Summary of The High Mountains of Portugal: by Yann Martel | Includes Analysis

By Instaread Summaries

Summary of The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel | Includes Analysis

 

Preview:

The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel is a novel comprised of three subtly but intricately linked novellas, each set in a di

• Language: English
• Publisher: Instaread, Inc
• Release date: May 11, 2016
• ISBN: 9781683780755

Book preview

Overview

Claudia Kalb’s Andy Warhol Was a Hoarder: Inside the Minds of History’s Greatest Personalities offers 12 short biographies of famous individuals, focusing on their individual struggles with mental illness. The biographies are used to help illustrate and provide information about different mental disorders, such as OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) and gambling addiction. In turn, the discussion of mental illness provides insight into the personalities of notable historical individuals, including Abraham Lincoln, George Gershwin, and Marilyn Monroe.

Mental illness has had a complicated and uncertain effect on the lives of the famous. However, mental illness in historical figures is difficult to diagnose. This is in part because historical records are imperfect. But it is also because the same symptoms can point to a variety of illnesses. For example, Charles Darwin’s chronic stomach complaints could have been due to a physical malady like the intestinal condition Crohn’s disease, or it could have been caused by chronic anxiety—or both. Children who have trouble paying attention in school, such as the young George Gershwin, may have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Or they may simply be bored and uninterested. It can be tricky to make these diagnoses, even in living people.

In some cases, mental illness seems like it is inseparable from the mental abilities or proclivities that helped a renowned person succeed. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s possible narcissistic personality disorder was closely tied to the ambition that led