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Monday, May 30, 2016

Interesting Fiction About Illness

The four books listed below are full of life and despite being about sickness, are entertaining, absorbing and fun to read.
 
In a world full of stress, illness and problems, sometimes it's nice to calmly sit and read about them as a break from living them.
 
Keep calm and healthy and try reading some interesting fiction about illness.



Fever by Mary Beth Keane



Typhoid Mary was the healthy woman who spread the disease around 1900's New York City. She's a cook for nice Manhattan families whom she unwittingly and tragically murders one by one before she is eventually caught and charged with being contagious and is dumped in prison to be poked prodded and studied while science catches up with the facts of spreading infection.

All the more interesting since it's based on fact.



 

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes


A cute English girl living in the modern-day countryside is desperate to find a job so she can support her family, so she takes a position as an aide for a paraplegic man, who seems horrid at first but due to her optimism and general loveliness she really does make him a happier human.

Very absorbing, this story will suck you in and chew up your heart a little before spitting you out. Loved. It.




Say What You Will by Connie McGovern


A high school student boy with OCD and anxiety issues befriends a handicapped girl in his grade when he is employed by her mother to carry her books for her while she uses her walker to travel between classes. He bursts her bubble, telling her to stop faking being happy all the time, and her slow paced communication via computer calms him down, as she seems to understand his issues for what they really are.

Theirs is an unlikely relationship which is lovely and painful to watch but impossible to ignore.






The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-time by Mark Haddon


An autistic boy in love with prime numbers and totally hating the color yellow one day discovers his neighbor's dog Wellington dead in the yard, leading to the treasure hunt/mystery solving adventure of his logical lifetime.

Written by a Psychologist, this story is eye-opening, while being simultaneously hilarious and devastating.




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