This is a book of bibliotherapy: reading matter for anyone wishing to cure themselves of any ailment using cures from literature — a list of remedies for conditions ranging from abandonment to zestlessness, and everything in between. Not a novel that you want to sit and read in long sessions, but a book to dip into whenever you feel the need of some help from heroes and heroines of literature.
The illnesses are arranged in alphabetical order and each illness has a book (or a few) that can help with a cure. Each cure may take the form of reading how the protagonist went through a similar problem (I am Legend by Richard Matheson for coping without family), or help put you off creating a future problem (Atonement by Ian McEwan for lying). Sometimes it just helps you endure others (suggesting dealing with people who put you under pressure to have children by giving them a copy of We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver: enough to put anyone off reproducing!). This is a book for literary enthusiasts and its humorous and informative guides to different cures make a great source for choosing your next book to read — my reading list has now grown. The book even has advice for being a compulsive book buyer yet not having enough time to read. The recommendations are intriguing, presented with plenty of wit, and I wouldn’t hesitate to prescribe this book to bibliophiles wondering what to read next, or to anyone with a love of literature.
- © British Journal of General Practice 2016