I read this book on a whim; my wife was taking a little longer in the library than me, so I wandered up & down the aisle looking for something to jump out at me. And this title certainly did. “98 Reasons For Being.” It sounds like a self-help book, but it’s actually an historical novel about race and psychiatry in mid-19th Century Germany. But wait, it’s much more enjoyable than it sounds.

Dr. Heinrich Hoffman, the superintendant of the asylum in Frankfurt and author of the famous children’s book Struwwelpeter, is in charge of 98 patients, and his most recent charge is Hannah Meyer, a troubled Jewish girl who does not speak. His varied attempts at curing her form the backbone of the piece, which also delves into the lives of many of the asylum’s other patients and employees. And as Hoffman’s treatment become less medical and more “moral”, we get closer to the root of her problem.

Author Claire Dudman certainly creates a compelling mood; with each well-chosen word she convincingly presents the moods, attitudes, and medical practices of 1850s. And overall, the story is compelling; you empathize with the doctor’s problems, you react with shock and surprise at the other characters’ actions, and above all you wonder what could have happened to this girl to make her this way. But when it’s finally revealed, the book runs out of steam a little. The other characters’ fates are still important, but without the mysteries of Hoffman and Meyer it seems a little flat. I still liked it, but felt that it lost its urgency towards the end. A good historical-biographical novel, of particular interest to readers who enjoy psychology and how the human spirit struggles through adversity. (Whoah, heavy-handed much? Maybe, but I stand by it.)