Book
The man without a shadow : a novel / Joyce Carol Oates.
In 1965, neuroscientist Margot Sharpe meets Elihu Hoopes: the "man without a shadow," who will be known, in time, as the most-studied and most famous amnesiac in history. A vicious infection has clouded anything beyond the last seventy seconds just beyond the fog of memory. Over the course of thirty years, the two embark on mirrored journeys of self-discovery: Margot, enthralled by her charming, mysterious, and deeply lonely patient, as well as her officious supervisor, attempts to unlock Eli's shuttered memories of a childhood trauma without losing her own sense of self in the process. Made vivid by Oates' usual eye for detail, and searing insight into the human psyche, The Man Without a Shadow is eerie, ambitious, and structurally complex, unique among her novels for its intimate portrayal of a forbidden relationship that can never be publicly revealed.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780062416094
- ISBN: 006241609X
- Physical Description: 369 pages ; 24 cm
- Edition: First edition.
- Publisher: New York, NY : Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, ©2016
Content descriptions
| Source of Description Note: | Subtitle from dust jacket. |
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Neuroscientists > Fiction. Amnesia > Fiction. |
| Genre: | Romance fiction. |
Summary:
In 1965, neuroscientist Margot Sharpe meets Elihu Hoopes: the "man without a shadow," who will be known, in time, as the most-studied and most famous amnesiac in history. A vicious infection has clouded anything beyond the last seventy seconds just beyond the fog of memory. Over the course of thirty years, the two embark on mirrored journeys of self-discovery: Margot, enthralled by her charming, mysterious, and deeply lonely patient, as well as her officious supervisor, attempts to unlock Eli's shuttered memories of a childhood trauma without losing her own sense of self in the process. Made vivid by Oates' usual eye for detail, and searing insight into the human psyche, The Man Without a Shadow is eerie, ambitious, and structurally complex, unique among her novels for its intimate portrayal of a forbidden relationship that can never be publicly revealed.
