false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1186453899m/1657001.jpg 1657001 2 Hungarian author Frigyes Karinthy was sitting at his desk trying to decide between writing a long-projected monograph on modern man or polishing up a new play, when he was disturbed by the roaring&#8211;so loud as to drown out other noises&#8211;of a passing train. Before long it was gone, only to be succeeded by another. And another. But, Karinthy thought, it had been years since there had been trains in the streets of Budapest. Only then did he realize he was suffering from an auditory hallucination of extraordinary intensity.<br><br>What in fact Karinthy was suffering from was a brain tumor, not cancerous but hardly benign, though it was only much later&#8211;after repeated spells of giddiness, the occasional fainting fit, friends remarking that his handwriting had somehow changed, and his discovery that the pages of books had gone blank before his eyes&#8211;that he consulted a doctor and began the process that led to an accurate diagnosis and a risky operation to correct the condition. What makes <i>A Journey Round My Skull</i> such a brilliant piece of medical testimony, and a memorable work of literature as well, is Karinthy&#8217;s unflinching but strangely lighthearted description of his descent into illness. This troubling and scary, but above all life-affirming, book dances brilliantly on the edge of extinction. 1651682 11 3 1957 A Journey Round My Skull total:45|5:17|4:17|3:10|2:1| 45 185 110 8 4 0 false false Wed Jun 17 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 14 22:07:03 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 17 21:47:53 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 09 14:00:47 -0700 2007 Thu Apr 17 11:02:43 -0700 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Mon Mar 31 10:43:27 -0700 2008 Mon Mar 31 10:44:36 -0700 2008
Even th...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Aug 25 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 18 12:20:15 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 25 19:02:18 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon May 15 00:00:00 -0700 1995 Tue Jan 15 10:12:53 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 15 10:12:53 -0800 2008
Too bad the world won't know his genious for the lack of translations and the impossible task of translating the full depth of his writing.

He is Vonegut and Huxley and Defoe and so much more than all of them combined.]]> 3 0 false false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue May 20 20:23:02 -0700 2008 Mon Jan 19 22:16:13 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Mon Mar 03 07:02:50 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 28 17:44:50 -0800 2008 http://www.nybooks.com/articles/21159]]> 4 0 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu May 01 17:18:49 -0700 2008 Thu May 01 17:19:39 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Thu Nov 12 07:15:49 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 12 07:15:49 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sun Nov 01 20:29:44 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 01 20:29:50 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Sat Oct 31 09:00:57 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 31 09:00:57 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Wed Aug 19 07:28:15 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 19 07:28:15 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Aug 16 16:01:46 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 16 19:07:38 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Thu Aug 06 20:37:08 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 06 20:37:36 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Jul 26 03:50:49 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 26 03:50:49 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Jul 25 18:22:57 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 25 18:22:57 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Jul 20 12:40:35 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 20 12:40:35 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Thu Jul 09 21:00:20 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 09 21:00:29 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Tue Jun 09 20:07:16 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 18 06:29:08 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun May 24 12:26:35 -0700 2009 Sun May 24 12:26:35 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=1657001