Where Madness Lies - Sylvia True
Where Madness Lies is historical fiction based on a true story, and I found it to be a very compelling, but also difficult read. Set in both pre-WW2 Germany and 1984 Boston, the book tells the tale of mental illness that runs through family lines, of secrets, and of the terrible practices of the Nazi regime before and during WW2.
In Germany in the 1930’s Inga cares for her sister Rigmor who has suffered from mental illness for much of her life. Both sisters, as well as Inga’s husband Klaus, live with their mother Frieda. Inga is intent on finding a proper diagnosis for Rigmor so that she can live a happier life rather than being struck down by depression and psychosis on a regular basis. In the Boston area in 1984, Sabine has just had a baby, and decides to check herself into a mental health hospital on the recommendation of her therapist as she feels she cannot cope anymore. On hearing this news, Inga, who is Sabine’s grandmother, travels to the US to help her granddaughter. I know that is a bit of a barebones summary, but the beauty of this novel for me was discovering the ties between the characters, understanding the decisions that they made along the way, and finally understanding their interactions with each other, so I don’t really want to ruin that for anyone else!
The narrative skips between pre-war Germany and 1984 Boston, between Inga’s struggle to help Rigmor, and Sabine’s struggle to find herself again. While Inga’s family is wealthy, they are also Jewish, and persecution against the Jews has already begun. At the same time the Nazi government has put a deep interest into eugenics and euthanasia, and living with mental illness slowly becomes a death sentence rather than something that can be managed. Sabine on the other hand is unaware of her family’s mental health history, and while she has had depressive episodes in her life, she has never actually dealt with them properly until this point.
This book is so well written, and Sylvia True does such a great job developing the characters, as well as the storylines, weaving them altogether so well. At first I had a hard time liking Inga, especially when it came to her attitude towards Sabine, but as time went on she grew on me, and I learned to understand her better. I really appreciated the deep look into how mental health institutions operated in Nazi Germany and how easy it was for officials to rid themselves of people without creating any kind of mass outrage. Something to keep in mind when we look at present times too.
There is a lot to unpack in this book, and I would have actually loved for the story to continue on for a little longer. I was interested in seeing how Sabine coped with everything once she was released (mother/father/husband dynamics for example).
All in all I had a hard time focusing on anything else while I was reading this book and I really appreciated the insight into how mental illness was treated in Nazi Germany, and how terrifyingly easy it was for the regime to murder countless people based on a diagnosis.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.