Jennifer (JC-S)'s Reviews > Hospital

‘I’m fine’, I say.

I was ambivalent about reading this novel. Eager to read it to see how the author tackled psychosis, reluctant because having endured a medically induced episode of psychosis fifteen years ago, I am wary about revisiting my memories. As you can see, eagerness triumphed.

In this work of autofiction based on real-life events, Sanya, the protagonist, takes us on part of her journey during her third episode of psychosis. Her physical journey takes her from home to a community house, to a hospital and home again. Her psychological journey has her questioning her diagnosis and the medical model used to arrive at it. And Sanya’s questioning of what she observes and how she interprets it from her own idiosyncratic reality mirrors aspects of my own experience.
Yes, a psychotic world is real to those inhabiting it and is one reason why medical intervention is often required.

One of the strengths of this novel is that Sanya’s reality is presented without any third-party interpretative filter. The reader may be aware that Sanya’s reality is incomplete in that it largely excludes the impact on those around her, but the reader has no other perspective for comparison.

Not all psychoses are the same. My own experience involved auditory and visual hallucinations along with a sense of impending urgency to solve what I perceived to be important issues. I could relate to Sanya’s focus on and interpretation of gestures and signs. I see it as a form of hyperreality.

I finished this novel in awe of Ms Rushdi’s approach to writing about psychosis. Conversations are the primary narrative mode, treatments are questioned, other people (including family members) appear at the fringes. This was Sanya’s reality.

How do we define sanity? Who interprets another’s reality?

This novel is on the shortlists for both the 2024 Miles Franklin Literary Award and the Stella Prize. I wish Ms Rushdi every success.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith