The Novel Cure: From Abandonment to Zestlessness: 751 Books to Cure What Ails You

by Ella Berthoud and Susan Elderkin

"Delightful... elegant prose and discussions that span the history of 2,000 years of literature."-Publisher's Weekly

A novel is a story transmitted from the novelist to the reader. It offers distraction, entertainment, and an opportunity to unwind or focus. But it can also be something more powerful-a way to learn about how to live. Read at the right moment in your life, a novel can-quite literally-change it.

The Novel Cure is a reminder of that power. To create this apothecary, the authors have trawled two thousand years of literature for novels that effectively promote happiness, health, and sanity, written by brilliant minds who knew what it meant to be human and wrote their life lessons into their fiction. Structured like a reference book, readers simply look up their ailment, be it agoraphobia, boredom, or a midlife crisis, and are given a novel to read as the antidote. Bibliotherapy does not discriminate between pains of the body and pains of the head (or heart). Aware that you've been cowardly? Pick up To Kill a Mockingbird for an injection of courage. Experiencing a sudden, acute fear of death? Read One Hundred Years of Solitude for some perspective on the larger cycle of life. Nervous about throwing a dinner party? Ali Smith's There but for The will convince you that yours could never go that wrong. Whatever your condition, the prescription is simple: a novel (or two), to be read at regular intervals and in nice long chunks until you finish. Some treatments will lead to a complete cure. Others will offer solace, showing that you're not the first to experience these emotions. The Novel Cure is also peppered with useful lists and sidebars recommending the best novels to read when you're stuck in traffic or can't fall asleep, the most important novels to read during every decade of life, and many more.

Brilliant in concept and deeply satisfying in execution, The Novel Cure belongs on everyone's bookshelf and in every medicine cabinet. It will make even the most well-read fiction aficionado pick up a novel he's never heard of, and see familiar ones with new eyes. Mostly, it will reaffirm literature's ability to distract and transport, to resonate and reassure, to change the way we see the world and our place in it.

"This appealing and helpful read is guaranteed to double the length of a to-read list and become a go-to reference for those unsure of their reading identities or who are overwhelmed by the sheer number of books in the world."-Library Journal

• ISBN10: 0143125931
• ISBN13: 9780143125938
• Publish Date: 30 December 2014 (first published 21 August 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Penguin USA
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 432
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780143125938

Reviews

[MurderByDeath]

In terms of quantity and breadth, this might be the mother of all books on book recommendations.  Quality of the recommendations likely lies in the eye of the beholder, although there has to be something in here for everyone, just from a statistical point o view.     This is a reference of maladies; everything from going off the rails, to giving birth, to children, under pressure to have.  Each entry (and they are legion) has a t least one book recommendation, if not an entire list (see: turning forty-something, books on); some with commentary, some without - presumably because their inclusion is obvious.  There are also occasional sets about book collecting, b book lending, over-coming an over-hyped book, finding your book identity and so on.    This is NOT a book to be tackled all at once or even cover to cover over a long period of time.  This is a true reference for those times when you need a book that is a match for your mood, or just desperate for inspiration.     This is not a book for people trying to combat their TBR piles - but I'm telling you about it anyway.

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

“Sick? Tired? Lost your job? Take one dose of literature and repeat until better.”

I would like to be known as a Bibliotherapist; it is on my twitter profile so it must be true. I received this book for Christmas from the most amazing person (my wife) and now I finally have the textbook to officially hand out some bibliotherapy. You have a shopping addiction, please go away and read American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis (that’s what it recommends); I can tell you after that book you’ll not want to be so concerned about what clothing labels are trendy enough to buy and reference in conversation. This is the medical handbook that I can truly get behind and I had a lot of fun looking through it and finding out just how to deal with my parents during Christmas. I loved this book, it was so much fun to flick through. My only problem was the fact that Frankenstein was never prescribed to cure an illness, why can’t it help a god complex, isolation or something like that?