- Hardcover: 280 pages
- Publisher: Raincoast Books (Feb 12 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1551926873
- ISBN-13: 978-1551926872
- Product Dimensions: 20.6 x 14.5 x 2.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 408 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #604,897 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
"You know your life has changed when you wake up in a psych ward," writes Jan Lars Jensen with the signature dark humor that permeates what might otherwise be a bleak account of a talented young writer's descent into psychosis. The futuristic, fanciful Shiva 3000, set in India, was Jensen's first novel. As the publication date drew near, Jensen became obsessed by the idea that the book would bring about the end of the world. In the author's escalating, delusional scenario, Shiva 3000 would be hated in India, setting off a series of lawsuits that would initially target the publisher, Jensen, and his family. Before long, the entire country of India would pit itself against all of Canada and the United States, the crisis reaching such a pitch that India would threaten a nuclear strike against Russia unless the Russians launched nuclear missiles at America on India's behalf. "The missiles would be flying," Jensen concluded. Doomsday was nigh.
Although Jensen endured two stints in the psych ward--and months as an outpatient--it can be argued that the duration of his emotional recovery encompassed the publication of this superbly written book. Nervous System is intelligent, winningly devoid of self-pity, and laced with often wicked, sometimes self-lacerating wit. It is perhaps fitting, then, that whereas writing sent Jensen over the edge in the first place, it was writing about the experience of psychosis that helped to bring him back. "When I saw my novel's publication approaching, I had the uneasy feeling that this...tale set in a distant place...contained all there was to know about me. But maybe, I eventually had to admit, the descent that accompanied it more truly reflected me. That was the story. It had been coming for a while." --Svenja Soldovieri
Review
"As a brave, unflinching look at mental illness, Nervous System is revelatory; as a candid, conflicted view of the creative process, it is a revelation." -- Robert J. Wiersema, The Vancouver Sun
"Nervous System is not just a compelling memoir, it's an important one. Mental illness manages to be both glamorized and stigmatized in our culture. What is often missed is what Jensen shows us convincingly: the moment-to-moment unhappiness of losing your mind ... Both harrowingly authentic and poignantly understated. This is, if we're lucky, as close as most of us will get to going really crazy." -- Joel Yanofsky, The National Post
"[A] weird and brilliant memoir ... Jensen's writing is smooth and elegant, his narrative suspenseful, his sensibility witty ... he delivers a smart and sympathetic narrator - himself - whose personal adventure, as terrifying as any in the thriller rack at the drug store, captures the catastrophes of the present, the ones lurking much closer to home." -- Nancy Wigston, Toronto Star
"Nervous System is not just a compelling memoir, it's an important one. Mental illness manages to be both glamorized and stigmatized in our culture. What is often missed is what Jensen shows us convincingly: the moment-to-moment unhappiness of losing your mind ... Both harrowingly authentic and poignantly understated. This is, if we're lucky, as close as most of us will get to going really crazy." -- Joel Yanofsky, The National Post
"[A] weird and brilliant memoir ... Jensen's writing is smooth and elegant, his narrative suspenseful, his sensibility witty ... he delivers a smart and sympathetic narrator - himself - whose personal adventure, as terrifying as any in the thriller rack at the drug store, captures the catastrophes of the present, the ones lurking much closer to home." -- Nancy Wigston, Toronto Star
Inside This Book
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Touching book with a humourous perspective,
By A Customer
This review is from: Nervous System: or Losing my Mind in Literature (Hardcover)
Highly recommended! Jensen has compiled his experiences of life in a world distored by mental illness, allowing the casual reader a window into his thoughts both as he undergoes a breakdown following publication of his first book, and his own attempts later to make sense of what happened. His humourous observations frequently lighten the deeper story that will touch the nerve of anyone affected by mental illness- either personally or through their family and friends.
3.0 out of 5 stars
its O.K.,
By diane (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Nervous System: or Losing my Mind in Literature (Hardcover)
Paranoia..the reason i picked up this book was because Jensen and I had something in common - we both had Psychosis. Although many have different episodes, experiences, but some similarities - Jensen's autobiographical portrayal of himself is quite witty. The book doesnt merely explain in details how his mind gets tangled up in his first book that he published - i mean- i guess you have to buy his first book -"SHIVA 3000"...but i wouldnt, this book was enough for me.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nervous System: Or Losing My Mind in Literature,
By Jill Moe (Calgary) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Nervous System: or Losing my Mind in Literature (Hardcover)
Roll up your sleeves and get ready to fight back with Nervous System. From leaving the book store I couldn't put this book down.
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