Review: Excellent Lessons in Sanity (or Insanity)
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 26, 2013
Toby is the son of a doctor, who continues the genetic line of a family possessing the innate ability to observe the past, present and future of every person they encounter.  Toby's father is convinced that control is the key to remaining sane as the innate ability grows stronger as each person ages, and the good doctor works hard to maintain the family secret while seeking the medication that will enable the family to live beyond the age of 40.  Past generations have almost always ended in suicide, though some members of the family have been killed for the crime of practicing or promotion the practice of witchcraft.  Dr. Daniel Hay has gone so far as to provide his own father medication that has reduced Toby's grandfather to a vegetable, a man in a coma, where the incessant images can no longer offer the world insight into the world of a man slowing descending into insanity.With Toby's father disappearing a year before, Toby's sister (who also inherited the genetic ability) secreting her plans to commit suicide, the new next-door neighbor hiding from an abusive hunter that Toby knows will find her and leave with her blood on his hands, Toby works with his virtual assistant, Penelope, to try to reduce his interaction with the world, control his abilities and live without going insane.  His increasing use of tequila in an attempt to dull the intruding visions are less successful than he would want, and that same use is more concerning than his few friends would like.  Even Carl, the one life-long friend that knows his secret and uses it in his investigations as a private investigator, is concerned with Toby's worsening life habits and vocalizations.Well written, with a few distracting mis-chosen or mis-used words, the story of Toby streaming the universe is an interest-catching, idea-generating fictional work that should not be ignored.  While superficially telling a story with ideas that may be a challenge to believe, the lessons being examined regarding sanity and insanity, medical illness and mental illness, and the line between perception and reality present opportunities for discussions of such topics that may be missed should this book never be read.  Realists would not want to read this book, but readers who like to use both intellect and imagination will find this a fascinating story that begs for either a sequel or related story.