The Astronomer

by Brian Biswas

Overview

Franz Herbert suffers from epileptic seizures; are they a curse that takes him away from his wife, family, and friends, or a gift that allows him to explore the depths of the cosmos?

An exploration of a man's struggle with a neurological disease, the nature of reality, and the workings of his own mind, The Astronomer is both a love story and the tale of a man's journey to find his place in the universe.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781952600319
Publisher:	Whiskey Tit
Publication date:	03/08/2023
Pages:	268
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.56(d)

Editorial Reviews

In Brian Biswas' new novel, The Astronomer, he has chosen to confound us frequently regarding how he and the main character regard reality, and we are often forced to think about our own ways of looking at the real and the fantastic, about fact and fiction... he also challenges us to think about whether or not the dreams and other mental wanderings of people who don't have "normal" mental lives constitute another reality as well.

- Alice Whittenburg, Cafe Irreal

From the Publisher

2023-06-05
In Biswas’ novel, a renowned astronomer suffering from epileptic seizures comes to believe that he can travel through interstellar space and commune with gods.

Peoria, Illinois, native Franz Herbert began to have out-of-body experiences in 1921, when he was 15 years old, and also heard disembodied voices; when he was 20, he was diagnosed with epilepsy. Over decades, he experienced his petite mal seizures as metaphysical opportunities to depart the Earth and explore the far reaches of space; during these experiences, he met the ancient gods who preside over the universe, and he came to believe that he was ancestrally descended from the “celestial beings who govern the cosmos.” He became famous as an astronomer for discovering Pluto in 1930 at the age of 24 (a nod to real-life astronomer Clyde Tombaugh), but his colleagues and his wife, Isabella, believed that he was mentally ill; Isabella eventually ran off with one of his co-workers. Over the course of this novel, Biswas provocatively raises questions about what separates creative genius and insanity—a question that even Herbert astutely raises: “I no longer knew what side of that line I was on. And that I did not care.” The book is presented as a series of diary entries written by Herbert, who, in the early ’70s, simply vanished without a trace; there’s also commentary by his psychologist, Dr. Joseph Arnold, and friend Martin Pasqual, a professor of literature, and their exceedingly sober cogitations provide a compelling foil to Franz’s more extravagant claims. Biswas’ writing is remarkably expansive throughout, and readers will find it deeply impressive how he captures two distinct voices: one of prosaic reason and another of disordered brilliance. Overall, it’s a fantastically strange novel that’s as grippingly eccentric as the protagonist at its center.

An engrossing tale that explores the vicissitudes of an unusual mind.

Kirkus Reviews