Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
The infamous Dr. Caligari: psychiatrist or psychopath? In this wry and satiric tour de force, award-winning author James Morrow (Towing Jehovah, The Last Witchfinder) offers a surprising and provocative take on a silent film classic.
In the summer of 1914, the world teeters on the brink of the Great War. An American painter, Francis Wyndham, is hired to provide art therapy at a renowned European asylum, working under the auspices of its mysterious director, Alessandro Caligari. Francis is soon beguiled by his most talented student, Ilona Wessels, whose genius with a brush is matched only by the erotic intensity of her madness.
Deep in his secret studio, Dr. Caligari, rumored to be a sorcerer, struggles to create Ecstatic Wisdom, an immense painting so hypnotic it can incite entire regiments to rush headlong into battle. Once Francis and Ilona grasp Caligari's scheme in all its supernatural audacity, they conspire to defeat him with a magical work of their own...
Synopsis
"Watch out for James Morrow: He's magic."
--Washington Post Book World
It is the summer of 1914, and young American painter Francis Wyndham really needs work. Fortunately, he's attained a position as the new art therapist at a renowned European insane asylum. Unfortunately, the asylum's director--the terrible Dr. Alessandro Caligari--is less interested in curing patients than in his own nefarious projects.
In his secret lair, Caligari is creating a painting so hypnotic it will incite entire regiments into battle rage. If he succeeds, he will make untold profits selling his services to power-hungry governments. And with the world at the brink of war, only Francis's most talented (and not entirely sane) student Illona may be able to foil Caligari.
Vividly re-imagined from the madness of a silent-film classic, The Asylum of Dr. Caligari is a provocative satire on the fine art of profiteering.
Synopsis
If you think today's profiteers are diabolical, blink again.
It is the summer of 1914. As the world teeters on the brink of the Great War, a callow American painter, Francis Wyndham, arrives at a renowned European insane asylum, where he begins offering art therapy under the auspices of Alessandro Caligari--sinister psychiatrist, maniacal artist, alleged sorcerer. And determined to turn the impending cataclysm to his financial advantage, Dr. Caligari will--for a price--allow governments to parade their troops past his masterpiece: a painting so mesmerizing it can incite entire regiments to rush headlong into battle.
The Asylum of Dr. Caligari is a timely tale that is by turns funny and erotic, tender and bayonet-sharp--but ultimately emerges as a love letter to that mysterious, indispensible thing called art.