Book Review: - The Royal Physician's Visit, by Per Olov Enquist

The Royal Physician's Visit, by Per Olov Enquist

By Toria Burrell, 2/8/11

What sets this book apart from most literature I've read (recently) is the unique, poetic writing style.  Enquist tells a very gripping story, but crafts it in a very elegant, almost musical way. He repeats certain key phrases over and over, (sometimes varying them slightly), which creates an almost hypnotic rhythm to the prose.  It is almost like a musical symphony, where certain motifs are repeated or varied to create emphasis.  Some of his descriptions are full of long, almost stream-of-consciousness sentences, which flow fast and build up a warm current of passionate emotion. (E.g. the erotic love scene between the Doctor and the Queen).  Other sections are the opposite - short, clipped, half-formed sentences, which create a coldness, which is just right for describing certain chilling scenes.

Another unique feature is the structure of the story, i.e, the introduction, at the very beginning, of the final outcome!  E.g., We find out right away that the main hero, Doctor Johan Struensee, is going to meet his tragic demise and be executed by the end of the story!!  Contrary to logical expectations of this spoiling the story, it actually enhances it.  Enquist masterfully builds up the suspense and irony, by making us "fall in love" with this character and sympathize deeply with him and his circumstances, thereby greatly infusing the story with heavy tragedy and irony.  Even though we know that he is going to be executed, we don't know exactly why, or how he will be betrayed, or by whom - it still remains a gripping mystery until the end.

Another main reason I enjoyed this book was the portrayal of the character of the "mad" King - Christian VII.  Everything about his mental illness suggests Autism (to me).  His brilliant mind, his extreme sensitivities, his confusion and inability to understand social cues and rules, his rocking, muttering, wild gesturing, his child-like simple enjoyment of "playing" silly games (e.g throwing objects out of his window for fun!), his paranoia about being tortured or killed, his delusions about reality and fantasy, his idea that his life is just a "play" and if he only knew his "lines" he would know what to say. This is a very poignant character, tenderly portrayed.

I'm not going to go into the political aspects of this story here - but suffice it to say, this book also offers a unique and fascinating perspective of European history that I had not known anything about - e.g. the beginnings of the Enlightenment and Humanism, and how it slowly emerged and progressed out of the darkness of cruel, Medieval, Monarchic dictatorships.

Enquist's writing is so good at conveying deep emotions, especially despair, anger, cruelty and claustrophobia, that I often found it almost too disturbing to read in places!  But, despite having to fight through some rather nauseating scenes, it was worth it for the sheer enjoyment of the writing and the story.