Another "What book did I read?" question!
April 16, 2013 6:49 PM Subscribe
I've been wracking my brains for years trying to remember the title of a book I read during middle school (or perhaps early high school).
I've tried Google to no avail and my even my literary friends are stumped, which may be because what I remember of the book itself may be one fleeting paragraph that is not central to the rest of the story. The passage stuck with me as it described the narrator (an adolescent boy) witnessing his friend's eventual decline into psychosis. In the passage (which could be a few sentences, or a paragraph, an entire chapter, or a secondary narrative across the entire novel for all I remember) the narrator describes his friend having a psychotic break and hallucinations of people walking around with donkey heads. I also think this was my first exposure to the term schizophrenia, but I could be misremembering. That is all I remember, specifically the donkey heads or perhaps they were animal heads in general.
I honestly don't remember the rest of the book. Hell it may not even be part of a full length novel, but as I didn't have the internet back then (few did) it definitely was something I read in print format and for a class assignment. I remember reading it around the same time as Lord of the Flies, which I vaguely remember and have (embarrassingly) not reread in full since. I've been told that LOTF does not contain any passages resembling what I described above, although I could be extraordinarily misremembering the scene during which the character Simon speaks to a disembodied pig's head. That would be...interesting, to say the least.
In any case, hopefully you can help me solve this one so that it doesn't continue to drive me bonkers!
I've tried Google to no avail and my even my literary friends are stumped, which may be because what I remember of the book itself may be one fleeting paragraph that is not central to the rest of the story. The passage stuck with me as it described the narrator (an adolescent boy) witnessing his friend's eventual decline into psychosis. In the passage (which could be a few sentences, or a paragraph, an entire chapter, or a secondary narrative across the entire novel for all I remember) the narrator describes his friend having a psychotic break and hallucinations of people walking around with donkey heads. I also think this was my first exposure to the term schizophrenia, but I could be misremembering. That is all I remember, specifically the donkey heads or perhaps they were animal heads in general.
I honestly don't remember the rest of the book. Hell it may not even be part of a full length novel, but as I didn't have the internet back then (few did) it definitely was something I read in print format and for a class assignment. I remember reading it around the same time as Lord of the Flies, which I vaguely remember and have (embarrassingly) not reread in full since. I've been told that LOTF does not contain any passages resembling what I described above, although I could be extraordinarily misremembering the scene during which the character Simon speaks to a disembodied pig's head. That would be...interesting, to say the least.
In any case, hopefully you can help me solve this one so that it doesn't continue to drive me bonkers!
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a popular read at that age, and unlike the movie, it includes first person narration of schizophrenia. Not exactly what you're describing, but maybe it's what was misremembered?
posted by HeroZero at 7:45 PM on April 16, 2013
posted by HeroZero at 7:45 PM on April 16, 2013
I haven't read the book in so long I don't know if animal heads figure into it but the rest of your description reminds me of (George) by E.L. Konigsburg
posted by estherbester at 8:09 PM on April 16, 2013
posted by estherbester at 8:09 PM on April 16, 2013
Longshot suggestion.
The play Equus is about (sort of) mental illness and features horses. There aren't scenes of people with horse heads (that I remember). However, advertisements for productions of the play had actors with horse heads moving around on stage.
For me, powerful images like this can get mashed up with the narrative.
posted by Gorgik at 8:11 PM on April 16, 2013
The play Equus is about (sort of) mental illness and features horses. There aren't scenes of people with horse heads (that I remember). However, advertisements for productions of the play had actors with horse heads moving around on stage.
For me, powerful images like this can get mashed up with the narrative.
posted by Gorgik at 8:11 PM on April 16, 2013
In an effort to help you solve this, what year was it that you read this and what grade?
posted by bkeene12 at 8:35 PM on April 16, 2013
posted by bkeene12 at 8:35 PM on April 16, 2013
I just spent 20 minutes searching online because your description pinged with something I vaguely remembered. This probably isn't it, but it reminds me a bit of Autobiography of a Schizophrenic Girl. In the opening she talks about her first experiences with schizophrenia, and describes seeing a classmate turning into a "lion." It was the first book I read about schizophrenia (and scared the pants off of me) so it's stuck with me since childhood.
posted by Bella Sebastian at 1:05 AM on April 17, 2013
posted by Bella Sebastian at 1:05 AM on April 17, 2013
If you didn't already, it might be worth a look through the 'Literature' section at the bottom of this page to see if anything rings a bell?
posted by atlantica at 5:13 AM on April 17, 2013
posted by atlantica at 5:13 AM on April 17, 2013
For some reason, and nothing concrete, I'm thinking of That Was Then, This is Now, by S. E. Hinton.
There are some vivid descriptions of LSD use, is this even in the same ball park?
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 6:53 AM on April 17, 2013
There are some vivid descriptions of LSD use, is this even in the same ball park?
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 6:53 AM on April 17, 2013
"Lisa, Bright and Dark" sounds related. I don't remember any donkeys, however.
posted by JimN2TAW at 8:51 AM on April 21, 2013
posted by JimN2TAW at 8:51 AM on April 21, 2013
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posted by third rail at 7:10 PM on April 16, 2013