelling collection of short stories which begins in 1664 with Doctor Olaf Van Shuler and continues into the present with chapters chronicling his many descendants. All these descendants become doctors. Treating an extremely diverse variety of illnesses. In this sense, the book acts not only as a strong work of fiction, but as an interesting, detailed and educational history of New York. All of New York's citizens are represented, from the rich right down to the poor. The stories all have a somber tone to them and no matter how much I rooted for the characters, things never seemed to work out well. Makes one wonder why so many people, despite their best efforts, just can't seem to achieve happiness. ( )

Latently insane medical man Olaf von Schuler and the generations of his progeny practice their quackery (although it is always accepted medical practice for it's time) on unsuspecting patients down through the years. Helping literally nobody to get better, and killing and crippling some, the "novel" is really a series of generationally linked stories primarily focusing on the doctors but sometimes on the patients. The stories begin with Dr. Schuler's emigation to America in the 17th century and ends in the modern day. The doctors are all male, of course, until you get to the last generation.

The novel is sometimes quite funny in an ironic sort of way, but often sad and even tragic. Once you understand the structure and theme it is almost suspenseful wondering what the next generation will be and do. You keep hoping they might at least help somebody. In the end you begin to wonder if even today the cure isn't often worse than the disease.

I had fun with it. It is not a difficult read, Menger-Anderson's prose is largely unobtrusive. I was surprised it wasn't rated higher on GR. ( )

A lovely collection of interconnected short stories that center around a multi-genenerational family of doctors living in New York City. The stories are presented in chronological order: the first is set in 1664, the last in 2006. Many of the stories use a now-outdated treatment as a set-piece (mesmerism, phrenology, lobotomies, radium cures, silicone breast implants). However, they are so well-written and character-centered that the device (however repeated) doesn't feel over-used. Overall, the beautiful language and tight complexity of these stories make this a collection worth reading. ( )

What an interesting book!

The premise is smartly done: A doctor in the 1600s, just after the middle ages, starts the book with his story, then progresses very nicely through the generations of his family tree ... doctor after doctor after doctor. The chapters read as short stories, and indeed, some were published separately in various publications apart from appearing in this book.

Not all of the stories center around the doctor. Some center around how the doctor is treating the main character. There is talk of bleeding someone as a cure, drinking a tincture to become pregnant, shock therapy, a very early lobotomy, and the move away from silicone breast implants. The stories follow the latest in medical procedure and technology, ending in the year 2006. And not all treat physical ailments. The science of phrenology is examined, as is "hysteria" and retardation.

Very compelling, very clever, nice writing and extremely fluid, giving the single thread that weaves through the book. Highly recommended for a different sort of reading experience! ( )

Being a collection of short stories which have been cobbled together to resemble a novel and which describe moments in the lives of the descendants of a Nieuw Amsterdam quack down through the centuries till to-day. The family line, at least those members described, consists entirely of individuals who make a living practicing on the outer fringes of medical respectability. It is, of course, not particularly easy to believe in a premise which involves 350-some years of a family all involved in the same subprofession, and staying in the same city, but that's why they call it fiction, I suppose. Although this is a fascinating premise, it may have sounded better in theory than execution. Most of the stories are mildly interesting, but hardly page-turners (contrary to the over-enthusiastic blurbs, written by individuals who clearly are very easily impressed). The potential for the generations lapping over into each other's stories is not realized very often; if said characters recur, it is mostly as brief memories who don't affect the action. This book, for its merits, seems mostly to me to represent a missed opportunity. ( )

Couldn't get into it. ( )

This is an interesting experiment in short story writing that does not entirely succeed. Brain follows the descendants of immigrant von Schuler as they make their way through years of quackery and medical fads. Some of the stories make for entertaining reading (such as the one about they innkeeper whose fat, alcoholic wife fell victim to spontaneous human combustion), others not so much (there was a story in the middle of the book that involved a character called the Fool (or something like that) that I couldn’t force my way through).

It was irritating that the stories had loose ends that were either tied up in a following story (the reader doesn’t really find out what really happens at the end of the title story until the following one) or not tied up at all (what happened to the Jewish woman who left her family to marry one of Dr. von S’s descendants? According to the family tree at the beginning of the book, she died young, but no where does it tell what happened to her. Was she done in by the radium she took as a homemade fertility treatment? Did people really do that during the 1930’s?).

The best of the lot is The Story of Her Breasts. As Aristotle says about tragedy, it succeeded in arousing both pity and fear in me as main character Sheila–a typical 70’s girl–slowly succumbs to silicone-related illness. ( )

The idea driving the book was a clever one, as it follows the generations of the family through their own special flavors of nuttiness. The author does a great job of pulling in real historical context, making it interesting to see what changes and what doesn't, and it was intellectually interesting to think about the neurological and psychiatric connections between the very different lives of the generations. The writing is engaging enough, and it made for a quick read.

But...

I finished the book feeling "eh". It's not that there was a crummy ending or anything -- it was just one of those books that was never bad enough to put down, but also never connected with me strongly enough for me to care much what happened. It reads as if the author was far more interested in the idea, and all the literary aspects of executing that idea, than in the actual characters themselves.

If I were going to come across this book again, knowing what I know now, I'd probably still pick it up to read, but maybe from the library instead. ( )

I just finished this book and have to say I'm charmed. Essentially a series of vignettes that center around several generations of one family, each story is perfectly capable of standing alone. Each generation of the Steenwycks family contains at least one doctor- always on the cutting edge of medicine, often a little bit insane. I liked that some of the stories didn't actually focus on the doctors as much as on the people they treated, and loved that the city of New York itself was such an important character throughout the book.

I can understand how the structure could be off-putting to some readers, but I found that it worked well, and allowed for a more nuanced presentation of the Steenwycks family than I think would have been possible using the more typical novel construction. ( )

Kirsten Menger-Anderson's "Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain" traces one New York City family from their arrival in New York in the early 17th century to the modern day. But the family history has a twist--all of the family members share two things--a medical curiosity the leads them to become doctors and a tendency to go crazy. As Menger-Anderson traces the family through history in short vignettes, the depths of the family's insanity becomes clear, as does the fact that no one can escape it.

Menger-Anderson's story is intriguing, and the author has a style that keeps you reading to the very end. Each short story begins with a puzzle--why are these people in this situation--and then quickly builds to a climax that keeps you asking more questions. The author takes different approaches to introduce the central family in each story, and each individual's story adds to the overall family puzzle.

I really enjoyed this book, and I often enjoy interwoven short stories. But this book may not be for everyone--the narrative thread is only loosely carried from story to story and some of the characters are not very likable. But I would recommend this book--it's a great thinking story. ( )

In the editorial reviews at Amazon.com, the Washington Post says, "this little book isn't for everyone." I believe that maybe I'm one of those people this book wasn't meant for. But because I enjoy New York City history, I thought I'd give it a try.

I enjoyed the idea for the book: Doctor Olaf Van Schuler arrives in New Amsterdam in the late 17th century, hounded from the old country after his less-than-salubrious activities become public knowledge. The rest of the book follows the Van Schuler/Steenwyck family through the generations in New York City, some of them doctors (and of these, many are quacks with some crazy ideas). Everything from hypnotism to lobotomy is practiced by the doctors in this short story collection, and I enjoyed watching the family's adventures as the generations progressed.

However, I thought that it was really hard for me to get involved with any of the characters, especially since this book is essentially a series of vignettes that often seem to not connect. As such, there's no character development, and it's very difficult to tell some of them apart. The lack of historical depth and detail is also frustrating; and as a New Yorker, I wonder why the nineteenth-century Steenwycks live on Orchard Street, in an impoverished immigrant neighborhood, when they have the means to live further uptown among other Dutch families (I don't know; maybe I'm missing some details there?). In addition, as I read, I kept hoping that there was something, aside from the doctors' interests in how the brain works and their unconventional treatments, that would tie all these stories together. I was disappointed in that.

As I've said, however, I enjoyed the idea for this book, and I also liked the author's turns of phrases. It's a small book and a fast read. ( )

In 1664, Dr. Olaf van Schuler moves to New Amsterdam, which will one day become New York City. In the New World he starts a family and that family produces doctor after doctor, running through the generations. Doctor Olaf van Schuler’s Brain is a series of short stories about Olaf van Schuler’s descendants and the brushes they have with science and madness.

Menger-Anderson’s writing is excellent. From the very first page she managed to hook me and pull me in. Her stories are short, so every word seems to be carefully chosen for its effect. I liked a lot of the stories too, some better than others (but that’s inevitable in a collection). Like I said in the synopsis, a theme in a lot of the stories is science and madness and how the two intersect in van Schuler’s family. The stories are all very strange, quirky, and often unresolved. They are essentially mysterious, little pieces of time cut out of the family’s history.

I didn’t mind that most of the stories were unresolved. I thought it lent the whole book an enigmatic air that I really enjoyed. However, each story is so short that I never learned to feel for any of the characters with the exception of a few buzzing around in the background. Also, even though the stories are short, I never felt like I wanted more. In that sense, Doctor Olaf van Schuler’s Brain is perfectly satisfactory but not exceptional. ( )

I was so excited when I found out that this was my Early Reviewer book because it was compared favorably to Perfume, which is one of my favorite books. Unfortunately, when you set the bar really high you're bound to be disappointed.
The book shares the quirkiness and love of the past with the Perfume. However, it lacks Perfume's complexity and sensuality.
Still, it was definitely an enjoyable read. Some stories are much better than others and could probably have been expanded to a novella or novel-length. ( )

Doctor Olaf Van Schuler’s Brain is written as a series of short stories connected to one another through twelve generations of one family. Each generation of the Steenwycks produces a doctor who in some fashion studies the intricacies of the brain. The writing is excellent and the stories are fascinating – some barbaric, some sad and some metaphorically significant, namely one titled, “A Spoonful Makes You Fertile”. I have to confess, however, that some of the metaphors eluded me.

Although short stories are not my favorite format, I had high hopes for this one because of the anticipated connection between the stories – I expected them to tie up very cleverly in the end. I was disappointed. I understood some of the motivations of the characters but not enough to make a correlation down the years. If there was a common theme between the generations aside from a very eccentric ancestral history and the practice of medicine, I missed it. That dissatisfaction aside I give this novel 3 ½ stars because of the superb writing. ( )

This is a really neat book. I know I should say more than that, but thinking about it too much almost takes the fun out of it!

Oh alright -- in the interests of the spirit of the Early Reader's program, I'll relent.

Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain traces a family of quacks over many generations in a series of short stories. Together, the stories almost form a novel, but not quite.

Menger-Anderson has a lovely writing style. She uses a light touch: the right words in the right places, just enough to paint a mood or set a character well.

*mild plot spoiler, this paragraph only*
Taken in the context of quackery, the last two stories are cautionary tales, but the great part was how they snuck up on me -- fantastic! Menger-Anderson didn't display any particular bias about the medical treatments in these stories, which led me to realize that she had presented all her stories of quackery with the same unbiased care. It was I who judged the validity of the treatments, and I who failed to see how quackery in its time was not. Modern medical practices may one day be viewed with the same kind of disdain we reserve for leeches, phrenology and snake oil treatments.

This novel should have a fairly broad appeal -- to fans of short stories, historical lit, or anyone who likes to read something off the beaten path every now and then. The closest book I can compare it to that I read recently is Blood-Letting and Other Miraculous Cures, which I thought was a bit over-rated. Compared to Doctor Olaf, it was quite over-rated.

I look forward to Menger-Anderson's next effort. ( )

"Doctor Olaf van Shuler, recently arrived in New Amsterdam with his lunatic mother, two bags of medical implement's, and a carefully guarded book of his own medicines, moved into a one-bedroon house near White Hall and soon found work at the hospital on Brugh Street. There, surrounded by misshapen bottles containing tinctures of saffron, wild strawberry, maple, and oil of amber, as well as more common tools of his trade- amputation saws, scapels, sharpened needles, and long pain stakingly pounded probes- he indulged his peculiar perversion: slicing heads."
And so begins the story of Doctor Olaf van Schuler. Most of his life is spent trying to find a cure for his lunatic mother, which he keeps locked up in a crate.
Each chapter takes the reader into the life of a doctor who may be just as crazy as the patients they are trying to cure. Each doctor is a descendant of Doctor Olaf van Schuler.
One chapter has a doctor performing brain surgery on a patient to remove a stone (possibly a tumor) while he is wide awake setting in a chair. Another one performs a lobotomy on his own sister.
Some stories are told from the doctors point of view and others from the patients. You cant tell the doctors care about the people and truly want to help them. Makes a person appreciate the advance in modern medicine. Excellent debut novel. ( )

Finally! An Early Reviewer book that conforms to my credo: I'd rather be offended than bored. This book is quirky, providing a kind of personal history of New York, seen through episodes in the lives of one family, starting from the time when New York was a Dutch colony. It reminds me of Muybridge's moving pictures - light flashing through slits - anything but continual, yet elegantly fascinating. The points of view shift, the focus is on the smallest details of everyday life: smells, moments of experience. Interesting enough as that is, when you add in the obsession of the main family characters with the brain, and the changing paradigms that prevail over the last several hundred years, the book moves into the truly engrossing. I have read a couple of pages straight away of each ER book I have received, and this was the first that I had to continue reading immediately. In other words a great score for me and a great read. Actually it was not offensive really, it was just not at all boring. ( )