The Diagnosis

Rating:
Summary: A National Book Award Nominee?
Review: Clearly, it is currently chic to "like" this book. The National Book Foundation had Lightman's latest up as a nominee for the 2000 National Book Award for fiction. I eagerly read THE DIAGNOSIS with great anticipation. I was again disappointed with the "literary" reviews from "serious" reviewers. This book is awful. Is there a kind way to put it?

I am at a loss to find the "brilliance" in this novel. There are moments of intense description that show flashes of real talent. Maybe even a remarkable talent. But not near enough of them to salvage the plot, the characters - the book. E-mails (complete with headers) are used throughout the novel, this is an okay device, but the messages which (I guess) were to be more realistic with misspellings and typos were so ridiculous as to be obnoxious. If I received e-mails with typos like those depicted as "normal" in this book from MY attorney, MY physician, etc... I would clearly look elsewhere. Hasn't Mr. Lightman heard of spell check? Does he really think NOBODY uses it? I found this very distracting and it actually achieved the opposite by making the e-mails almost parodies and very unrealistic.

The story rises and falls, rises and falls, ultimately going - nowhere. THE DIAGNOSIS is actually a collection of paragraphs, some of which were actually penned with great skill. However, this book goes nowhere. Literally, nowhere. I am trying to write this ever so carefully as to not give anything away but I am now thinking, what could I possibly give away? There's certainly no suspense, no characters that you invest your emotions in, and in the end, you'll be glad you didn't try to get too close. It is one thing for a novel to not have a resolution, I can accept that (and do all the time). What I cannot understand from a book nominated for a National Book Award is a story with not only no resolution, but one with no resolutions of its dozen or more sub-plots. None of which ever really developed and of those that kept me mildly curious - no resolution! What was the purpose?

I think about having read some truly great novels (Of Human Bondage, Look Homeward Angel, even On The Road!) and then think back on this book and wonder what Somerset Maugham, especially, would have said about such a novel being recognized as a National Book Award nominee. I can only imagine. It is a bit frightning to me actually to think this is being considered great fiction by some. Are we entering another one of those periods where writers have to write something off-the-wall, breaking all the rules, using cheap device tricks to get noticed, while writing truly poor stories? And then have the publishing house hype it so that reviewers are afraid to be considered fogeys if they don't at least *pretend* they loved it?

Summed up: This book belongs on remainder tables, not in lights as a National Book Award nominee. Harsh? I know. But my gosh, THE DIAGNOSIS is awful.

Rating:
Summary: Get a Second Opinion
Review: Firstly, this novel has the seed of several provocative ideas- it was no surprise to see that it ws proofed by Don Delillo, from whom it borrows freely. But a gem here and there does not a novel make. The plot takes you from the stark epiphany of one grim realization to another but does not capitalize or build upon any relationship between chapters. An aimless subway ride, hordes of commuters drowning in information, a wanton medical intervention, a faceless company dedicated to the "maximum information in the minimum time"- these are the background events to the mysterious ailment which destroys the body. Lightman's tale of alienation and hopelessness has little comic relief (except the description of the doctors) or redeeming factors of any kind to justify faith in the future. The main character's loving son communicates to his Dad by email even when he is in the same house. The successful company man ages prematurely and works all night. The Bill GAtes figure seeks to buy the birth certificate (?birthright) of all americans- and he want to "go global". The novel draws a parallel to the Death of Socrates which over reaches its metaphor and misses the opportunity for...irony. Irony is exactly what The Diagnosis lacks. It just succumbs.

Rating:
Summary: Modern Day Kafka Nightmare
Review: I don't know about you, but I am often very concerned about the rapid technological progress taking place. It often seems that the technology is controlling us, rather than we who have control over it. Lightman's novel The Diagnosis deals with the effect of technology on modern man. He has created a frightening vision of a world that is more than slightly out of control and where humanity is being replaced with consumerism and a greedy, unsatiable need to devour ever more information. The novel begins with the protagonist, Bill Chalmers, taking the subway to work just as he does everyday. On his way to work, Bill (who works for an information processing company whose motto is, "the most information in the least amount of time,") loses his memory. After riding back and forth through the entire subway route he takes off his clothes and lies naked in the fetal position on the subway car floor. The police arrive and lead him away. Bill then has some minor adventures in a hospital before escaping and finding himself in a church inhabited by bingo players. Within a short amount of time, he finds himself on the church stage, enclosed within a glass telephone-booth called 'the money box,' wherein winners of the bingo games go to try and collect as many falling $20 bills as they can before they are vacuumed out. While grabbing at the money, Bill has an epiphany and regains his memory. That, in a nutshell, is approximately the first third of the book. It is Kafka-esque in its brilliant and horrifying depiction of an aspect of modern society. Every page had me on the edge and put into characters and situations what I could only express through philosophy. It was very exciting. The latter two thirds, unfortunately, never moved me as forcefully as that first part. But, perhaps this is because of the power of the story itself. You see, during the rest of the book Bill becomes physically numb - he loses all sensation in his body. He is able to walk, to pick things up, even to type (albeit at a slower pace) but he can't feel anything. But, as this condition deteriorates, he begins to emotionally feel more. He becomes a metaphor for modern man's perpetually numb, spiritually vacuous internal condition and he is only able to recognize this condition when he loses bodily sensation. The irony is that as he becomes more reliant on his mind, he becomes less abstract and more desirous of feelings. Now, if the book was only about Bill Chalmers and his trials and tribulations it would be a very good and meaningful book. But it is much more than that. The subsidiary characters are his wife (who carries on an email affair while Bill is at work), his son (who locks himself in his room while hacking away at his computer or fantasizing about being a medieval knight), and a bevy of doctors who are unwilling to confirm any type of diagnosis on Bill's condition because there remain a litany of tests they can continue to perform. These characters add a dimension to the book which fleshes out a richer and, in many ways, more frightening picture of modern life than if Lightman had only stuck with Bill and the corporate world. But Lightman goes even a step further than this by including a third story within the novel - a fictionalized account of Socrates' death. This third part is perhaps the most intriguing part of the novel. What makes it interesting, and in many ways refreshingly novel, is that it is told from the perspective of Anytus, Socrates' chief persecutor in Plato's The Trial and Death of Socrates. Rather than giving away the sub-plot, I just pose the question - "Is Bill Chalmers, the hyper-efficient modern man always in search of, and continually processing, new information, who loses his mind and then his body the equivalent of Socrates? Or, is Bill Chalmers the modern Anytus who has killed Socrates and is now suffering for this sin?" I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a serious and well-written read. For those of you, like Mr. Chalmers, who are concerned with time, it took me about 10 hours or so to read this book.

Rating:
Summary: I'm Up Here on the Fence
Review: I rate this novel as a three, half way between one and five. Lightman gets a one for characters and story, but a five for sheer writing prowess. This is a completely schizophrenic work. On one hand it is rivoting with his use of language and his ability to create mind bending visual images. This brilliance is juxtaposed to an inexcusible storyline and structure. None of the characters are sympathetic or likable, the direction is lamentably predictable, and there is no resolution. Cassandra was blessed with clear prophecy but cursed in that no one would believe her. Similarly Lightman has the writing skills of a Steven Crane but the story development of a made-for-TV screen writer. I realize that redemption is not the goal of all novels, but some crumb must be thrown to the patient reader. A morose story can have it's place, but I don't see that to be the case here. There is no larger lesson or deeper insight to be had between the covers. I would recommend this book for anyone who loves great writing while warning off those in search of a page-turning plot or a uplifting moral.

Rating:
Summary: Only Smatterings of Excellence
Review: After a long absence, Alan Lightman returns with a new novel. Unfortunately, the two novels since the undeniably brilliant Einstein's Dreams have been stories of diminishing returns.

This is a wonderful concept for a novel. Anyone who has ever felt very ill and not known the cause will sympathize with Bill Chalmers. Lightman does a credible job of conveying Chalmers' fear, especially during the initial attack of amnesia. After awhile, though, the story seems to go off track, offering a rather bland descent into job loss, lawsuit, and paralysis.

I was also disappointed by two things in particular. The first I will frame as a question: Do real, educated people really misspell so obviously and often in their e-mails? If I received e-mails from my business associates and, particularly, my doctor with the number of typos that Lightman provides, I would find myself new associates.

Secondly, I was disappointed in the presence of this "dialogue of Plato" in pieces recurring throughout the novel. This trend of telling a parallel story intertwined in the body of the main novel is one that I have seen a lot lately (Richard Powers' and Margaret Atwood's most recent novels spring to mind) and, generally, it has not been used very effectively, in my opinion. Certainly, the story of Anytus offers almost nothing to the story of Chalmers. I don't understand its presence here.

Despite this, the novel is a quick read and not an unpleasant way to spend an afternoon; however, there are many other novels I'd choose before this one.

Rating:
Summary: A book out of its time?
Review: The reviews of this novel have seemed mixed, and that caused me to re-analyze the book prior to writing a review. My initial reaction to The Diagnosis was very positive -- I found the characters were very realistic depictions of the classes of people we see every day. The fictional dialogue of Plato, evidently causes most readers to search for some connection to Bill and his story. I think the connection is there (esp. in the relationships between fathers and sons), but the more important point seems to be the very ambition of Lightman to attempt a connection.

In rethinking the book, I began to imagine that this novel was being read by someone in the year 2020. From that perspective, how would it be viewed? It seems that as an allegorical tale that ties the problems of the present to the lessons of the past, there is some significant substance here. The reader of 20 years from now would probably wonder why so much time was spent on useless email (since they will only have useful email in the future, I am sure) and why no accurate diagnosis could ever be found. Surely, then, it is all metaphor and there is no diagnosis for what afflicts us as a society now -- for we are in the middle of it and don't have the perspective of time or distance yet.

My bottom line is that The Diagnosis is worth reading now, and may be worth even more to your children.

Rating:
Summary: Fatal But Not Serious
Review: I didn't like this book on several levels: the texture of the prose, the tactics of storytelling, the dropping of threads of character and incident, and the final failure of resolution.

If the reader is not in a great hurry, the first sentence will start an itch that subsequent ones never do scratch: "People must have been in a great hurry, for no one noticed anything wrong with Bill Chalmers as he dashed from his automobile one fine summer morning." Well, the fact is, there was nothing to notice. Bill Chalmers looked and acted as normal as all the other cell-phoning and stressed-out commuters. The fact that he subsequently lost his mind is not forshadowed in his appearance or behavior.

This would be an ungenerous quibble if it were not lamentably representative of failures throughout the book-local non-starters like the first sentence, or larger problems like characters with incomprehensible motives or with no particular relation to what seems to be the story, up to such overarching issues as the whole point of the thing.

Now, I'm not one of those practical souls who insists that fiction must teach or warn. By the point of the story, I guess I mean the arc of drama and character that the reader comes to care about and wants to follow. I recognize that a legitimate aim of fiction these days is to experiment with the form by dashing certain of the reader's expectations. Could this novel be one of those experimental works? Could it be that what looks like poor technique here is actually supreme control in the service of ironical meta-fiction?

Not.

I must say, though, that certain sections were much more compelling than others. In particular, the Greek "lessons", which formed a story-within-a-story, invoked atmosphere and summoned character noticeably better than did the writing in the main story. (Though there were scenes in the main story that were well-drawn, too, such as the Bingo game, or Petrov's waiting room.) But even here, in this smaller, simpler tale, the point of the action got lost. (Why did the assassin look into the third cell on the right? Who killed him in Socrates' cell? Why was the Megarian around at all?) More disturbing than that, though, was that the point of the whole Greek side of the narrative never became clear.

Anyway, I read the book aloud, in concert with my wife, over a period of two weeks or so. Perhaps it has a better narrative flow at a faster pace, and so I'm being unfair and picky. And perhaps I'm missing clear clues that bring the narrative into focus. Perhaps.

Rating:
Summary: Diagnosis: Poor
Review: A poorly argued and heavy handed polemic in novel's clothing, with wooden characters and an obvious, plodding plot. It's clear that Lightman is trying to say something "significant" about the dehumanizating impact of technology, but it's all been said before, and better, by more talented writers and deeper thinkers. One expects more from this author, though there were in fact signs of decline in his second effort, the barely noticed "Good Benito".

Rating:
Summary: Lightman's Nightmare
Review: I was very disappointed by this novel. While the concept behind it is important and timely, Mr. Lightman's writing is uneven and careless - something I would never have expected from the author of the beautifully written "Einstein's Dreams."

The effort required to stay with this story of a man being compressed out of existence by materialistic, yuppie values was almost too much. A major source of irritation was the 50+ emails Lightman has used. Why he includes the full text of every email, including all the extraneous header information, is a bit of a puzzle. It strikes me as the type of thing a student would do when trying to pump up the word count in an essay they don't want to write. Worse, perhaps, the emails are full of typos and misspellings regardless of whether they are from the main character's young son, a company CEO or a specialist in neurological disorders. If this was meant as a sarcastic commentary on the absence of quality in our modern, interpersonal skills, 2 or 3 examples would have sufficed. By the 10th (or 50th) example, it is the quality of the book itself that becomes questionable.

As for the overall quality of the book, Lightman's writing displays a surprising lack of care from the very first page. No matter where you are in the book, you're never more than a page or two away from some indication of Lightman's inability to identify with his characters or the situations he places them in. Lightman's description of how the main character is affected by the mysterious ailment afflicting him (going completely numb, beginning with the hands and feet) constantly stretches credibility. There are too many points in the story in which you've just been told that the main character has lost all feeling in some extremity only to find him using it a few pages later. Can you imagine using a computer keyboard if you had no feeling in your hands? Or walking around on completely numb feet?

Of course, this is fiction, and you expect there might be moments where "realism" will be stretched to accommodate the story. So, maybe you can forgive walking on numb feet..., but the manner in which Lightman dispenses with realism does nothing for this story and, in the end, it leads me to conclude that he never really cared about any of it. How else can you explain things like a passage (one of many examples) in which the protagonist is driving in very slow, bumper-to-bumper traffic, has to slam on the brakes and is thrown against the dashboard? That he would be "thrown" at all is stretching things, but even so, how could Lightman have imagined this without realizing that the character wouldn't hit the dashboard but the steering wheel?

In a rather ironic sense, buying and reading this book will make you guilty of perpetuating the social illness Mr. Lightman is attempting to expose: spending time and money on things that lack true quality and satisfy no needs of the human heart.

Rating:
Summary: Metamorphosis Lite
Review: Lightman has been praised for using this novel to take a hard look at the technological dystopia that our world seems to increasingly resemble. Unfortunately, the look amounts to little more than a glance: Lightman doesn't make much of an effort to explore the ramifications of such a world. Rather, he presents a fairly straightforward narrative which is initially absorbing but eventually frustrating. It's like Kafka without heft, Orwell sans allegory.

As for the fictionalized Dialogue by Plato, I think the Amazon.com reviewer had it right: "I never did fully figure out exactly what the Socrates story and Bill's decline have to say about each other..." That's because Lightman provides no real thread between the stories, leaving a rather large metaphoric gap for the reader to bridge. It's as if the author has excused himself from his *own* Dialogue in the face of truly difficult questions -- leaving both his characters and us none the wiser for it.

According to Lightman, _The Diagnosis_ is: figure it out for yourself.