Synopses & Reviews
While carrying out historical research at Ontario's London Asylum, psychiatrist Harry Karlinsky comes across a familiar surname in the register: one Thomas Darwin of Down, England. Could this Thomas be a relation of the eminent scientist Charles Darwin? In a narrative woven from letters, memoir abstracts, photographs, and illustrations, what emerges is a sketch of Thomas's life - the last of eleven children born to Charles Darwin.In this stunning factitious biography, Karlinsky gives us a subtle parody and a Nabokovian tale of Darwinian theory gone wrong. Through the sometimes doctored, sometimes invented writings, we see the tragically short life of Thomas Darwin, a young scientist in his own right, whose novel application of evolutionary theory centres on knives and forks and spoons. Although decisively a work of fiction, The Evolution of Inanimate Objects invites sustained uncertainty as to whether Thomas Darwin is a character of pure invention or simply a heretofore little-known figure.
Synopsis
In the archives of Ontario's London Asylum, psychiatrist Harry Karlinsky comes across a familiar surname in the register. Could Thomas Darwin, involuntarily admitted to the Asylum as a danger to others, be a relative of the great Charles Darwin? And what might have brought him to this place, where he died alone, a world away from home In this stunning factitious biography Karlinsky gives us a Nabokovian tale of Darwinian theory gone wrong. Although decisively a work of fiction, The Evolution of Inanimate Objects invites sustained uncertainty as to whether Thomas is a character of pure invention or simply a heretofore little known figure.