El hombre con su mundo destrozado (Fuera de colección)

by Alexander R. Luria

Alexander Luria es considerado el fundador de la neuropsicología. En este libro nos ofrece un cautivador retrato de la heroica lucha de un hombre por recuperar sus facultades mentales. En 1943, con 23 años, el soldado ruso Zasetski recibe una bala en la cabeza en la batalla de Smolensk. De pronto se descubre en un mundo aterrador: recuerda su infancia, mas no su pasado reciente; la mitad de su campo de visión ha desaparecido; no puede hablar, leer ni escribir. Solo es capaz de anotar, con inconmensurable dificultad y una desesperante lentitud, recuerdos y pensamientos que le vienen al azar. Muchos días no recuerda ni escribe nada; en otros logra verter unas cuantas oraciones sobre el papel. Aun así, gracias a su increíble perseverancia y tenacidad, llenó tres mil páginas a lo largo de veinte años.

Este recuento, en el que se entremezclan las notas autobiográficas de Zasetski con los lúcidos comentarios del propio Luria sobre la estructura y funciones del cerebro, nos recuerda una lección universal que ya enseñaban Sócrates, Freud y Proust: una vida humana no es una vida hasta que esta pueda ser examinada, recordada, y uno sea capaz de apropiarse de esos recuerdos. 

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Science, Neuroscience, Medicine, Memoir, Brain

155 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Alexander Romanovich Luria (Russian: Алекса́ндр Рома́нович Лу́рия ) was a famous Soviet neuropsychologist and developmental psychologist. He was one of the founders of cultural-historical psychology and the leaders of the Vygotsky Circle. Apart from his work with Vygotsky, he is widely known for his later work with two extraordinary psychological case studies, his study of a man with a highly advanced memory published as The Mind of a Mnemonist, and the study of a man with traumatic brain injury published in The Man with a Shattered World.

Reviews

[amapola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una lotta che non ha portato alla vittoria e una vittoria che non ha messo fine alla lotta

Nel 1943 sul Fronte Occidentale russo, Lev A. Zaseckij viene ferito da un proiettile tedesco che gli penetra profondamente nel cervello. Ha 24 anni e da quel momento la sua vita va letteralmente in frantumi. Scrive Oliver Sacks nella nella Prefazione:

Soffre di un intollerabile caos visivo che muta continuamente, gli oggetti nel suo campo visivo (in ciò che resta del suo campo visivo) sono instabili (…) Gli è impossibile vedere, e persino immaginare, il lato destro del corpo: il senso di “lato destro” è scomparso sia relativamente al mondo esterno che a se stesso. E’ continuamente incerto, in modo quasi non immaginabile, circa il suo corpo: qualche volta pensa che alcune parti del corpo siano cambiate, (…) Altre volte pensa che la gamba destra sia chissà dove sopra la spalla, forse sopra la testa. Dimentica pure come funzionino le parti del suo corpo: così quando ha bisogno di defecare, non ricorda bene di avere un ano.
Ma soprattutto, e infinitamente più serie di tutte queste, sono le devastazioni della memoria, del linguaggio e del pensiero: “La memoria è vuota, non riesco a ricordare nemmeno una parola … Tutto ciò che è rimasto nella memoria è polverizzato, spezzettato in singole parti isolate, senza alcun ordine”.

Campo visivo ridotto, perdita del senso del proprio corpo, memoria svuotata del significato delle parole… questo libro è il racconto di 25 anni di lavoro per recuperare quel mondo che la pallottola tedesca aveva mandato in frantumi; è una selezione che Lurija ha fatto delle tremila pagine di diario di Zaseckij (il vero protagonista è lui), raccordandole con alcune argomentazioni. Un esemplare rapporto tra medico e paziente.
Il diario, ripetitivo fino all’ossessività, rende benissimo l’idea dello sforzo, della tenacia, dell’indomabilità di un uomo che non si arrende mai, sostenuto, confortato, aiutato dal medico che lo segue.
Impossibile non commuoversi e, al contempo, non restare profondamente ammirati da questa vicenda e dai suoi protagonisti. E’ proprio vero che non c’è niente come il dolore e le avversità che rivelino la stoffa di cui siamo fatti.
Cinque stelle non al caso clinico (non ho competenze in merito), ma ai due protagonisti.
Il proiettile è rimasto sempre conficcato al suo posto: troppo rischiosa per il paziente la sua asportazione.

https://youtu.be/Bln4y1BhKJc

[Abeer Hoque · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zasetsky is a bright young student who goes to war (WWII) and exits with a bullet to his brain, and devastating amnesia. Over the course of the next 25 years, he struggles to come to terms with, to explain, to regain his life, his past, his future, his identity, his purpose.

He writes and rewrites over 3000 pages of a journal even though the effort is beyond superhuman: he sometimes takes days to remember a single word or its meaning; a day of writing might yield a single paragraph; he cannot read or understand conversations; his right visual field is destroyed; and he is beset with an ever degrading memory, headaches, weakness, fatigue, depression, fear.

"I can't see the first letter of a world clearly. It doesn't come through clearly but looks as if it's been plucked, gnawed around the edges, and what's left are scattered points, quills or threads that flickr like a swarm."

Dr. A. R. Luria is a Russian neuropsychologist (and Oliver Sacks' mentor) who follows Zasetsky for 25 years. Combining his patient's journal and his own immense knowledge and compassion, he has compiled this little 130 page book which is heartbreaking, and yet not for a moment self pitying. His so called "digressions" are marvelous, insights into brain science and psychology, explained in elegant and clear language.

My only criticism is that the book could have done with some editing. The journal entries have a lot of repetition, and the sequence of sections doesn't always make sense. I also wish the "digressions" had been longer and more detailed. They could have been used to tie the book together, to show progression and narrative and tension.

That said, I recommend it to anyone interested in neuropsychology, the brain's workings, and memory.

[Nostalgiaplatz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Non credo sia possibile dare un voto a questo libro valutandolo dal punto di vista letterario; ma se fosse possibile esprimere l’ammirazione e il rispetto con le stelline di Goodreads, Lev Zaseckij ne merita il massimo, per il suo coraggio e la sua forza d’animo.
Era un brillante studente universitario quando venne mandato al fronte, durante la seconda guerra mondiale; una pallottola gli attraversò il cranio e tutta la sua vita andò in frantumi. Non solo la sua vista fu lesionata, e limitato il suo campo visivo, ma la sua memoria venne irreparabilmente danneggiata, e così anche la percezione del suo stesso corpo.
Lev si ritrovò incapace di leggere, le lettere dell’alfabeto trasformate in simboli sconosciuti, e quando con fatica riuscì a recuperare questa capacità le cose non furono molto più facili.
Solo con enorme sforzo riusciva a decifrare una parola, e il suo campo visivo frammentato peggiorava ulteriormente le cose; il suo cervello, inoltre, non riusciva a trattenere le informazioni, ed ecco che lette poche parole cominciava a scordarle. Gli era anche difficile abbinare gli oggetti ai loro nomi, e viceversa, e tutte le nozioni apprese con i suoi studi erano svanite, così come i suoi progetti di vita: impossibile ricordare semplici istruzioni legate a commissioni familiari, come sperare di trovare un lavoro?
Nonostante tutte queste difficoltà, Lev dimostrò una volontà incrollabile, e nel giro di venticinque anni, con enorme impegno e lentezza, scrisse tremila pagine di diario, raccontando la propria storia, cercando di spiegare cosa provava, com’era diventata la vita per lui. È una narrazione spesso ripetitiva, perché Lev non era in grado di leggere ciò che aveva scritto, né di ricordarlo; è dolorosa, a volte incredula (gli sembra spesso di vivere un incubo da cui spera di svegliarsi), a volte angosciata, ma è sempre presente in lui la volontà di lottare, di riprendersi la propria vita, di non arrendersi.
Questo libro è una selezione di quel lungo diario, presentata e commentata dal grande neurologo Aleksandr Lurija, che seguì Lev per tutta la vita dopo il ferimento, e che lascia grande spazio alla sua voce in prima persona.
Il titolo “Un mondo perduto e ritrovato” è ingannevole: purtroppo Lev non migliorò mai, ma nemmeno perse la dignità e lo spirito combattivo, la voglia di riappropriarsi di se stesso. Per questo trovo renda meglio il titolo che aveva originariamente pensato per queste sue memorie: “Lotto ancora!”.
E dice Lurija di questo libro, con affetto e ammirazione per il proprio paziente:

parla di un uomo vivo che ha caparbiamente lottato per il proprio cervello, incontrando difficoltà insuperabili a ogni passo, ma, a conti fatti, è uscito vincitore da una lotta estenuante e impari”.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book out of a scientific curiosity about brain function. However, I found myself extremely moved by the story told by the unfortunate soldier. He struggled, for the rest of his life, to overcome his considerable disabilities. He showed amazing determination. However, some of his stories - describing his frustration and confusion - tore at my heart.
The commentary by his neurologist - Alexander Luria - showed sympathy and admiration as well as the scientific viewpoint I had originally expected.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

In describing the case history of a patient who received a bullet wound in the brain during World War Two, A.R. Luria goes far beyond the field of neuropsychology: He shows how unique we are as human beings, particularly in the way we use language. Man with a Shattered World: The History of a Brain Wound is written partly by Luria, and partly by his patient, Lyov Zazetsky, who has lost the ability to remember words, to point to specified parts of his body, and to understand the relationships between words.

In Zazetsky's own words:

Again and again I tell people I've become a totally different person since my injury, that I was killed March 2, 1943, but because of some vital power of my organism, I miraculously remained alive. Still, even though I seem to be alive, the burden of this head wound gives me no peace. I always feel as if I'm living out a dream -- a hideous, fiendish nightmare -- that I'm not a man but a shadow, some creature that's fit for nothing....

Wait a second! If Luria's patient is unable to read, how can he write? In the end, he wrote some 3,000 pages. Apparently, the bullet that crashed into his brain did not affect his motor skills, and if he did not think too hard about what he was writing, Zazetsky was able to write based on his substantial education. Curiously, he had trouble reading what he had written.

This is a truly amazing book, like Luria's other classic, The Mind of a Mnemonist. The two are a matched set of brilliance and profundity -- well worth finding and reading!

[Ahmad T Rai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pros : 
A terrifying surrealistic journey into what it means to suddenly lose what makes you "You" - an interactive human being.
When you suddenly wake up and you lost all your knowledge , memories , words or even the ability to communicate.

The writing is so vivid that it makes you almost feel what he's living through. I say "almost" because it is impossible to imagine losing what you take for granted " your memories, your senses , the order of the world, left from right, and even your own organs"

This book leaves you with a newly found appreciation for everything that constitute who you are. Words that come to mind to describe this person  " tenacity , frustration, fragile , vertiginous , blocks , locks, confusion , regression , courage , agony , despair , hope""


Cons : this book definitely could've been written and edited in a much better way. There is a lot of repetition and no care for the chronology of the events at all. 

[Liam O'Leary · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Review in Retrospect*

Luria makes better, but fewer, readable patient case studies than Oliver Sacks. Luria was the first 'neuropsychologist' and he seems to be figuring out the condition rather than poetically redescribing it as has every other modern clinician-patient story. It's sad really, there is more care and less ego here but it receives less attention. I think this was the most interesting case study I have ever read (even more so than people that believe they are vampires), this man had pure word blindness so he could write but not read and not remember very well either so he had to write everything and get people to tell him what he wrote so he would by chance ask it to be read and then realise he had once wrote it for him to remember in the future. Just trying to imagine that makes my head spin, and Luria does a good job of getting you there.

[Kumari de Silva · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was led to this book by the work of Dr. Oliver Sacks. Sacks mentioned that when he was young he read this and thought "The Man with a Shattered World" was so compelling he read four chapters and thought it was a novel. You can easily see how it influenced Sacks' work. IMHO it reads somewhat like a novel. The preface and the intro makes it clear this is a work of non-fiction. I read this in translation, and perhaps it is the fault of the translator, but I didn't think this book was as readable anything by Dr. Sacks.

It is also very, very sad. Oh my goodness - this poor man had his world shattered. The case study reminded me of how Dr. Sacks gives back history on his patients in "The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat" or "An Anthropologist on Mars." The big difference is where Sacks tends to infuse hope into his work, Luria is more reserved.

[Regina Velez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dentro del área de neuropsicología, existen (o tal vez conozco) muy pocas obras de este tipo, donde la narrativa presenta una forma de aproximación completa, profunda y específica que no se observa regularmente. Tristemente se piensa que solo se necesitan datos estadísticos y una curva normal a la que el investigador se tiene que apegar.
Es un libro que recomiendo porque da la oportunidad al lector de entrar a la vida y mente destruida de una persona que lucha hasta el final por mantener aquello que lo hace “humano”: su memoria y lenguaje principalmente. Gracias a este tipo de casos documentados se aprende a valorar aquello que damos por hecho y que nos da la esencia humana vital para tener una vida normal, estable y fructífera dentro de la cotidianidad.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es un libro que detalla, con ayuda de las notas del médico tanto como las del paciente, lo que es sufrir una lesión cerebral y perder procesos que damos por sentados. Y como se la pasa repitiendo el médico, qué horrible ha de ser tener que aprender a vivir así, en un mundo donde no logras encontrarte en el espacio, donde no puedes ver bien y solo tienes información a medias, donde la gramática deja de tener sentido y hasta las oraciones cuestan. Me hace pensar lo delicado que realmente es el cerebro, lo fácil que es perder las cosas en cuestión de segundos, pero también se me hace impresionante pensar que con todo y la bala y el impacto no murió. Aunque aprender a tener que vivir como lo hizo seguro tampoco fue fácil. Es un gran libro para quien está interesado en los procesos del cerebro y sus afecciones, yo lo leí por recomendación de una clase de neurolingüística.

[Elçin Arabacı · Rating 5 out of 5]

Demek insan ana dilinin kavramları ve sayılar dahil, bildiği her şeyi unutsa da, umut etme yetisini kaybetmeyebiliyormuş. Bu çok acayip, özellikle umut etme kavramını bile unuttuğu düşünülürse.

Bu eser, 2. Dünya Savaşı sırasında kafatasını parçalayıp beynine hasar veren bir şarapnel yüzünden hafızasını, mekan algısını ve görme yetisinin önemli kısmını kaybeden Rus asker Zasetski'nin, bir gün iyileşebileceği yönünde hiç kaybetmediği umudu, insanı okurken bile yoran ve muazzamlığı karşısında hayrete düşüren sabrı ve çabasının hikayesi ve Zasetski'nin 20 küsur yıl boyunca tuttuğu günlüklere dayanıyor.

Dr. Aleksandr Luriya'nın sayesinde, bu talihsiz askerin her gün saatler süren çabayla, en fazla günde yarım sayfa kadar yazabildiği, ancak 20 küsur yılın sonunda 3000 sayfayı bulan günlükleri, kıymetli açıklamalarla derlenmiş.

Bu derleme, II. DÜnya Savaşı sonrası nöroloji ve nöropsikoloji dünyasında insan beyninin işleyişiyle ilgili o güne kadar bilinmeyen noktalara ışık tutmuş. Ancak aynı zamanda Zasetski'nin yaşadığı karmaşık bilişsel ve psikolojik sorunlar, bu eserde daha önce nöroloji ve nöropsikoloji ile ilgilenmemiş, en sıradan okurun bile anlayabileceği sadelik ve netlikte anlatılabilmiş.

Zasetsky'nin yaralanması sonrası başladığı noktada mesela bir gözlüğü gördüğünde, bunu ancak iki yuvarlak ve iki sap olarak algıladığını, ama "gözlük" diyemediğini, yine iyileşme sürecinin başlangıcından yıllar sonra bile bir filmi seyrederken izlediği sahneleri birleştirip filmin hikayesini anlamlandıramadığını, mukayese yapamadığını, okumanın büyük bir ızdırap haline geldiğini ve ne kendi yazdığı ne başkasının yazdığı hiç bir el yazısını okuyamadığını düşünürseniz, kendisinin 3000 küsur sayfa günlük tutmasının nasıl bir sabır ve efor gerektirdiğini belki anlayabilirsiniz. Fakat en iyisi kitabı okumak.

Kurgu değil, esasen bilimsel bir yayın olmasına rağmen kitapta yer yer cidden çok duygulandığım bölümler oldu. Eser, savaşın mikro ölçekte, yani tek bir insanın hayatında dahi yaratabildiği yıkıcılık ve zihinsel ızdırabı çarpıcı şekilde ifade etmesi açısından da son derece önemli ve kıymetli.

Şiddetle tavsiye edebileceğim bir eser.

[Sirarpi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zazetsky coped with this fragmentation by writing a journal of his thoughts and memories as they occurred, day after day, for 20 years. He then arranged and ordered these entries, in an attempt to reconstruct his lost "self." From over 3000 pages of this journal material, the neurologist A. R. Luria has constructed this extended case history from which emerges a remarkable portrait of Zazetsky as a determined and courageous human being. Zazetsky's first-person account is interspersed with comments and descriptions by Luria himself, explaining the relevant structure and function of the brain.

[Valentina D'Angelo · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Chi è sano non potrà mai capire la profondità della mia malattia, chi è sano non l'ha mai provata e non la proverà mai, se non gli è capitato quello che è capitato a me..."

[Ali Najafiyan · Rating 4 out of 5]

((جهان گمشده و جهان بازیافته ، تاریخچه یک جراحت مغزی ))
با ترجمه دکتر حبیب الله قاسم زاده، کتاب برجسته و خیره کننده ایست از نوروسایکولوژیست بنام روسی الکساندر رومانوویچ لوریا .
یک عنوان کتاب به یک اتفاق ساده اشاره دارد . یه جراحت مغزی . اما عنوان دیگر به ماحصل این اتفاق ساده می پردازد . فروپاشی یک جهان شخصی و خلق دوباره آن .
مهندس 23 ساله روسی که در پیش از پایان جنگ جهانی دوم عازم خدمت سربازی می شود و ترکش خمپاره ای در کسری از ثانیه بخش وسعی از قشر آهیانه ای و پس سری سمت چپ سرش را تخریب می کند. و جهان پس از آن ، دیگر آنگونه که بود و شناخته بود به چشم این جوان نمی آید.
این کتاب راوی سرگذشت مردیست که حافظه ، دانش ، زبان ، آگاهی و شناختش از فضا و محیط و سرگذشتش را به یک باره از دست می دهد. مردی که با کوششی جانکاه از صفر و از هیچ دوباره شروع می کند بی آنکه امیدی به رسیدن مقصد برای آن بتوان متصور شد . مردی که با کوشش بیست و اندیی ساله اش تنها به نقطه ای می‌رسد که می‌تواند بنویسد اما نمی‌تواند آن را بخواند.
این کتاب کوچک چکیده ای شگفت انگیز است . اثری که سرگذشت تلخ سربازی جوان را بعد از آن که دنیایش فرو می ریزد روایت می کند آن هم با زبانی که دیگر تسلط چندانی بر آن ندارد . به موازات این سرگذشت، لوریا به زبانی شیوا و ساده ما را با ساختار مغز و ساختار های اختصاص یافته آن آشنا می کند . از این رو می‌توان این کتاب را یک کتاب تاریخی ، بیوگرافی، زبان شناختی ، نوروسایکولوژی ، ضد جنگ و انسانی بنامیم

این کتاب به سبک (دانش رمانتیک) نوشته شده . که در مقابل دانش کلاسیک قرار می گیرد . و برخلاف دانش کلاسیک که رویداد ها را بر حسب اجزای آن می نگرد و خصوصیت های کل را از نظر دور می ‌کند، واقعیت را به اجزای مقدماتی تر آن تجزیه نمیکند و برایش اهمیت دارد که پرمایگی واقعیت زنده را حفظ کند و دانشی را به دست آورد که غنایش را حفظ کرده .

[Tofu · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the best books I’ve read in the neuroscience-sphere - no gimmicks, no miracles, just a man struggling and fighting to live. Luria is one of the founding figures in neuropsychology and it’s evident why that is so - to understand humans, you must learn to be human first.

[Valerio Brugnoni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stupendo, curato e profondo. La penna di Lurija fa quello che promette: si pone al massimo come intermediaria, più spesso anch'essa come spettatrice, di un mondo descritto in maniera estremamente pregnante dal paziente stesso.
Un promemoria di quanto sia importante l'approccio clinico e psicologico nei confronti di un malato.

[Anna Sterland · Rating 4 out of 5]

psychology is so cool, first-hand notes are even COOLER. minus one star for the fact it took me over 2 years to finish but that’s probably on me, so sorry alexander

[Kalwinder Dhindsa · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Man with a Shattered World describes the heroic struggle of a young soldier trying to recover the memory and other mental capacities lost when a bullet entered his brain."

This is a fascinating case study regarding the trauma of brain injury. How Zasetsky was able to come back from such a tragedy in his life is beyond belief. To have your life shattered in such a manner and have to start all over again is quite incredible. Yet he persevered to write his diary even with the severe damage he suffered to his mind and memory.

A very thought provoking read.

[Tim Weakley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can see why Sacks was such a fan of Luria, and his case histories. The idea of "romantic science" comes through clearly in this study of a man with a traumatic brain injury. Shot in the head during the battle of Smolensk the subject was never able to regain normal brain function. He spent the rest of his life allowing himself to be used as an experimental subject discovering the functions of the brain, and attempting to relearn basic skills. Fascinating perspective.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Given the date Professor Luria did his work, this is an outstanding account of neuroscience and how it has developed. One segment of the book I recall is how the still functional parts of Zasetsky's brain continues to retain the building blocks representing the more complex concept of the word bicycle.

[Ben Loory · Rating 4 out of 5]

almost as good as the mind of a mnemonist, only really depressing, because the guy in this one is FUCKED. still though, fucked in a fascinating way.

i did used to love reading about the brain problems. wonder why!

[Grace Best-Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very, very interesting. The workings of the human brain are utterly fascinating, and the working of the patient's spirit is equally awe-inspiring. Unfortunately, my library didn't have the version with Oliver Sack's introduction, as I'm sure that would have been interesting, too.

[Earnest · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book because it was constantly getting referenced... all in all it was ok.

[Merlijn Wajer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this a few years back and I must say it is really a great book. (Along with the other book, Mind of a Mnemonist)

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting little pamphlet but hardly compelling reading.

[Mary-Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zasetsky's descriptions of his vision and memory loss coupled with Luria's explanations of normal brain function give an incredible description of a head trauma.

[Voracious · Rating 4 out of 5]

The determination shown by Zasetsky in detailing his experience is mind- blowing.

[Sieglinde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neuroscience was one of the subjects covered in my first degree and I read and enjoyed this book when I was an undergraduate in Trinity College Dublin.

[Ieva · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5

[Giovanni Navarro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't ever underestimate your basic cognitive faculties. It's a good read.