Retirement Homes For Dogs

Adolfo Bioy Casares - sleeping in the sun

Lucio Bordenave, during a strike dismissed bank official and now watchmaker, lives, despite the moodiness of his beautiful wife, Diana, in a satisfying marriage. As Diana's increasing instability, however, and on the advice of others, he takes her to a psychiatric hospital, from where they walked back physically unchanged, but inside. First Bordenave enjoys dealing with the sudden so tender and considerate Diana. But the inner change makes him doubt, be suspicious and eventually also feel overwhelmed. He returns to the clinic to find out what happened then. With the result that he is locked up and treatment subject is that his wife suffered. The secret of transformation in the clinic: the restless soul of man is irascible as Lucio will also come from the people and transplanted into dogs. The old body to get terminally ill ...

... just the fact as expressed skepticism about the doctors and the lack of transparency of the psychiatric system, make the whole thing so scary. The incredible power and authority, can also weaken any resistance and will to fight, not poignant, not specific enough. The enemy, the doctor is, not to attack, reveals itself more in his wisdom, far superior to its security. Thus, then, not only in the book, admitted, operated on. The authority to interpret sick and healthy, and if ill is, that one is irascible, lies with the doctors. The will be with the suffering, the life, to arrange completely - (known as Lucho, probably of la lucha, the struggle) and Lucio, as he prepares for his whole woman, outside, as indoor decide. Since then ridiculed by the medical horror stories, people and animals are kidnapped in order to conduct experiments on them, far too close to reality.
Casares writes without the humor - if he can pass the most obvious change is that the new Diana can not boil, the loss of the whims also means the loss of pleasure. The disturbing of the novel is, hidden behind the apparent irrelevancies. The most disturbing is the alienation, the change of people. Since the asylum is probably only a symbol of how to do it most easily - how people can be broken as it were the fastest, as they can be held like a dog. And that one as politically unpopular people, has also zwangspsychatrisiert ever, is also nothing new. And the helplessness to authority, especially at shift differentials, is also being addressed strongly. One wishes to read, that he defends himself, that he fights that he is stronger against the other ... but he is not. And if he attaches it to be that he is struck down with a local anesthetic. 41 [always, if you grief];


(27 [What Diana for him] 47 [The upper hand in the talks], 64 [The moods of a woman are so unstable], 72 [the child stares ] 79 [contrast, because in the clinic] and 84 [World not] in order / as politics;? 97 [vivisection -] wealth, 101 [not] at home, 111 [why lent money]? 117 [? women differently - do not complain>], 133 [? can not cook], 152 [Who is Diana], 156 [without joy under the skin], 177 [what was done with the woman]; 192 [the clinic], 194 [dog lies on the operating table, where girls lag], 201 [not to appear intransigent], 206 [discussion so cheap], 208 [the soul isolated])