<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<GoodreadsResponse>
	<Request>
		<authentication>false</authentication>
		    <method><![CDATA[]]></method>
	</Request>
	
<book>
  <id>3544225</id>
  <title><![CDATA[Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain]]></title>
  <isbn><![CDATA[1565125614]]></isbn>
  <isbn13><![CDATA[9781565125612]]></isbn13>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <description><![CDATA[In 1664 Dr. Olaf van Schuler flees the Old World and arrives in New Amsterdam with his lunatic mother, two bags of medical implements, and a carefully guarded book of his own medicines. He is the first in what will become a long line of peculiar physicians. Plagued by madness and guided by an intense desire to cure human affliction, each generation of this unusual family is driven by the science of its day: spontaneous combustion, phrenology, animal magnetism, electrical shock treatment, psychosurgery, genetic research. As they make their way in the world, New York City, too, evolves&#8212;from the dark and rough days of the seventeenth century to the towering, frenetic metropolis of today.<br/><br/> Like Patrick Süskind's classic novel <em>Perfume</em>, Kirsten Menger-Anderson's debut is a literary cabinet of curiosities&#8212;fascinating and unsettling, rich and utterly singular.]]></description>
  <work>
  <best_book_id type="integer">3544225</best_book_id>
  <books_count type="integer">1</books_count>
  <desc_user_id type="integer" nil="true"></desc_user_id>
  <id type="integer">3586243</id>
  <media_type nil="true"></media_type>
  <original_language_id type="integer" nil="true"></original_language_id>
  <original_publication_day type="integer">9</original_publication_day>
  <original_publication_month type="integer">10</original_publication_month>
  <original_publication_year type="integer">2008</original_publication_year>
  <original_title>Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain</original_title>
  <rating_dist>total:85|5:23|4:26|3:23|2:8|1:5|</rating_dist>
  <ratings_count type="integer">85</ratings_count>
  <ratings_sum type="integer">309</ratings_sum>
  <reviews_count type="integer">193</reviews_count>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">30</text_reviews_count>
</work>

  <average_rating><![CDATA[3.64]]></average_rating>
  <ratings_count><![CDATA[85]]></ratings_count>
  <text_reviews_count><![CDATA[30]]></text_reviews_count>
  
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3544225.Doctor_Olaf_van_Schuler_s_Brain]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3544225.Doctor_Olaf_van_Schuler_s_Brain]]></link>
  <authors>
    <author>
    <id>1498903</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Kirsten Menger-Anderson]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1219101770p5/1498903.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1219101770p2/1498903.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1498903.Kirsten_Menger_Anderson]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.64</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>85</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>30</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>
    <reviews start="1" end="20" total="193">
      <review>
  <id>34576551</id>
    <user>
    <id>177075</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Jayne]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Maidens, VA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/177075-jayne]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1220396665p3/177075.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1220396665p2/177075.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3544225</id>
  <isbn>1565125614</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565125612</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">30</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3544225.Doctor_Olaf_van_Schuler_s_Brain</link>
  <average_rating>3.64</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>85</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1664 Dr. Olaf van Schuler flees the Old World and arrives in New Amsterdam with his lunatic mother, two bags of medical implements, and a carefully guarded book of his own medicines. He is the first in what will become a long line of peculiar physicians. Plagued by madness and guided by an intense desire to cure human affliction, each generation of this unusual family is driven by the science of its day: spontaneous combustion, phrenology, animal magnetism, electrical shock treatment, psychosurgery, genetic research. As they make their way in the world, New York City, too, evolves&#8212;from the dark and rough days of the seventeenth century to the towering, frenetic metropolis of today.<br/><br/> Like Patrick Süskind's classic novel <em>Perfume</em>, Kirsten Menger-Anderson's debut is a literary cabinet of curiosities&#8212;fascinating and unsettling, rich and utterly singular.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[lovers of short stories, medical history, quirky tales]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Oct 05 10:25:57 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Oct 05 10:27:37 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[What a fascinating collection! Menger-Anderson takes readers through a vivid journey of medical history that begins in 1664 when Dr. Olaf van Schuler flees the Old World and arrives in New Amsterdam with his lunatic mother. The vignettes that follow continue through to the present day and introduce ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/34576551">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/34576551]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/34576551]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>35220023</id>
    <user>
    <id>233482</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Kevin]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Bronx, NY]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/233482-kevin]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1185709060p3/233482.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1185709060p2/233482.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3544225</id>
  <isbn>1565125614</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565125612</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">30</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3544225.Doctor_Olaf_van_Schuler_s_Brain</link>
  <average_rating>3.64</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>85</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1664 Dr. Olaf van Schuler flees the Old World and arrives in New Amsterdam with his lunatic mother, two bags of medical implements, and a carefully guarded book of his own medicines. He is the first in what will become a long line of peculiar physicians. Plagued by madness and guided by an intense desire to cure human affliction, each generation of this unusual family is driven by the science of its day: spontaneous combustion, phrenology, animal magnetism, electrical shock treatment, psychosurgery, genetic research. As they make their way in the world, New York City, too, evolves&#8212;from the dark and rough days of the seventeenth century to the towering, frenetic metropolis of today.<br/><br/> Like Patrick Süskind's classic novel <em>Perfume</em>, Kirsten Menger-Anderson's debut is a literary cabinet of curiosities&#8212;fascinating and unsettling, rich and utterly singular.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Oct 13 15:33:52 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Oct 16 16:29:11 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[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 thi...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/35220023">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/35220023]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/35220023]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>43549996</id>
    <user>
    <id>537203</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Meave]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/537203-meave]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1192206248p3/537203.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1192206248p2/537203.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3544225</id>
  <isbn>1565125614</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565125612</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">30</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3544225.Doctor_Olaf_van_Schuler_s_Brain</link>
  <average_rating>3.64</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>85</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1664 Dr. Olaf van Schuler flees the Old World and arrives in New Amsterdam with his lunatic mother, two bags of medical implements, and a carefully guarded book of his own medicines. He is the first in what will become a long line of peculiar physicians. Plagued by madness and guided by an intense desire to cure human affliction, each generation of this unusual family is driven by the science of its day: spontaneous combustion, phrenology, animal magnetism, electrical shock treatment, psychosurgery, genetic research. As they make their way in the world, New York City, too, evolves&#8212;from the dark and rough days of the seventeenth century to the towering, frenetic metropolis of today.<br/><br/> Like Patrick Süskind's classic novel <em>Perfume</em>, Kirsten Menger-Anderson's debut is a literary cabinet of curiosities&#8212;fascinating and unsettling, rich and utterly singular.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Jan 19 01:13:01 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Jan 19 01:23:57 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I very very much wanted to like it, a <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/books/review/Mari-t.html">big fancy <em>New York Times</em> review</a> and everything all whetting my appetite for crazy old-time brain experiments, all hearkening back to the Mutter Museum and you find yourself with one hand on your skull when you've finished reading the review, Find me a computer I...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/43549996">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/43549996]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/43549996]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>34746277</id>
    <user>
    <id>1375308</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Indigo Editing/Ink-Filled Page]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Beaverton, OR]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1375308-indigo-editing-ink-filled-page]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1217353910p3/1375308.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1217353910p2/1375308.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3544225</id>
  <isbn>1565125614</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565125612</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">30</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3544225.Doctor_Olaf_van_Schuler_s_Brain</link>
  <average_rating>3.64</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>85</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1664 Dr. Olaf van Schuler flees the Old World and arrives in New Amsterdam with his lunatic mother, two bags of medical implements, and a carefully guarded book of his own medicines. He is the first in what will become a long line of peculiar physicians. Plagued by madness and guided by an intense desire to cure human affliction, each generation of this unusual family is driven by the science of its day: spontaneous combustion, phrenology, animal magnetism, electrical shock treatment, psychosurgery, genetic research. As they make their way in the world, New York City, too, evolves&#8212;from the dark and rough days of the seventeenth century to the towering, frenetic metropolis of today.<br/><br/> Like Patrick Süskind's classic novel <em>Perfume</em>, Kirsten Menger-Anderson's debut is a literary cabinet of curiosities&#8212;fascinating and unsettling, rich and utterly singular.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>0</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
            <shelf name="to-read" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Oct 07 12:33:20 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Oct 10 12:25:00 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Kirsten Menger-Anderson has an endearing smile and shy eyes. How could any reader not love this humble manufacturer of our chosen drug? Her story chronicles generations of doctors and each time period's medical breakthroughs--or so they seem at the time. Menger-Anderson's characters call out to be r...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/34746277">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/34746277]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/34746277]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>53177574</id>
    <user>
    <id>1883049</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Feminist]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Calcutta, 28, India]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1883049-feminist-review]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1231477725p3/1883049.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1231477725p2/1883049.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3544225</id>
  <isbn>1565125614</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565125612</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">30</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3544225.Doctor_Olaf_van_Schuler_s_Brain</link>
  <average_rating>3.64</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>85</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1664 Dr. Olaf van Schuler flees the Old World and arrives in New Amsterdam with his lunatic mother, two bags of medical implements, and a carefully guarded book of his own medicines. He is the first in what will become a long line of peculiar physicians. Plagued by madness and guided by an intense desire to cure human affliction, each generation of this unusual family is driven by the science of its day: spontaneous combustion, phrenology, animal magnetism, electrical shock treatment, psychosurgery, genetic research. As they make their way in the world, New York City, too, evolves&#8212;from the dark and rough days of the seventeenth century to the towering, frenetic metropolis of today.<br/><br/> Like Patrick Süskind's classic novel <em>Perfume</em>, Kirsten Menger-Anderson's debut is a literary cabinet of curiosities&#8212;fascinating and unsettling, rich and utterly singular.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Apr 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Apr 18 19:04:25 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Apr 18 19:04:38 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[A thriller that spans five centuries, Doctor Olaf Van Schuler’s Brain is entertaining and thought provoking. Thirteen generations of eccentric New York City doctors navigate genius, madness and morality. This book is eerie, smart, unique, and very delicately crafted, telling many stories in every ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/53177574">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/53177574]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/53177574]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>50314535</id>
    <user>
    <id>803946</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Donna]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Berkeley, CA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/803946-donna]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1201447728p3/803946.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1201447728p2/803946.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3544225</id>
  <isbn>1565125614</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565125612</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">30</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3544225.Doctor_Olaf_van_Schuler_s_Brain</link>
  <average_rating>3.64</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>85</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1664 Dr. Olaf van Schuler flees the Old World and arrives in New Amsterdam with his lunatic mother, two bags of medical implements, and a carefully guarded book of his own medicines. He is the first in what will become a long line of peculiar physicians. Plagued by madness and guided by an intense desire to cure human affliction, each generation of this unusual family is driven by the science of its day: spontaneous combustion, phrenology, animal magnetism, electrical shock treatment, psychosurgery, genetic research. As they make their way in the world, New York City, too, evolves&#8212;from the dark and rough days of the seventeenth century to the towering, frenetic metropolis of today.<br/><br/> Like Patrick Süskind's classic novel <em>Perfume</em>, Kirsten Menger-Anderson's debut is a literary cabinet of curiosities&#8212;fascinating and unsettling, rich and utterly singular.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Mar 24 13:08:13 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Apr 01 08:33:51 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This beautifully written novel-in-stories follows the lives of twelve generations of New York City physicians who are trying to better the human condition, each in his or her own misguided way.  I have to say <em>Dr. Olaf van Schuler’s Brain</em> is the most profoundly satisfying book I’ve read in a very...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/50314535">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/50314535]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/50314535]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>37637310</id>
    <user>
    <id>697986</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Samantha]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Nitro, WV]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/697986-samantha]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1206809499p3/697986.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1206809499p2/697986.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3544225</id>
  <isbn>1565125614</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565125612</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">30</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3544225.Doctor_Olaf_van_Schuler_s_Brain</link>
  <average_rating>3.64</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>85</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1664 Dr. Olaf van Schuler flees the Old World and arrives in New Amsterdam with his lunatic mother, two bags of medical implements, and a carefully guarded book of his own medicines. He is the first in what will become a long line of peculiar physicians. Plagued by madness and guided by an intense desire to cure human affliction, each generation of this unusual family is driven by the science of its day: spontaneous combustion, phrenology, animal magnetism, electrical shock treatment, psychosurgery, genetic research. As they make their way in the world, New York City, too, evolves&#8212;from the dark and rough days of the seventeenth century to the towering, frenetic metropolis of today.<br/><br/> Like Patrick Süskind's classic novel <em>Perfume</em>, Kirsten Menger-Anderson's debut is a literary cabinet of curiosities&#8212;fascinating and unsettling, rich and utterly singular.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>1</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[No one]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri Nov 21 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Nov 13 12:14:48 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Nov 21 20:18:57 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I found this book to be awful. You can tell this was the author's first book. It was boring and didn't seem to have a point. It is a series of vignettes wrote about one family. It's about their struggles throughout medicine and dealing with different mental health problems. The book is a little unde...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37637310">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37637310]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37637310]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>38644334</id>
    <user>
    <id>164897</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Michelle]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Falmouth, MA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/164897-michelle]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1183310373p3/164897.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1183310373p2/164897.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3544225</id>
  <isbn>1565125614</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565125612</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">30</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3544225.Doctor_Olaf_van_Schuler_s_Brain</link>
  <average_rating>3.64</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>85</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1664 Dr. Olaf van Schuler flees the Old World and arrives in New Amsterdam with his lunatic mother, two bags of medical implements, and a carefully guarded book of his own medicines. He is the first in what will become a long line of peculiar physicians. Plagued by madness and guided by an intense desire to cure human affliction, each generation of this unusual family is driven by the science of its day: spontaneous combustion, phrenology, animal magnetism, electrical shock treatment, psychosurgery, genetic research. As they make their way in the world, New York City, too, evolves&#8212;from the dark and rough days of the seventeenth century to the towering, frenetic metropolis of today.<br/><br/> Like Patrick Süskind's classic novel <em>Perfume</em>, Kirsten Menger-Anderson's debut is a literary cabinet of curiosities&#8212;fascinating and unsettling, rich and utterly singular.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="fiction" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Nov 25 14:06:50 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Dec 17 20:51:31 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This fantastic debut by Kirsten Menger-Anderson is the best book I’ve read in the past few months. In addition to using language to potent effect, the author plays with an unusual format of linked short stories – each chapter delves into the life of one person from the Steenwyck family tree star...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/38644334">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/38644334]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/38644334]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>29946593</id>
    <user>
    <id>1419181</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Josh]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Portland, ME]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1419181-josh]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1226956780p3/1419181.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1226956780p2/1419181.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3544225</id>
  <isbn>1565125614</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565125612</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">30</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3544225.Doctor_Olaf_van_Schuler_s_Brain</link>
  <average_rating>3.64</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>85</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1664 Dr. Olaf van Schuler flees the Old World and arrives in New Amsterdam with his lunatic mother, two bags of medical implements, and a carefully guarded book of his own medicines. He is the first in what will become a long line of peculiar physicians. Plagued by madness and guided by an intense desire to cure human affliction, each generation of this unusual family is driven by the science of its day: spontaneous combustion, phrenology, animal magnetism, electrical shock treatment, psychosurgery, genetic research. As they make their way in the world, New York City, too, evolves&#8212;from the dark and rough days of the seventeenth century to the towering, frenetic metropolis of today.<br/><br/> Like Patrick Süskind's classic novel <em>Perfume</em>, Kirsten Menger-Anderson's debut is a literary cabinet of curiosities&#8212;fascinating and unsettling, rich and utterly singular.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="fiction" />
        <shelf name="mind-blowingly-good" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Aug 12 10:36:37 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Aug 12 10:38:36 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Fantastic read - a great look at both &quot;quack&quot; medicine over the centuries, the lengths some people go to to try and end suffering, and the all-too-human problems medicine can't fix.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/29946593]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/29946593]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>36290328</id>
    <user>
    <id>1209118</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Sara]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1209118-sara]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3544225</id>
  <isbn>1565125614</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565125612</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">30</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3544225.Doctor_Olaf_van_Schuler_s_Brain</link>
  <average_rating>3.64</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>85</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1664 Dr. Olaf van Schuler flees the Old World and arrives in New Amsterdam with his lunatic mother, two bags of medical implements, and a carefully guarded book of his own medicines. He is the first in what will become a long line of peculiar physicians. Plagued by madness and guided by an intense desire to cure human affliction, each generation of this unusual family is driven by the science of its day: spontaneous combustion, phrenology, animal magnetism, electrical shock treatment, psychosurgery, genetic research. As they make their way in the world, New York City, too, evolves&#8212;from the dark and rough days of the seventeenth century to the towering, frenetic metropolis of today.<br/><br/> Like Patrick Süskind's classic novel <em>Perfume</em>, Kirsten Menger-Anderson's debut is a literary cabinet of curiosities&#8212;fascinating and unsettling, rich and utterly singular.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Oct 27 04:29:20 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Oct 27 04:29:57 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[A cool look at medical zealots through time.  And perhaps confirms that maybe being odd runs in the family.<br/>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/36290328]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/36290328]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>55404378</id>
    <user>
    <id>201787</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Venessa]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Buffalo, NY]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/201787-venessa]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1199041107p3/201787.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1199041107p2/201787.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3544225</id>
  <isbn>1565125614</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565125612</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">30</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3544225.Doctor_Olaf_van_Schuler_s_Brain</link>
  <average_rating>3.64</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>85</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1664 Dr. Olaf van Schuler flees the Old World and arrives in New Amsterdam with his lunatic mother, two bags of medical implements, and a carefully guarded book of his own medicines. He is the first in what will become a long line of peculiar physicians. Plagued by madness and guided by an intense desire to cure human affliction, each generation of this unusual family is driven by the science of its day: spontaneous combustion, phrenology, animal magnetism, electrical shock treatment, psychosurgery, genetic research. As they make their way in the world, New York City, too, evolves&#8212;from the dark and rough days of the seventeenth century to the towering, frenetic metropolis of today.<br/><br/> Like Patrick Süskind's classic novel <em>Perfume</em>, Kirsten Menger-Anderson's debut is a literary cabinet of curiosities&#8212;fascinating and unsettling, rich and utterly singular.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue May 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri May 08 14:09:05 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue May 19 08:30:09 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Very original book: short stories that are connected in that they follow one family through 12 generations of doctors in NYC. The first story begins in 1664 and the last is present day. Each story involves a doctor's interest or obsession with the current &quot;medical miracle&quot; of the day, and ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/55404378">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/55404378]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/55404378]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>52340486</id>
    <user>
    <id>912419</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Rae]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/912419-rae]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1203119518p3/912419.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1203119518p2/912419.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3544225</id>
  <isbn>1565125614</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565125612</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">30</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3544225.Doctor_Olaf_van_Schuler_s_Brain</link>
  <average_rating>3.64</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>85</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1664 Dr. Olaf van Schuler flees the Old World and arrives in New Amsterdam with his lunatic mother, two bags of medical implements, and a carefully guarded book of his own medicines. He is the first in what will become a long line of peculiar physicians. Plagued by madness and guided by an intense desire to cure human affliction, each generation of this unusual family is driven by the science of its day: spontaneous combustion, phrenology, animal magnetism, electrical shock treatment, psychosurgery, genetic research. As they make their way in the world, New York City, too, evolves&#8212;from the dark and rough days of the seventeenth century to the towering, frenetic metropolis of today.<br/><br/> Like Patrick Süskind's classic novel <em>Perfume</em>, Kirsten Menger-Anderson's debut is a literary cabinet of curiosities&#8212;fascinating and unsettling, rich and utterly singular.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="2009" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Apr 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Apr 11 17:58:06 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Apr 11 18:04:36 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[An interesting book that spans 12 generations beginning with Dr. van Schuler leading to the current generation born in 2001. A chapter is devoted to each generation. This did not leave enough time to satisfy my desire to know what happened to each person and their circumstances within the family tre...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/52340486">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/52340486]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/52340486]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>41872519</id>
    <user>
    <id>1488595</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Bria]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Australia]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1488595-bria-baker]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1251721179p3/1488595.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1251721179p2/1488595.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3544225</id>
  <isbn>1565125614</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565125612</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">30</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3544225.Doctor_Olaf_van_Schuler_s_Brain</link>
  <average_rating>3.64</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>85</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1664 Dr. Olaf van Schuler flees the Old World and arrives in New Amsterdam with his lunatic mother, two bags of medical implements, and a carefully guarded book of his own medicines. He is the first in what will become a long line of peculiar physicians. Plagued by madness and guided by an intense desire to cure human affliction, each generation of this unusual family is driven by the science of its day: spontaneous combustion, phrenology, animal magnetism, electrical shock treatment, psychosurgery, genetic research. As they make their way in the world, New York City, too, evolves&#8212;from the dark and rough days of the seventeenth century to the towering, frenetic metropolis of today.<br/><br/> Like Patrick Süskind's classic novel <em>Perfume</em>, Kirsten Menger-Anderson's debut is a literary cabinet of curiosities&#8212;fascinating and unsettling, rich and utterly singular.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu May 28 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Jan 04 14:28:38 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu May 28 17:24:27 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I struggled with this book but ended up really enjoying it.  I think my main issue is short story collections which I don’t normally appreciate.  In this book just when I was beginning to understand and relish the characters they would disappear.  At the beginning of each story I would often need ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41872519">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41872519]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41872519]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>46686515</id>
    <user>
    <id>1354871</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Aislinn]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Jersey City, NJ]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1354871-aislinn]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1236528148p3/1354871.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1236528148p2/1354871.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3544225</id>
  <isbn>1565125614</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565125612</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">30</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3544225.Doctor_Olaf_van_Schuler_s_Brain</link>
  <average_rating>3.64</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>85</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1664 Dr. Olaf van Schuler flees the Old World and arrives in New Amsterdam with his lunatic mother, two bags of medical implements, and a carefully guarded book of his own medicines. He is the first in what will become a long line of peculiar physicians. Plagued by madness and guided by an intense desire to cure human affliction, each generation of this unusual family is driven by the science of its day: spontaneous combustion, phrenology, animal magnetism, electrical shock treatment, psychosurgery, genetic research. As they make their way in the world, New York City, too, evolves&#8212;from the dark and rough days of the seventeenth century to the towering, frenetic metropolis of today.<br/><br/> Like Patrick Süskind's classic novel <em>Perfume</em>, Kirsten Menger-Anderson's debut is a literary cabinet of curiosities&#8212;fascinating and unsettling, rich and utterly singular.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Feb 17 17:00:22 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Feb 17 17:00:22 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This collection of extremely short stories follows generations of a family of doctors who each dabble in their era's latest &quot;science&quot; of mind, from phrenology to mesmerism to psychosurgery.  A quick read, but ultimately shallow, gimmicky, and not recommended.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/46686515]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/46686515]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>72186745</id>
    <user>
    <id>997100</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Michele]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Washington, DC]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/997100-michele]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1244428728p3/997100.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1244428728p2/997100.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3544225</id>
  <isbn>1565125614</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565125612</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">30</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3544225.Doctor_Olaf_van_Schuler_s_Brain</link>
  <average_rating>3.64</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>85</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1664 Dr. Olaf van Schuler flees the Old World and arrives in New Amsterdam with his lunatic mother, two bags of medical implements, and a carefully guarded book of his own medicines. He is the first in what will become a long line of peculiar physicians. Plagued by madness and guided by an intense desire to cure human affliction, each generation of this unusual family is driven by the science of its day: spontaneous combustion, phrenology, animal magnetism, electrical shock treatment, psychosurgery, genetic research. As they make their way in the world, New York City, too, evolves&#8212;from the dark and rough days of the seventeenth century to the towering, frenetic metropolis of today.<br/><br/> Like Patrick Süskind's classic novel <em>Perfume</em>, Kirsten Menger-Anderson's debut is a literary cabinet of curiosities&#8212;fascinating and unsettling, rich and utterly singular.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Sep 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Sep 22 19:50:12 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Sep 22 19:53:29 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This is a multi-generational story about a family of brain doctors (and quacks) presented as a series of vignettes.  It was interesting but ultimately unsatisfying - as soon as you got hooked into a character, it was on to the next generation.  ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72186745]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72186745]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>51180123</id>
    <user>
    <id>303808</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Abbie]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Brooklyn, NY]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/303808-abbie]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3544225</id>
  <isbn>1565125614</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565125612</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">30</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3544225.Doctor_Olaf_van_Schuler_s_Brain</link>
  <average_rating>3.64</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>85</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1664 Dr. Olaf van Schuler flees the Old World and arrives in New Amsterdam with his lunatic mother, two bags of medical implements, and a carefully guarded book of his own medicines. He is the first in what will become a long line of peculiar physicians. Plagued by madness and guided by an intense desire to cure human affliction, each generation of this unusual family is driven by the science of its day: spontaneous combustion, phrenology, animal magnetism, electrical shock treatment, psychosurgery, genetic research. As they make their way in the world, New York City, too, evolves&#8212;from the dark and rough days of the seventeenth century to the towering, frenetic metropolis of today.<br/><br/> Like Patrick Süskind's classic novel <em>Perfume</em>, Kirsten Menger-Anderson's debut is a literary cabinet of curiosities&#8212;fascinating and unsettling, rich and utterly singular.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>1</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri Mar 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Apr 01 14:27:27 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Apr 01 14:29:27 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This book felt like one missed opportunity after another. Just when you got interested in a character, a story ended and moved on to the next character. No satisfaction at the end either. I was so frustrated, after I read this!]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/51180123]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/51180123]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>40098313</id>
    <user>
    <id>58401</id>
    <name><![CDATA[laura]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Minneapolis, MN]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/58401-laura]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1197325247p3/58401.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1197325247p2/58401.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3544225</id>
  <isbn>1565125614</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565125612</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">30</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3544225.Doctor_Olaf_van_Schuler_s_Brain</link>
  <average_rating>3.64</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>85</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1664 Dr. Olaf van Schuler flees the Old World and arrives in New Amsterdam with his lunatic mother, two bags of medical implements, and a carefully guarded book of his own medicines. He is the first in what will become a long line of peculiar physicians. Plagued by madness and guided by an intense desire to cure human affliction, each generation of this unusual family is driven by the science of its day: spontaneous combustion, phrenology, animal magnetism, electrical shock treatment, psychosurgery, genetic research. As they make their way in the world, New York City, too, evolves&#8212;from the dark and rough days of the seventeenth century to the towering, frenetic metropolis of today.<br/><br/> Like Patrick Süskind's classic novel <em>Perfume</em>, Kirsten Menger-Anderson's debut is a literary cabinet of curiosities&#8212;fascinating and unsettling, rich and utterly singular.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Dec 14 15:43:28 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Dec 14 15:44:12 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I read this in an afternoon.  Stories that follow doctors through the centuries.  I truly appreciate anyone that can incorporate FISH into a book.  Oh, and the size was perfect.  ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/40098313]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/40098313]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>47708786</id>
    <user>
    <id>2059153</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Noah]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2059153-noah]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-M-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-M-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3544225</id>
  <isbn>1565125614</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565125612</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">30</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3544225.Doctor_Olaf_van_Schuler_s_Brain</link>
  <average_rating>3.64</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>85</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1664 Dr. Olaf van Schuler flees the Old World and arrives in New Amsterdam with his lunatic mother, two bags of medical implements, and a carefully guarded book of his own medicines. He is the first in what will become a long line of peculiar physicians. Plagued by madness and guided by an intense desire to cure human affliction, each generation of this unusual family is driven by the science of its day: spontaneous combustion, phrenology, animal magnetism, electrical shock treatment, psychosurgery, genetic research. As they make their way in the world, New York City, too, evolves&#8212;from the dark and rough days of the seventeenth century to the towering, frenetic metropolis of today.<br/><br/> Like Patrick Süskind's classic novel <em>Perfume</em>, Kirsten Menger-Anderson's debut is a literary cabinet of curiosities&#8212;fascinating and unsettling, rich and utterly singular.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Feb 27 12:30:40 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Feb 27 12:30:40 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[There's not enough continuity between stories to appreciate this book as a whole, but neither is there enough diversity for each one to stand on its own.  I was underwhelmed, although there are certainly bright spots.  The last story, in particular, blew me away.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/47708786]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/47708786]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>39403179</id>
    <user>
    <id>399203</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Lisa]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[San Francisco, CA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/399203-lisa]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1190347407p3/399203.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1190347407p2/399203.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3544225</id>
  <isbn>1565125614</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565125612</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">30</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3544225.Doctor_Olaf_van_Schuler_s_Brain</link>
  <average_rating>3.64</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>85</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1664 Dr. Olaf van Schuler flees the Old World and arrives in New Amsterdam with his lunatic mother, two bags of medical implements, and a carefully guarded book of his own medicines. He is the first in what will become a long line of peculiar physicians. Plagued by madness and guided by an intense desire to cure human affliction, each generation of this unusual family is driven by the science of its day: spontaneous combustion, phrenology, animal magnetism, electrical shock treatment, psychosurgery, genetic research. As they make their way in the world, New York City, too, evolves&#8212;from the dark and rough days of the seventeenth century to the towering, frenetic metropolis of today.<br/><br/> Like Patrick Süskind's classic novel <em>Perfume</em>, Kirsten Menger-Anderson's debut is a literary cabinet of curiosities&#8212;fascinating and unsettling, rich and utterly singular.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Dec 18 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Dec 05 16:43:16 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Dec 18 20:25:51 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[for ill:<br/>this books good. not amazing. some of the stories are more boring than others, but that is to be expected of a short story collection. it's an easy read, so i'd say go ahead and read it. i don't think i will remember it much, though.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39403179]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39403179]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>78621993</id>
    <user>
    <id>456439</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Casey]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/456439-casey]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-U-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">3544225</id>
  <isbn>1565125614</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565125612</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">30</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3544225.Doctor_Olaf_van_Schuler_s_Brain</link>
  <average_rating>3.64</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>85</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1664 Dr. Olaf van Schuler flees the Old World and arrives in New Amsterdam with his lunatic mother, two bags of medical implements, and a carefully guarded book of his own medicines. He is the first in what will become a long line of peculiar physicians. Plagued by madness and guided by an intense desire to cure human affliction, each generation of this unusual family is driven by the science of its day: spontaneous combustion, phrenology, animal magnetism, electrical shock treatment, psychosurgery, genetic research. As they make their way in the world, New York City, too, evolves&#8212;from the dark and rough days of the seventeenth century to the towering, frenetic metropolis of today.<br/><br/> Like Patrick Süskind's classic novel <em>Perfume</em>, Kirsten Menger-Anderson's debut is a literary cabinet of curiosities&#8212;fascinating and unsettling, rich and utterly singular.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Nov 26 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Nov 22 07:53:03 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Nov 26 11:01:04 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[It was a fun read and well written. It seems I might be a sucker for a chaining style collection of short stories.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78621993]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78621993]]></link>
</review>
    </reviews>
  <popular_shelves>
          <shelf name="to-read" />
          <shelf name="fiction" />
          <shelf name="currently-reading" />
          <shelf name="short-stories" />
          <shelf name="women-authors" />
          <shelf name="grins" />
          <shelf name="new-york" />
          <shelf name="medical" />
          <shelf name="books-on-the-nightstand-recs" />
      </popular_shelves>
  <book_links>
    <book_link>
  <id>8</id>
  <name><![CDATA[WorldCat]]></name>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=3544225</link>
</book_link>
  </book_links>
</book>
</GoodreadsResponse>