Have you ever stared into a Renoir painting, seeing
fashionable 19th century French women dressed in ornate gowns, with
distinguished gentlemen in tailcoats and tall hats, crossing a damp and shiny
cobblestone road with horse-drawn carriages in the background, umbrellas
opened, wondering who were these people? It is very possible one of the men may have been Monsieur Claude
Bernard.
Peter Wise has used words to the skill level of Pierre-Auguste Renoir‘s use of
paint, creating a literary book embellishing a world, a period-piece, with
complex human emotions, determination, drive and passion, along with respectful
conversational French dialogue in his epic work A Matter of Doubt – the life of Claude Bernard. He has created a hybrid work of fiction based
upon fact; a world in which novel relationships are verbosely explained
pursuant to generally accepted historical encounters.
A Matter of Doubt
articulates, from a third-person narrative view, the life of Claude Bernard and
how he was heavily influenced in his logic and reason by René Descartes, the famous French
philosopher who questioned “everything.” This led Descartes to become one of the key figures of the creation of
what we call today the Scientific Method. Claude Bernard used the practice, not taking
anything on face value, and performed blind-experimentation to support his
medical research, thus becoming one of humanity’s most accomplished doctors
shedding light on many aspects of the human condition of health and
well-being. Although controversial even
at the time, Claude Bernard used animal experimentation to an extreme,
upsetting his wife and daughters, which ultimately led to a divorce; however
being convinced the greater good to relieve humanity of disease, justified the
use of vivisection.
A Matter of Doubt
begins when Claude Bernard moved to Paris to study medicine as a young adult,
working as a pharmacist to make ends meet while writing a play and dreaming
about becoming a famous playwright. His
dichotomy of interests, so eloquently portrayed by Peter Wise, captures the
reader and draws one into the world of yesteryear, a time less complicated by
the limits of technology, however as modern a group of people as those of us
that live today. Peter Wise’s use of
language, with his precision, coy remarks of the wonderfully credible
characters, and significance of respectful interactions is unlike much of the
mundane use of verbiage we read and use today. He truly pulls the reader back in time, like the Time Machine in the H. G. Wells classic, into the mid-1800’s, and
drops you among the upper society in Paris, France, amidst famous people like
Louis Pasteur.
When reading this book I was pleasantly transported away
from modern day life and rewarded with gaining an intimate understanding of the
strength of values, fortitude and determination of Claude Bernard, holding a
higher appreciation for the medical breakthroughs he now is accredited as
founding. The brilliance of Peter Wise’s
writing skills are truly amazing, being so presumptuously respectful of the
reader’s intelligence while still explaining the fundamentals of the factual
evidence portrayed in the scientific medical work. Although a very sophisticated
book, I would recommend this for young adults to read as an example of
excellence in technique, as well as to the seasoned historical reader; or
anyone for that matter, seeking entertainment while being educated. Having a background in French is helpful, as
this book seamlessly jumps from French to English with phrases, names and most
interestingly uses the thought patterns of the marvelous French culture in
describing events. I believe this book
is also available translated into French. C'est
un très bon livre!
