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Open Wound: The Tragic Obsession of Dr. William Beaumont
A shotgun misfires inside the American Fur Company store in Northern Michigan, and Alexis St. Martin's death appears imminent. It's 1822, and, as the leaders of Mackinac Island examine St. Martin's shot-riddled torso, they decide not to incur a single expense on behalf of the indentured fur trapper. They even go so far as to dismiss the attention of U.S. Army Assistant Surgeon William Beaumont, the frontier fort's only doctor. Beaumont ignores the orders and saves the young man's life. What neither the doctor nor his patient understands—yet—is that even as Beaumont's care of St. Martin continues for decades, the motives and merits of his attention are far from clear. In fact, for what he does to his patient, Beaumont will eventually stand trial and be judged. Rooted deeply in historic fact, Open Wound artfully fictionalizes the complex, lifelong relationship between Beaumont and his illiterate French Canadian patient. The young trapper's injury never completely heals, leaving a hole into his stomach that the curious doctor uses as a window to understand the mysteries of digestion. Eager to rise up from his humble origins and self-conscious that his medical training occurred as an apprentice to a rural physician rather than at an elite university, Beaumont seizes the opportunity to experiment upon his patient's stomach in order to write a book that he hopes will establish his legitimacy and secure his prosperity. As Jason Karlawish portrays him, Beaumont, always growing hungrier for more wealth and more prestige, personifies the best and worst aspects of American ambition and power.
284 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
About the author
Jason Karlawish
3 books22 followersJason Karlawish is a Professor of Medicine and Medical Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania. He studied medicine at Northwestern University and trained in internal medicine and geriatric medicine at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Chicago.
He cares for patients at the Penn Memory Center. His research focuses on issues in bioethics. With support from the National Institutes of Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Greenwall Foundation, he has investigated the development of Alzheimer’s disease treatments and diagnostics, informed consent, quality of life, research and treatment decision making, and voting by persons with cognitive impairment and residents of long term care facilities. He has been an international proponent of mobile polling, a method of bringing the vote to long term care facilities that minimizes fraud and maximizes voter rights. He is a winner of the Lancet's Wakley Prize. In 2010, in a widely publicized essay in the Journal of the American Medical Association, he introduced the concept of “desktop medicine,” a theory of medicine that recognizes how risk and its numerical representations are transforming medicine, medical care, and health.
Karlawish wrote Open Wound: The Tragic Obsession of Dr. William Beaumont in part to upend the convention of the scientist as a dispassionate expert who lives above the social and political order of her times. Open Wound, a novel based on true events along the 19th century American frontier, tells how emotion and passion together with social and political pressures slowly corrupt the scientist’s character and ethics, a corruption that drives Dr. Beaumont to increasingly desperate acts. Tragically, he destroys what he most desires, the immortality of fame.
Karlawish has disseminated his work in peer reviewed publications and chapters in leading textbooks of medicine and bioethics, testimony to the Senate Select Committee on Aging and the Department of Health and Human Services Subcommittee on the Inclusion of Individuals with Impaired Decision-making in Research, and collaborations with the American Bar Association, American Association of Retired Persons, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the State of Vermont, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, and the U.S. Government Accountability Office. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Greenwall Foundation.
He cares for patients at the Penn Memory Center. His research focuses on issues in bioethics. With support from the National Institutes of Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Greenwall Foundation, he has investigated the development of Alzheimer’s disease treatments and diagnostics, informed consent, quality of life, research and treatment decision making, and voting by persons with cognitive impairment and residents of long term care facilities. He has been an international proponent of mobile polling, a method of bringing the vote to long term care facilities that minimizes fraud and maximizes voter rights. He is a winner of the Lancet's Wakley Prize. In 2010, in a widely publicized essay in the Journal of the American Medical Association, he introduced the concept of “desktop medicine,” a theory of medicine that recognizes how risk and its numerical representations are transforming medicine, medical care, and health.
Karlawish wrote Open Wound: The Tragic Obsession of Dr. William Beaumont in part to upend the convention of the scientist as a dispassionate expert who lives above the social and political order of her times. Open Wound, a novel based on true events along the 19th century American frontier, tells how emotion and passion together with social and political pressures slowly corrupt the scientist’s character and ethics, a corruption that drives Dr. Beaumont to increasingly desperate acts. Tragically, he destroys what he most desires, the immortality of fame.
Karlawish has disseminated his work in peer reviewed publications and chapters in leading textbooks of medicine and bioethics, testimony to the Senate Select Committee on Aging and the Department of Health and Human Services Subcommittee on the Inclusion of Individuals with Impaired Decision-making in Research, and collaborations with the American Bar Association, American Association of Retired Persons, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the State of Vermont, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, and the U.S. Government Accountability Office. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Greenwall Foundation.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
September 21, 2014
Dr. William Beaumont, the primary focus of Dr. Jason Karlawish's historical novel, Open Wound, was a real person, a medical pioneer who researched the workings of the human stomach, revolutionizing our understanding of that crucial organ, and informing both dietary wisdom and treatment for gastric ills from that time forward. The way he was able to learn so much was a happy accident, well, happy for him. A Canadian trapper named Alexis St. Martin was in the wrong place at the wrong time, an American Fur Company store on Mackinac Island, when a shotgun accidentally discharged, wounding him critically. Beaumont, an army medical officer, was summoned to the scene. Through his ministrations, and in defiance of a cost-conscious Fur Company business manager, Beaumont, miraculously, saved St. Martin's life. Because the blast to the 18-year-old man’s stomach was so severe, it never healed properly, leaving him with a significant, and permanent perforation in his side. St Martin's loss in cosmetic appeal was science's gain as the trapper's savior subsequently dedicated decades of his life to looking through this window into the human stomach to study how gastric fluids work.
Karlawish introduces the doctor to us as an idealistic, ambitious young man. Eager to apply the self-help advice offered by none other than Benjamin Franklin, he strives to attain, as close as he possibly can, moral perfection. This is a decent man wanting to do good in the world, but also one with considerable personal ambition. It is not long before Beaumont's ambition, his dream of professional respect and a comfortable living, lead him to treat the damaged trapper as a lifelong guinea pig. St. Martin was no pure victim here. He took advantage of Beaumont's need whenever he could, to extract money from the doctor, financial support for himself and his fondness for alcohol. It made for an odd, on-again off-again sort of co-dependance.
In the hands of a seasoned teller of tales, we might have felt the tension of Beaumont falling so short of his ideals, sad maybe at how he struggles to seek fame and fortune, at least in part at the expense of his test subject. But Beaumont never really comes alive as an idealist. He is always very focused on his career. It is only briefly, when he stands up to heartless authority, that we can love him. But it is not enough to form the sort of bond with a lead character that makes us care about him for the duration. Also, Dr. Karlawish may be tickled at the science of gastric juice, but really, most of us will not find that aspect all that appetizing.
Happily, while Beaumont may be the largest single element in the book, he is not the only one. There is plenty of history in this historical novel. Karlawish has presented us with a window into a time in America's past when the nation was moving westward, when reasonable people spoke of the possibility of St Louis being the natural new capital of the expanded United States, long before the Wild West became the Mid-West. It was a time when the War of 1812 was still referred to as the Second War for Independence, when cynical political leaders sought to use the trickery of treaties with native peoples to further rid them of their land and their heritage. It is these and many more looks into the time and what were then western reaches that give this book its heft. It also casts an eye toward the American character, opening with a quote from Alexis de Tocqueville that celebrates the quest for knowledge in this vibrant land, but matching that with a 21st century caution from James Wilson about experimentation, the rights of subjects and conflict of interest.
What I enjoyed most about the book, and where I believe its greatest strength lies, is in how this look at the early 19th century illuminates or at the very least resonates with conflicts and discussions two hundred years later. Two Fur Company managers talk about the potential of life on other planets. That certainly feels at home at a time when science is beginning to locate so-called Goldilocks planets beyond our solar system. Antiquated views on Native Americans summon contemporary attitudes about more recent others, such as Muslims. How the Army and Fur company (substitute United Fruit in the 1950s or oil companies now) interacted still holds relevance today. It was hardly a relic of the time that a researcher's work was stolen by a higher up to enhance an undeserving reputation. And we are offered a scene in which unscrupulous lawyers shred a doctor's reputation by spinning benign facts into a false, damning accusation. Politicians and lawyers remain as they were. Also chilling and very contemporary is the comment by Beaumont’s friend, Captain Ethan Allen Hitchcock, “That further covenants, agreements and treaties with the Indian are simply a means to an end, not to be valued and upheld. It’s war by another means.” And Beaumont was certainly not the last American to be smitten with a self-help guide.
The author makes several mentions of how the popular entertainment, the novel, was viewed at the time. It might be pure historical coloring or he might be poking a bit of fun at the ignorance of the age or even at his own efforts.
No one will mistake Open Wound for a Michael Crichton book. The pacing is reasonable, but with the primary character somewhat flat, there is less than one might desire to the characterization on which to hang one's stethoscope. There are scenes that might get one’s juices flowing. One vision of a triumphant native war party riding through town with sundry body parts of their vanquished rivals on display and used as toys was particularly chilling. But the imminent peril that propels action novels is mostly absent. What is triumphant here is Karlawish’s well-researched look into an American past, and the mirror it holds up to us today. And that makes Open Wound an eminently digestible treat.
PS - Karlawish sent me a copy for review purposes, in late November 2011
Karwalish included a nifty section, after the body of the novel, in which he explains where he retrieved his actual facts, and where some of those facts are surrendered to the demands of fiction. There are images of Beaumont and St Martin as well, and a bit of the author directly addressing his audience on his view of Beaumont.
For another perspective, you might take a look at this New York Times review.
Karlawish introduces the doctor to us as an idealistic, ambitious young man. Eager to apply the self-help advice offered by none other than Benjamin Franklin, he strives to attain, as close as he possibly can, moral perfection. This is a decent man wanting to do good in the world, but also one with considerable personal ambition. It is not long before Beaumont's ambition, his dream of professional respect and a comfortable living, lead him to treat the damaged trapper as a lifelong guinea pig. St. Martin was no pure victim here. He took advantage of Beaumont's need whenever he could, to extract money from the doctor, financial support for himself and his fondness for alcohol. It made for an odd, on-again off-again sort of co-dependance.
In the hands of a seasoned teller of tales, we might have felt the tension of Beaumont falling so short of his ideals, sad maybe at how he struggles to seek fame and fortune, at least in part at the expense of his test subject. But Beaumont never really comes alive as an idealist. He is always very focused on his career. It is only briefly, when he stands up to heartless authority, that we can love him. But it is not enough to form the sort of bond with a lead character that makes us care about him for the duration. Also, Dr. Karlawish may be tickled at the science of gastric juice, but really, most of us will not find that aspect all that appetizing.
Happily, while Beaumont may be the largest single element in the book, he is not the only one. There is plenty of history in this historical novel. Karlawish has presented us with a window into a time in America's past when the nation was moving westward, when reasonable people spoke of the possibility of St Louis being the natural new capital of the expanded United States, long before the Wild West became the Mid-West. It was a time when the War of 1812 was still referred to as the Second War for Independence, when cynical political leaders sought to use the trickery of treaties with native peoples to further rid them of their land and their heritage. It is these and many more looks into the time and what were then western reaches that give this book its heft. It also casts an eye toward the American character, opening with a quote from Alexis de Tocqueville that celebrates the quest for knowledge in this vibrant land, but matching that with a 21st century caution from James Wilson about experimentation, the rights of subjects and conflict of interest.
What I enjoyed most about the book, and where I believe its greatest strength lies, is in how this look at the early 19th century illuminates or at the very least resonates with conflicts and discussions two hundred years later. Two Fur Company managers talk about the potential of life on other planets. That certainly feels at home at a time when science is beginning to locate so-called Goldilocks planets beyond our solar system. Antiquated views on Native Americans summon contemporary attitudes about more recent others, such as Muslims. How the Army and Fur company (substitute United Fruit in the 1950s or oil companies now) interacted still holds relevance today. It was hardly a relic of the time that a researcher's work was stolen by a higher up to enhance an undeserving reputation. And we are offered a scene in which unscrupulous lawyers shred a doctor's reputation by spinning benign facts into a false, damning accusation. Politicians and lawyers remain as they were. Also chilling and very contemporary is the comment by Beaumont’s friend, Captain Ethan Allen Hitchcock, “That further covenants, agreements and treaties with the Indian are simply a means to an end, not to be valued and upheld. It’s war by another means.” And Beaumont was certainly not the last American to be smitten with a self-help guide.
The author makes several mentions of how the popular entertainment, the novel, was viewed at the time. It might be pure historical coloring or he might be poking a bit of fun at the ignorance of the age or even at his own efforts.
No one will mistake Open Wound for a Michael Crichton book. The pacing is reasonable, but with the primary character somewhat flat, there is less than one might desire to the characterization on which to hang one's stethoscope. There are scenes that might get one’s juices flowing. One vision of a triumphant native war party riding through town with sundry body parts of their vanquished rivals on display and used as toys was particularly chilling. But the imminent peril that propels action novels is mostly absent. What is triumphant here is Karlawish’s well-researched look into an American past, and the mirror it holds up to us today. And that makes Open Wound an eminently digestible treat.
PS - Karlawish sent me a copy for review purposes, in late November 2011
Karwalish included a nifty section, after the body of the novel, in which he explains where he retrieved his actual facts, and where some of those facts are surrendered to the demands of fiction. There are images of Beaumont and St Martin as well, and a bit of the author directly addressing his audience on his view of Beaumont.
For another perspective, you might take a look at this New York Times review.
July 26, 2012
This novel is written by a physician about another physician alive almost two centuries ago and deals with an interesting ethical and moral dilemma. It’s based a on a real life story of doctor Beaumont and, by today’s standards, his ethically questionable experimentation on a young man whose life he saved.
In 1822 Dr. William Beaumont, an assistant surgeon in the American army stationed on Mackinac Island on Lake Huron, Michigan, found himself called to an accident in which a young French Canadian voyageur, Alexis St. Martin, took a full blast from an accidental discharge from a gun at a very close proximity. The wound involved both lungs and stomach, was big and complicated and there was little hope that the young man would survive.
Beaumont saved the young trapper’s life but as the wound was healing it became a big fistula into his stomach. Beaumont then, instead of surgically closing it, saw it as a research opportunity and in time became obsessed with probing it and studying digestion through it. The procedure went on for years and had reluctant acquiesce from Alexis who was first dependent on the surgical care of the wound, and then on financial support from Beaumont. As to the pain inflicted by the procedure, we are told that it wasn’t so much the pain as the discomfort and the feeling of nausea and faintness that the young man was experiencing.
By modern ethical and moral standards what Beaumont did is very questionable, even if what propelled him forward was the need for serving humanity as much as the thirst for his own fame. To judge him by our own standards alone would be anachronistic, though. We know from the book that his contemporaries were divided in the appraisal of his efforts- some condemned it, some praised it and found it highly commendable. What real value it has had in furthering our knowledge of digestion the book doesn’t say. My impression is that it remained obscure and not many scientists got acquainted with it. Beaumont, being no scientist, did not conduct his research according to any strict research standards either. As to fistulas, Pavlov, to whom we owe Pavlov’s ‘conditioned reflex’, surgically made fistulas in dogs’ cheeks and stomachs to collect their saliva and gastric acid and study digestion. At least Alexis’ fistula was accidental.
Both of them and countless others used live subjects for experimentation to further medical knowledge. As Better Angels of Our Nature by Pinker informs us the ethical and moral standards have changed over the ages and are still changing in the direction of progress and minimization of pain, humility and towards providing informed consent. And, that’s a great development and one that we hopefully won’t veer from.
The book is quite engrossing and well written to boot. Reminiscent a bit of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks in its subject matter.
In 1822 Dr. William Beaumont, an assistant surgeon in the American army stationed on Mackinac Island on Lake Huron, Michigan, found himself called to an accident in which a young French Canadian voyageur, Alexis St. Martin, took a full blast from an accidental discharge from a gun at a very close proximity. The wound involved both lungs and stomach, was big and complicated and there was little hope that the young man would survive.
Beaumont saved the young trapper’s life but as the wound was healing it became a big fistula into his stomach. Beaumont then, instead of surgically closing it, saw it as a research opportunity and in time became obsessed with probing it and studying digestion through it. The procedure went on for years and had reluctant acquiesce from Alexis who was first dependent on the surgical care of the wound, and then on financial support from Beaumont. As to the pain inflicted by the procedure, we are told that it wasn’t so much the pain as the discomfort and the feeling of nausea and faintness that the young man was experiencing.
By modern ethical and moral standards what Beaumont did is very questionable, even if what propelled him forward was the need for serving humanity as much as the thirst for his own fame. To judge him by our own standards alone would be anachronistic, though. We know from the book that his contemporaries were divided in the appraisal of his efforts- some condemned it, some praised it and found it highly commendable. What real value it has had in furthering our knowledge of digestion the book doesn’t say. My impression is that it remained obscure and not many scientists got acquainted with it. Beaumont, being no scientist, did not conduct his research according to any strict research standards either. As to fistulas, Pavlov, to whom we owe Pavlov’s ‘conditioned reflex’, surgically made fistulas in dogs’ cheeks and stomachs to collect their saliva and gastric acid and study digestion. At least Alexis’ fistula was accidental.
Both of them and countless others used live subjects for experimentation to further medical knowledge. As Better Angels of Our Nature by Pinker informs us the ethical and moral standards have changed over the ages and are still changing in the direction of progress and minimization of pain, humility and towards providing informed consent. And, that’s a great development and one that we hopefully won’t veer from.
The book is quite engrossing and well written to boot. Reminiscent a bit of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks in its subject matter.
August 21, 2023
Alexis St. Martin did not tempt William Beaumont so much as serve as the unwitting bride whom Beaumont led to the altar of his ambition.
This is a hard one. I’ve read a lot of really bad historical fiction in my time, and I’ve also read a few of the rare pieces that rise above the muck and manage to strike a balance between specificity and a reconstruction of the zeitgeist of their chosen era. Many novels lie at the far end of the former, paying such exclusive attention to their protagonists that the narrative becomes a laundry list of important dates and places strung together by shallow melodrama and sexual encounters. Open Wound is the rarer type of novel whose fault is that it is too preoccupied with zeitgeist, to the detriment of believable characterization.
Karlawish has clearly done his research and spent a long time ruminating over the ways in which 19th century frontier Americans may have understood their place in history, but his method of recreating this understanding is one that often falls flat. The dialogue is peppered with extended screeds that reflect more obviously on our own 21st century understanding of the time period, with the advantage of 20/20 hindsight, than the characters would realistically be able to access. When Beaumont does it, it’s perhaps easiest to suspend disbelief, as he comes across as the kind of person who would have a soapbox diatribe in defense of his methods on tap, but when Ramsay Crooks suddenly speaks eloquently and at length about the state of scientific progress in the 1820s, despite these remarks apparently being adapted from a US Army officer’s contemporary memoir, the words feel stilted and lose their immediacy. Deborah, Beaumont’s long-suffering wife, reflects ungracefully upon “a woman’s custom to submit to some higher will,” propping her up as a foil to her husband rather than demonstrating her capacity for original thought. Accuracy does not always translate into believability; the perspective of Karlawish’s characters too frequently benefits from the perspective of one gazing at the historical record from on high.
Perhaps the character whose responses to his situation are most easily believed is St. Martin, who begins the novel in limited consciousness and ends it as an older man who can finally put into words (and is finally free to, after the death of Beaumont) the forcibly limited understanding of his place in the universe that compelled him to agree to Beaumont’s requests for as long as he did: “I had a debt to pay, and I knew that someday I’d have to pay it, that someday God would come to collect his half of the deal I struck with him.” St. Martin is rendered as neither passive, unthinking victim nor is he able to access the grand narrative of History; in this, he emerges as the most human figure of the novel, which is perhaps Open Wound’s most significant gift to this fable of medical history.
This is a hard one. I’ve read a lot of really bad historical fiction in my time, and I’ve also read a few of the rare pieces that rise above the muck and manage to strike a balance between specificity and a reconstruction of the zeitgeist of their chosen era. Many novels lie at the far end of the former, paying such exclusive attention to their protagonists that the narrative becomes a laundry list of important dates and places strung together by shallow melodrama and sexual encounters. Open Wound is the rarer type of novel whose fault is that it is too preoccupied with zeitgeist, to the detriment of believable characterization.
Karlawish has clearly done his research and spent a long time ruminating over the ways in which 19th century frontier Americans may have understood their place in history, but his method of recreating this understanding is one that often falls flat. The dialogue is peppered with extended screeds that reflect more obviously on our own 21st century understanding of the time period, with the advantage of 20/20 hindsight, than the characters would realistically be able to access. When Beaumont does it, it’s perhaps easiest to suspend disbelief, as he comes across as the kind of person who would have a soapbox diatribe in defense of his methods on tap, but when Ramsay Crooks suddenly speaks eloquently and at length about the state of scientific progress in the 1820s, despite these remarks apparently being adapted from a US Army officer’s contemporary memoir, the words feel stilted and lose their immediacy. Deborah, Beaumont’s long-suffering wife, reflects ungracefully upon “a woman’s custom to submit to some higher will,” propping her up as a foil to her husband rather than demonstrating her capacity for original thought. Accuracy does not always translate into believability; the perspective of Karlawish’s characters too frequently benefits from the perspective of one gazing at the historical record from on high.
Perhaps the character whose responses to his situation are most easily believed is St. Martin, who begins the novel in limited consciousness and ends it as an older man who can finally put into words (and is finally free to, after the death of Beaumont) the forcibly limited understanding of his place in the universe that compelled him to agree to Beaumont’s requests for as long as he did: “I had a debt to pay, and I knew that someday I’d have to pay it, that someday God would come to collect his half of the deal I struck with him.” St. Martin is rendered as neither passive, unthinking victim nor is he able to access the grand narrative of History; in this, he emerges as the most human figure of the novel, which is perhaps Open Wound’s most significant gift to this fable of medical history.
January 18, 2012
I found the medical history interesting (if gruesome). I quite disliked the main character, which somewhat diminished my enjoyment of the book. If I was supposed to sympathize at all with Dr. Beaumont, I failed to do so. I would have liked more sections told from St. Martin's point of view... what was HE thinking and feeling?
On the whole, a very interesting book.
I won this as a Goodreads Giveaway, thank you!
On the whole, a very interesting book.
I won this as a Goodreads Giveaway, thank you!
a-wishlist
November 30, 2011This book would give anyone a stomach ache! It is a pun of course! This book covers the infamous patient that lived with a visible hole to stomach, unlike another story about a man that lived with an open chest wound-where his heart could be viewed. look forward to some reviews prior to adding this book to my medical-historical shelf.
July 5, 2014
A solid 3.5. Well done, for those interested in a novel based on a true medical story.
November 16, 2017
I wanted to like this. I was morbidly fascinated by the real-life story of these two men. And it seemed like a story that was meant to be fictionalized. And while there were certainly things to like about this book, it fell flat for me in the most important ways.
The author is a physician, and I think that point of view really came through in the telling of the story. The entire thing (aside from one out-of-place scene between St. Martin and his wife) was told from Dr. Beaumont's point of view and, while his struggles may have been relatable to the author, he was not a sympathetic or likable character for me at all.
I think what I was looking for was for someone to tell Alexis St. Martin's story: the story of racial and class prejudices and religious guilt being wielded like weapon against him and changing the course of his life. St. Martin was the compelling figure, and it was frustrating to have so much time spent dwelling with Beaumont on own struggles with money and pride.
The author is a physician, and I think that point of view really came through in the telling of the story. The entire thing (aside from one out-of-place scene between St. Martin and his wife) was told from Dr. Beaumont's point of view and, while his struggles may have been relatable to the author, he was not a sympathetic or likable character for me at all.
I think what I was looking for was for someone to tell Alexis St. Martin's story: the story of racial and class prejudices and religious guilt being wielded like weapon against him and changing the course of his life. St. Martin was the compelling figure, and it was frustrating to have so much time spent dwelling with Beaumont on own struggles with money and pride.
August 10, 2019
Inelegantly abrupt scene transitions, and the prose was sometimes too limp—emotions weren’t conveyed as vividly as they could have been. Fascinating exploration of the doctor-patient relationship, though.
December 20, 2017
Fascinating tale based on true story. Easy to read, except for some parts that might be hard for the squeamish!
October 14, 2021
Uhg. My heart dudes. That's all. If you like medical stuff this is a must read wowie.
Read
April 17, 2023I didn't realize going into this that the story would be fictionalized. Except for the dialogue, nothing really seemed to be.
January 17, 2012
This book was very well written. I had heard of Dr. Beaumont before and had always been interested in how his patient had come to have a hole in his stomach. Mr. Karlawish did an excellent job of bringing this piece of history to life. I was virtually transported back to 1822, and the years that followed, to witness Dr. Beaumont and Alexis St. Martin's often troubled interactions. I say interactions, because they were never truly friends. A friendship requires a form of respect on each side of the fence, and while Alexis had some respect to an extent for Dr. Beaumont, Beaumont never really respect Alexis at all. However not respecting Alexis doesn't necessarily make Beaumont a bad man. Raised in the time period that he was, no one of that time period would fault him for looking at Alexis as more of a scientific breakthrough than an actual man. You have to remember this was when slavery was still common place, American Indians were all assumed to be savages and Alexi being an indentured fur trapper made him only a step higher on the social ladder of the time. Even with this outlook, Beaumont does still try to morally educate Alexis. He gives him work in exchange for his medical treatment and a place to stay. He also buys Alexi's contract from the fur company, thereby making him a free man. (however later he does basically put him back into being an indentured servant, albeit by a different name) But Alexi is young, while he idolizes the doctor for saving him, he also wants to have a life and not be constantly poked and prodded at. This leads to a constant source of problems for both of the men.
Along with the other multitude of sins they are guilty of, both men are extremely greedy. Beaumont even more so than Alexis. Alexis simply wants to be able to make an easy buck. Beaumont on the other hand wants riches as well, but he also wants his name immortalized in history. His reputation is more important to him than anything else and he sees it directly tied to whatever discoveries he can make from experimenting on Alexis' wound. Even when his experiments seem to inflict direct pain on Alexis, Beaumont simply ignores it and continues with his work.
In the end I honestly felt bad for Beaumont. He was so obsessed with his "reputation" and immortalizing his name, that he was never able to be happy. He never truly enjoyed the wealth and stature that he did accrue. He always looked at his experiments on Alexis as a failure, since they never amounted to what he felt they should. It was a constant source of embarrassment for him, even when people came to see him simply because he was the doctor who had the patient with a hole in his stomach.
As for Alexis, I thought he was selfish. Not because he wouldn't "share" his injury with the world so that the world could learn more about digestion etc.,but he was given a second chance and he didn't truly appreciate it. He squandered whatever money he had on alcohol, and was always assuming that he deserved more than what he received. I'm not saying that how he was viewed by the Dr. was correct, but he was given a second chance on life, and the Dr. offered him a fresh start and he walked away from it.
As I said before Karlawish's work was extremely well written. The only thing I didn't understand was later in the book. For the majority of the book it is written from Dr. Beaumont's perspective, then out of no where there are two small sections that switch to Alexis' point of view. While I wouldn't have minded seeing more of Alexis point of view, the two scenes just seemed out of place. They did add more information to the story. For example showing how Alexis's wife wasn't just meek and manipulated by Alexis. I actually wish there had been more of these scenes from Alexis point of view, maybe they would have helped me to understand some of his actions better.
On the whole though I think the book was very interesting. It drew me in from the beginning, and while I'm not sure if Dr. Beaumont would like entirely how he was portrayed in this book's pages, I think it would mean something to him that he has not been forgotten.
*****In compliance with FTC guidelines, I'm disclosing that I received this book for free through GoodReads First Reads. ****
(I recommend everybody should go check out all the awesome first read giveaways they have!)
Along with the other multitude of sins they are guilty of, both men are extremely greedy. Beaumont even more so than Alexis. Alexis simply wants to be able to make an easy buck. Beaumont on the other hand wants riches as well, but he also wants his name immortalized in history. His reputation is more important to him than anything else and he sees it directly tied to whatever discoveries he can make from experimenting on Alexis' wound. Even when his experiments seem to inflict direct pain on Alexis, Beaumont simply ignores it and continues with his work.
In the end I honestly felt bad for Beaumont. He was so obsessed with his "reputation" and immortalizing his name, that he was never able to be happy. He never truly enjoyed the wealth and stature that he did accrue. He always looked at his experiments on Alexis as a failure, since they never amounted to what he felt they should. It was a constant source of embarrassment for him, even when people came to see him simply because he was the doctor who had the patient with a hole in his stomach.
As for Alexis, I thought he was selfish. Not because he wouldn't "share" his injury with the world so that the world could learn more about digestion etc.,but he was given a second chance and he didn't truly appreciate it. He squandered whatever money he had on alcohol, and was always assuming that he deserved more than what he received. I'm not saying that how he was viewed by the Dr. was correct, but he was given a second chance on life, and the Dr. offered him a fresh start and he walked away from it.
As I said before Karlawish's work was extremely well written. The only thing I didn't understand was later in the book. For the majority of the book it is written from Dr. Beaumont's perspective, then out of no where there are two small sections that switch to Alexis' point of view. While I wouldn't have minded seeing more of Alexis point of view, the two scenes just seemed out of place. They did add more information to the story. For example showing how Alexis's wife wasn't just meek and manipulated by Alexis. I actually wish there had been more of these scenes from Alexis point of view, maybe they would have helped me to understand some of his actions better.
On the whole though I think the book was very interesting. It drew me in from the beginning, and while I'm not sure if Dr. Beaumont would like entirely how he was portrayed in this book's pages, I think it would mean something to him that he has not been forgotten.
*****In compliance with FTC guidelines, I'm disclosing that I received this book for free through GoodReads First Reads. ****
(I recommend everybody should go check out all the awesome first read giveaways they have!)
November 24, 2016
I registered this book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14208627
Sometimes fiction can tell the story better than nonfiction. I think this is one of those cases.
Sticking very close to the facts but moving a few incidents around a bit and occasionally changing names, Karlawish tells us how young Dr. Beaumont came to treat a wound in the side of a fur trapper on Mackinac Island in Michigan, and how that treatment led to an obsession.
Beaumont was an Assistant Surgeon for the young army. Having grappled his way up the ranks because he was financially unable to afford expensive medical school, Beaumont settled for the "assistant" title. But it rankled. Throughout his life he was driven at least in part by a need to prove that he was every bit as worthy as a Harvard graduate.
When he was called to tend to the young fur trapper, shot in the side accidentally, he did not think young Alexis St. Martin would survive. But he felt driven to try to save him, even going against orders and moving him to the island's small, inadequate hospital. After the danger appeared to be past, he was intrigued by what he saw in his patient's side. He was able to watch St. Martin's stomach digesting. At the time, not much was known about digestion and many assumptions were made. Beaumont was on the side of those believing digestion was a chemical process, and he wanted to prove it.
Thus began a many-year effort, with stalls when St. Martin disappeared for years and tended to his new family, and with Beaumont having to beg for assistance and money to pursue this study wherever he was stationed.
Karlawish doesn't seem to take many liberties with Beaumont's or St. Martin's characters. He provides dialog that seems appropriate and doesn't push beyond what is known about the men.
I would have liked more of a summary at the end of what information Beaumont provided that was unknown or unproven before, and how it has been useful over the years. Otherwise I felt it was a well-written and researched book that kept me interested all the way through.
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14208627
Sometimes fiction can tell the story better than nonfiction. I think this is one of those cases.
Sticking very close to the facts but moving a few incidents around a bit and occasionally changing names, Karlawish tells us how young Dr. Beaumont came to treat a wound in the side of a fur trapper on Mackinac Island in Michigan, and how that treatment led to an obsession.
Beaumont was an Assistant Surgeon for the young army. Having grappled his way up the ranks because he was financially unable to afford expensive medical school, Beaumont settled for the "assistant" title. But it rankled. Throughout his life he was driven at least in part by a need to prove that he was every bit as worthy as a Harvard graduate.
When he was called to tend to the young fur trapper, shot in the side accidentally, he did not think young Alexis St. Martin would survive. But he felt driven to try to save him, even going against orders and moving him to the island's small, inadequate hospital. After the danger appeared to be past, he was intrigued by what he saw in his patient's side. He was able to watch St. Martin's stomach digesting. At the time, not much was known about digestion and many assumptions were made. Beaumont was on the side of those believing digestion was a chemical process, and he wanted to prove it.
Thus began a many-year effort, with stalls when St. Martin disappeared for years and tended to his new family, and with Beaumont having to beg for assistance and money to pursue this study wherever he was stationed.
Karlawish doesn't seem to take many liberties with Beaumont's or St. Martin's characters. He provides dialog that seems appropriate and doesn't push beyond what is known about the men.
I would have liked more of a summary at the end of what information Beaumont provided that was unknown or unproven before, and how it has been useful over the years. Otherwise I felt it was a well-written and researched book that kept me interested all the way through.
January 18, 2012
I received this book for free as a First Reads giveaway.
Wow. This is one of those books that make you feel like you're still a part of the character's life even after you have stopped reading. Dr. Beaumont's story is so relatable and so tragic, it's hard to pull yourself away from his experiences.
The inside flap of the book's cover says, "even as Beaumont's care of St. Martin continues for decades, the motives and merits of his attention are far from clear." This couldn't be more true. I found myself flip-flopping throughout the novel on who I felt was the victim and who was the oppressor. At some points, I felt like Beaumont was only acting out of altruism and charity, and that Alexis was ungratefully taking advantage of him. Then in the next chapter, I felt like Beaumont was using his power over Alexis unethically, and that Alexis was trapped in a hopeless, unfair situation. Beaumont admits that he is ambitious and wants to leave a lasting legacy, but his obsession seems to be driven by something deeper and darker, something that neither Beaumont nor the reader are able to truly identify.
Beaumont's obsession is truly tragic. There were so many moments where I wanted to grab Beaumont by the shoulders and shake him and yell, "Let it go!" He makes some progress and gains small successes, which encourage him to continue, but he loses so much over the course of the novel. There is a moment towards the end where it all starts to unravel, where it seems like everything he has done in his life is going to amount to nothing, and I just wanted to cry. I think it would be very difficult to read this book without getting invested in Beaumont's story, regardless of whether you view him as the victim, the oppressor, or both.
Wow. This is one of those books that make you feel like you're still a part of the character's life even after you have stopped reading. Dr. Beaumont's story is so relatable and so tragic, it's hard to pull yourself away from his experiences.
The inside flap of the book's cover says, "even as Beaumont's care of St. Martin continues for decades, the motives and merits of his attention are far from clear." This couldn't be more true. I found myself flip-flopping throughout the novel on who I felt was the victim and who was the oppressor. At some points, I felt like Beaumont was only acting out of altruism and charity, and that Alexis was ungratefully taking advantage of him. Then in the next chapter, I felt like Beaumont was using his power over Alexis unethically, and that Alexis was trapped in a hopeless, unfair situation. Beaumont admits that he is ambitious and wants to leave a lasting legacy, but his obsession seems to be driven by something deeper and darker, something that neither Beaumont nor the reader are able to truly identify.
Beaumont's obsession is truly tragic. There were so many moments where I wanted to grab Beaumont by the shoulders and shake him and yell, "Let it go!" He makes some progress and gains small successes, which encourage him to continue, but he loses so much over the course of the novel. There is a moment towards the end where it all starts to unravel, where it seems like everything he has done in his life is going to amount to nothing, and I just wanted to cry. I think it would be very difficult to read this book without getting invested in Beaumont's story, regardless of whether you view him as the victim, the oppressor, or both.
December 16, 2011
“ I am a humble frontier doctor living on Mackinac Island in Michigan-my education was as apprentice to a rural doctor. Given that I always felt self conscious about my lack of a formal education I was elated to find that I had a chance to upgrade myself when a horrendous accident occurred in June of 1822. An indentured trapper suffered a life threatening wound caused by a shotgun blast to his abdomen . This wound involved the ribs, and a lobe of the lung- I had to clean out debris and wadding from the gun -push the lobe back into place,remove pieces of rib. despite objections of the community I did have the patient taken to my small hospital where thru the night I tended the wound.”
So the saga of Dr William Beaumont and Alexis St. Martin began...the patient lived. Many months went by with the Dr continuing to tell Alexis he was not completely healed and must stay in his care. Dr Beaumont realized the potential of an experiment he could perform on the digestive process which could possibly elevate his status in the medical community and bring him fame and fortune. Despite Alexis' desire to return home and his former life, the doctor was vigorous in his exhortations to keep Alexis with him. This poses an ethical question—is it a moral thing to deceive a patient in the quest of knowledge and fame and fortune?
So the saga of Dr William Beaumont and Alexis St. Martin began...the patient lived. Many months went by with the Dr continuing to tell Alexis he was not completely healed and must stay in his care. Dr Beaumont realized the potential of an experiment he could perform on the digestive process which could possibly elevate his status in the medical community and bring him fame and fortune. Despite Alexis' desire to return home and his former life, the doctor was vigorous in his exhortations to keep Alexis with him. This poses an ethical question—is it a moral thing to deceive a patient in the quest of knowledge and fame and fortune?
May 5, 2015
I feel so bad for neglecting this book for so long because of my recent obsession with audiobooks. I've pretty much finished the rest of this novel in a couple days thanks to my current situation of relaxing before school starts.
This novel is an incredible story of Dr. William Beaumont and his progress with trying to uncover the proper physiology of digestion. I could only imagine what medicine was like hundreds of years ago. We know so much now (still have a lot left to uncover though), so it's interesting to read how medicine has evolved from this particular story. It is also saddening to read how Dr. Beaumont's obsession has grown into something way out of hand.
Some parts were slow at the beginning and this probably correlated to me not being able to concentrate well at first. This is definitely a story that will stick with me for a long time.
This novel is an incredible story of Dr. William Beaumont and his progress with trying to uncover the proper physiology of digestion. I could only imagine what medicine was like hundreds of years ago. We know so much now (still have a lot left to uncover though), so it's interesting to read how medicine has evolved from this particular story. It is also saddening to read how Dr. Beaumont's obsession has grown into something way out of hand.
Some parts were slow at the beginning and this probably correlated to me not being able to concentrate well at first. This is definitely a story that will stick with me for a long time.
June 29, 2013
I received this book for free from goodreads for my honest review.
The first thing that really stood out to me about this book is that is very well written. Jason Karlawish's use of language made this book a joy to read. Even though it is a long book, the story flows nicely.
Mr. Karlawish's characters are also wonderfully written. Even those that could come off as "bad guys" are not. Their motivations may be different from Dr. Beaumont (and that may be a good thing) but they are written as overall decent people. And Dr. Beaumont is at time wonderfully heroic and compassionate and others completely self serving and lacking in empathy. This makes the characters very interesting and in the case of Dr. Beaumont, you want to scream into the story for him to get over himself.
I was very glad to have read this book.
The first thing that really stood out to me about this book is that is very well written. Jason Karlawish's use of language made this book a joy to read. Even though it is a long book, the story flows nicely.
Mr. Karlawish's characters are also wonderfully written. Even those that could come off as "bad guys" are not. Their motivations may be different from Dr. Beaumont (and that may be a good thing) but they are written as overall decent people. And Dr. Beaumont is at time wonderfully heroic and compassionate and others completely self serving and lacking in empathy. This makes the characters very interesting and in the case of Dr. Beaumont, you want to scream into the story for him to get over himself.
I was very glad to have read this book.
December 29, 2013
I received this book as part of a Goodreads giveaway.
Open Wound was an interesting read that was based on a true story of a Doctor who wanted to so desperately 'make it' in the medical world that he lost himself along the way.
I liked how the last few pages were facts about the people in the story, and how there was a discussion of the true parts of the story and how the remainder was constructed. This book shared a lot of information on the period of time when fur trading occurred, which was quite interesting, however at times some of the scenes described were rather plain.
Overall this was a good book that would be ideal for someone interested in that time period, 1820's-1960's, of those who like stories based on truth.
Open Wound was an interesting read that was based on a true story of a Doctor who wanted to so desperately 'make it' in the medical world that he lost himself along the way.
I liked how the last few pages were facts about the people in the story, and how there was a discussion of the true parts of the story and how the remainder was constructed. This book shared a lot of information on the period of time when fur trading occurred, which was quite interesting, however at times some of the scenes described were rather plain.
Overall this was a good book that would be ideal for someone interested in that time period, 1820's-1960's, of those who like stories based on truth.
December 27, 2011
Rich thematic novelization of a true story. First time author - a medical doctor - who recognized the potential in this true odd medical obsession story which captures themes of ambition, obsession, the passions of scientific research,discovery and glory, the developing american dream, the potentially unhealthy doctor-patient relationship etc etc. Packs a lot of ideas in a matter of fact detective novel style writing (i.e. short, blunt sentences without a lot of flower). Ran out of gas after a bit, but well worth the time. Especially for anyone in the research and medical professions, I guess - tho I am not speaking from experience.
May 29, 2012
Growing up in Michigan, Beaumont Hospital was extremely well respected and still is today. It was very interesting to read about him. I thought the subject matter, medical ethics, life in the 1800's, the operation of our government and militia (the army was encouraged to fight the native tribes to keep them busy and sharp), the history of medicine, was fabulous. The research was extensive. However, at times, the book read more like a non fiction documentary instead of a historical fiction novel. I would have liked either more color and emotion, or for the author to have simply written a non fiction biography of his life. I did enjoy it, just a little dry at points.
November 25, 2013
Based on real events, this book recounts the life of Dr. Beaumont, a self-trained physician who possesses what turns out to be blinding ambition. Beaumont saves the life of a guy who suffers a horrendous wound. The wound heals in a way that enables Beaumont to do experiments on digestion. The experiments drive and consume Beaumont. Interesting story but, as this is the author's first book, a bit messy at the edges.
January 31, 2012
Overall this was a really great read! I really enjoyed the science in it and learning about early medicine. I highly recommend this book! This is for sure a book that I will read a second time or more because you really get to know the characters. I won this through the Goodreads giveaways! It was such a great win!
February 24, 2012
A great book, filled with details that give a true sense of place and tension to the story. Fascinating topic, retold with the non-medical reader in mind. Ending is a bit abrupt. Highly recommend it.
April 2, 2012
Read this for bookclub at work and met the author - very interesting!!
August 12, 2012
see my review at Reading World.
June 7, 2013
A fascinating look at a strange event in the history of medicine. Well-penned and an interesting read.
May 21, 2013
this is a wonderful book written by a colleague of mine at Upenn. It is a fabulous example of narrative medicine for those interested in this field.
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