A glimpse into the minds of different creatives, Spanish writer Rosa Montero weaves an excellent exploration of creativity and madness in The Danger To Be Sane. Using her journalistic background, the author develops a case to demonstrate how eccentricity, mental instability and past trauma are part of the process for creatives.
Blending neuroscientific research and drawing on examples from writers such as Sylvia Plath, Virginia Woolf, Emily Dickinson and Janet Frame, themes of forgery, duality, addiction and obsessiveness are considered. In parallel to the extensively researched sections, Montero’s own personal experience of an imposter who posed as her for years after a case of mistaken identity offers a unique insight into the topic.
As a usual reader of fiction, the mix of memoir, essay and analysis combine to read like a novel, with lyrical prose from the prolific journalist and novelist Montero (and translated from the Spanish by Lindsey Ford). Despite the significant amount of research that must have preluded this book, every fact feels relevant and adds to the curiosity of both the artist and the subject mentioned.
Fascinating, thoughtful and full of flair, into a subject that may often be glossed over. The serendipitous conclusion to the events experienced by the author (make sure you read the acknowledgments) proves that this book was indeed meant to be written by this extraordinary writer.
