Scan barcode
Reviews
The Man Who Tasted Words: Inside the Strange and Startling World of Our Senses by Guy Leschziner
scytmo's review against another edition
5.0
This is a fascinating insight into the senses and how their operation can go wrong. Not only does the author explain the medical details of how the senses work, and fail, but also discusses the impact such failures can have on the quality of life of those affected. The case studies are always fascinating and sometimes moving, where the impact on some of the patients’ lives has been intolerable. Throughout the book the author presents a sensitive balance between medical detail and the heartfelt human interest.
kimberlina82's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
4.5
Very interesting. Always so excited to learn more about the human body.
gubz's review against another edition
2.0
Synesthesia is fascinating but was looking for more scientific explanations rather than personal experience. When it comes to science, idc about human experience but the deeper scientific concepts. It’s why I’m a chemist and not a doctor. But I swear I am still a cuddly n friendly fren
setauuta's review against another edition
4.0
I loved reading some of these stories of people whose senses are misfiring in some way. The author gives a great breakdown of how the senses work from a neurological standpoint, and how easy it is for the senses to break down. My one quibble was that the title gave me the impression that there would be more discussion of synesthesia, and that part was limited to a very small section. Still, I learned a lot that I'd never thought of before.
shanaqui's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
The Man Who Tasted Words sounds like it's going to be about a lexical->gustatory synaesthete, and the blurb also calls out that part, so I just want to say up front that it's not really like that. There's one chapter that discusses synaesthesia, and it doesn't give it an especially long consideration or something.
In the end, it's a book in the vein of many other similar books: the author's a neurologist, and he draws stories from his practice to illustrate how the brain works, and how it fails to work. It's always fascinating to read that kind of thing, but at the same time, this isn't new at all. It has all the predictable beats (here's the patient he failed, here's the worst thing he's ever experienced as a doctor, here's the fascinating case), and the stories don't particularly illustrate anything surprising and new.
So if you don't read a lot of these, or conversely if you absolutely love them and read every single one you can get your hands on, this might be worth some time. I thought it was just OK, though.
In the end, it's a book in the vein of many other similar books: the author's a neurologist, and he draws stories from his practice to illustrate how the brain works, and how it fails to work. It's always fascinating to read that kind of thing, but at the same time, this isn't new at all. It has all the predictable beats (here's the patient he failed, here's the worst thing he's ever experienced as a doctor, here's the fascinating case), and the stories don't particularly illustrate anything surprising and new.
So if you don't read a lot of these, or conversely if you absolutely love them and read every single one you can get your hands on, this might be worth some time. I thought it was just OK, though.