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The Noonday Demon: An Atlas Of Depression (Hardcover)

by Andrew Solomon (Author) "Depression is the flaw in love ..." (more)

4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (91 customer reviews)

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Product Details

Hardcover: 576 pages
Publisher: Scribner; 1 edition (Jun 12 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 068485466X
ISBN-13: 978-0684854663
Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.7 x 4.1 cm
Shipping Weight: 794 g

Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (91 customer reviews)

Amazon.ca Sales Rank: #186,422 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

From Amazon.com

Sometimes, the legacy of depression includes a wisdom beyond one's years, a depth of passion unexperienced by those who haven't traveled to hell and back. Off the charts in its enlightening, comprehensive analysis of this pervasive yet misunderstood condition, The Noonday Demon forges a long, brambly path through the subject of depression--exposing all the discordant views and "answers" offered by science, philosophy, law, psychology, literature, art, and history. The result is a sprawling and thoroughly engrossing study, brilliantly synthesized by author Andrew Solomon.

Deceptively simple chapter titles (including "Breakdowns," "Treatments," "Addiction," "Suicide") each sit modestly atop a virtual avalanche of Solomon's intellect. This is not a book to be skimmed. But Solomon commands the language--and his topic--with such grace and empathy that the constant flow of references, poems, and quotations in his paragraphs arrive like welcome dinner guests. A longtime sufferer of severe depression himself, Solomon willingly shares his life story with readers. He discusses updated information on various drugs and treatment approaches while detailing his own trials with them. He describes a pharmaceutical company's surreal stage production (involving Pink Floyd, kick dancers, and an opener à la Cats) promoting a new antidepressant to their sales team. He chronicles his research visits to assorted mental institutions, which left him feeling he would "much rather engage with every manner of private despair than spend a protracted time" there. Under Solomon's care, however, such tales offer much more than shock value. They show that depression knows no social boundaries, manifests itself quite differently in each person, and has become political. And, while it may worsen or improve, depression will never be eradicated. Hope lies in finding ways--as Solomon clearly has--to harness its powerful lessons. --Liane Thomas

From Publishers Weekly

"Depression is the flaw in love. To be creatures who love, we must be creatures who despair," begins Solomon's expansive and astutely observed examination of the experience, origins, and cultural manifestations of depression. While placing his study in a broad social contex-- according to recent research, some 19 million Americans suffer from chronic depression--he also chronicles his own battle with the disease. Beginning just after his senior year in college, Solomon began experiencing crippling episodes of depression. They became so bad that after losing his mother to cancer and his therapist to retirement he attempted (unsuccessfully) to contract HIV so that he would have a reason to kill himself. Attempting to put depression and its treatments in a cross-cultural context, he draws effectively and skillfully on medical studies, historical and sociological literature, and anecdotal evidence, analyzing studies of depression in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, Inuit life in Greenland, the use of electroshock therapy and the connections between depression and suicide in the U.S. and other cultures. In examining depression as a cultural phenomenon, he cites many literary melancholics Virginia Woolf, Samuel Beckett, John Milton, Shakespeare, John Keats, and George Eliot as well as such thinkers as Freud and Hegel, to map out his "atlas" of the condition. Smart, empathetic, and exhibiting a wide and resonant knowledge of the topic, Solomon has provided an enlightening and sobering window onto both the medical and imaginative worlds of depression. (June)Forecast: Excerpted last year in the New Yorker, this pathbreaking work is bound to attract major review attention and media, boosted by a seven-city tour.

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First Sentence
Depression is the flaw in love. Read the first page

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	74% buy the item featured on this page: The Noonday Demon: An Atlas Of Depression 4.3 out of 5 stars (91) CDN$ 26.78
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Customer Reviews

91 Reviews

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

Average Customer Review

4.3 out of 5 stars (91 customer reviews)

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Most helpful customer reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars rambling but still worth reading, Mar 15 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression (Paperback)

What I found the most valuable in this book were the personal stories and accounts of the author's experimentation as he attempted to find a cure for his depression. He did what very few books on mood disorders do, which was interview a broad spectrum of people and let their stories be heard. We hear from spoiled yuppies who can afford every trend under the sun, but we also hear from people for whom you can't help but think - "no wonder they're so depressed, they have no money, their meds don't work, and they can only get partial help." Solomon also examines how race, sexual orientation, and gender can shape one's depression. I have read widely on mood disorders, and his was the first I have seen that addressed the relationship between homosexuality and depression for more than a token paragraph.

I think sometimes the author's reach exceeded his grasp, and the book could have been trimmed without losing its impact. It's a good book to dip into rather than plow straight through, if you're depressed that is.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deserving of all its awards!, Jul 17 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression (Paperback)

This book is a powerful demon itself. I cried countless times as I identified with what Andrew Solomon was describing and giving form to with every conceivable anecdote and case study. For personal reasons, I was most interested in the parts relating to suicide. And for those out there like me who are looking for more books on the subject, please consider Carla Fine's NO TIME TO SAY GOODBYE (a suicide survivor's handbook, or bible really) and Jennifer Paddock's A SECRET WORD (a superb, beautifully written novel about young women surviving suicide and living with depression).

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4.0 out of 5 stars brief comments, Mar 11 2004

By	J. Butler "A Reader" (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression (Paperback)

This book has already been extensively reviewed by others, but I would like to respond to an earlier, negative review by LostBoyinNC. Contrary to his opinion, virtually all mental health professionals consider psychosocial factors to be highly relevant to depression. The author of this book mentions them, but he certainly does not overemphasize them, as the reviewer suggests. The author does not "intellectualize." He gives a vivid, readable account of the inner world of depression.

The second problem with this review is nothing less than a mistake. The author does NOT get a cingulotomy, he simply writes about another person's experience with this procedure. Indeed, the matter is mentioned on perhaps three pages in the whole book. I'm not sure how the reviewer came to this conclusion, but perhaps he was bored and reading quickly through a book that he unfairly depicts as "psychobabble."

Solomon's book is admittedly lengthy, and somewhat simplified in certain technical matters, but it is beautifully written and does a great job conveying the subjective experience of depression. He also gives plenty of practical information on etiology and treatment. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is either dealing with depression or trying to cope with a depressed family member. Do not be deterred by erroneous reviews.

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Most recent customer reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Pure Narcissistic Trash
I'm getting a refund. As a young academic and life-long sufferer (since about age 14) of depression, this book to me comes across as whiny, self-absorbed, "Omigod, I've had... Read more

Published on April 14 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars If you think you suffer from depression, read this book
This is one of the two best books I have seen on depression, the other being "Night Falls Fast" by Kay Jamison. Read more

Published on Mar 1 2004 by efoff

5.0 out of 5 stars One critical insight
There is much more than that in, "The Noonday Demon" but for me, when I read the book and was struggling with how to cope with my own depression, one insight was... Read more

Published on Jan 28 2004 by Randall L. Wilson

2.0 out of 5 stars Another book that intellectualizes depression
Many people seem to really like this book. Im not one of them however. The reason I didnt like it was because of how the author broods about depression in an intellectual type... Read more

Published on Nov 1 2003 by LostBoyinNC