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What It Takes to Be Human
What It Takes to Be Human , the haunting new novel by Orange Prize–shortlisted author Marilyn Bowering, considers the life of Sandy Grey, an idealistic young air cadet who wants nothing more than to enlist in the Second World War. Sandy’s father, a fundamentalist preacher, refuses to grant his son’s request, fearing that the world is living its very last days. When Sandy’s attempts to oppose his father turn violent, the novel takes a dramatic shift in setting into the fragmented world of an asylum for the criminally insane. Bowering pushes her characters to the very fringe of civilization, love and sanity during the darkening days of a distant conflict to expose the acute parallels between their lives and the lives of those being torn apart by war.
*
“Bowering tells how a young man retains his sanity in a universe gone mad. Sandy Grey, the narrator, is incarcerated in a B.C. asylum during the Second World War for beating his father with a tire iron. Ultimately, to remain human, Sandy must hope for love. All the strands Bowering dangles out there courageously, ambitiously, begin to braid themselves when the reader needs them to. The novel is confident and Bowering does not seek moments to be brilliant; those moments just arrive.”
— Globe & Mail Top 100 Books
“What It Takes To Be Human is the story of how a young man retains his sanity in a universe that has gone completely mad. Yes, this story has been written before. We’ve seen it in Henri Charrier’s Papillon, or Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, in which our first-person narrator, obviously brilliant though somewhat porous, is powerless in an unjust world. …Other great novels, such as Lord of the Flies, The Island of Dr Moreau or even Heart of Darkness, in which men descend to the most animal part of being human, come to mind. … [Bowering] successfully connects the reader to the magnitude and complexity of what it meant to live during a world war [and] the absurdity, pettiness and inhumanity of the justice system is fully realized. …
What it Takes to Be Human is a great novel, as worthy as the other novels mentioned in this review. All the strands Bowering dangles out there courageously, ambitiously, begin to braid themselves when the reader needs them to, and we are rewarded with a sense of wholeness. I’m not going to say I couldn’t put it down. There were times when I had to put it down, to close its cover and step away, to allow my mind to wrap around its ideas—to stand at a distance from the story of Alan Macaulay and Sandy Grey and grasp the gravity of their plight, the sheer insanity of war and the injustices perpetrated on those who lack ability to prove their innocence…. [Bowering] does not seek moments to be those moments just arrive.”
— The Globe and Mail
"Marilyn Bowering explores the relationship between innocence, injustice, and motiveless malevolence in a story that is so layered and compelling that you will be dazzled by her wisdom and huge talent. The characters will break your heart, renew your faith, and remind you what it takes to be human."
— Rosemary Sullivan, author of Villa World War II, Escape, and a House in Marseille
“Once into it, I read almost without stop, fascinated with her narrator and the world he found himself in. Continuously inventive, it was also totally (frighteningly) believable. The whole novel seemed to imply that to find hell (with its monsters) we need only look to the fairly-recent past and not very far from home. One of its biggest successes for me is that this visit to a kind of hell is conducted by a generous heart that guides us from somewhere just slightly behind the visible narrator. It's a superb novel.”
— Jack Hodgins
"Who among us does not feel nowadays that we are in a madhouse, locked into an insane world in which anger, ignorance and cruelty are winning the war? But help is on the way -- we have a new hero, unlikely though he may seem. Young Sandy Grey reminds us that imagination and language are the tools we need to break free and Marilyn Bowering proves it, by writing an astonishing novel through which optimism carries us forward and makes us believe that, in Sandy's final words, You can always count on love."
— Isabel Huggan, author of The Elizabeth Stories and Belonging
"Marilyn Bowering is one of our whistle blowers. Her new book tells us What it Means to be Human -- something we seem on the brink of forgetting. Classic in form, this white knuckle book leads us through a contemporary underworld before bringing us up, once again, to the light. Required reading!"
— P.K. Page, winner of the Governor General's Award for The Metal and the Flower
"One of Canada's most eloquent storytellers has given us a compelling and exquisitely crafted tale about hope, love and creativity, in, of all places, a Canadian mental asylum."
— Susan Swan, author of What Casanova Told Me
“Taut and suspenseful, Bowering’s judicious use ...
*
“Bowering tells how a young man retains his sanity in a universe gone mad. Sandy Grey, the narrator, is incarcerated in a B.C. asylum during the Second World War for beating his father with a tire iron. Ultimately, to remain human, Sandy must hope for love. All the strands Bowering dangles out there courageously, ambitiously, begin to braid themselves when the reader needs them to. The novel is confident and Bowering does not seek moments to be brilliant; those moments just arrive.”
— Globe & Mail Top 100 Books
“What It Takes To Be Human is the story of how a young man retains his sanity in a universe that has gone completely mad. Yes, this story has been written before. We’ve seen it in Henri Charrier’s Papillon, or Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, in which our first-person narrator, obviously brilliant though somewhat porous, is powerless in an unjust world. …Other great novels, such as Lord of the Flies, The Island of Dr Moreau or even Heart of Darkness, in which men descend to the most animal part of being human, come to mind. … [Bowering] successfully connects the reader to the magnitude and complexity of what it meant to live during a world war [and] the absurdity, pettiness and inhumanity of the justice system is fully realized. …
What it Takes to Be Human is a great novel, as worthy as the other novels mentioned in this review. All the strands Bowering dangles out there courageously, ambitiously, begin to braid themselves when the reader needs them to, and we are rewarded with a sense of wholeness. I’m not going to say I couldn’t put it down. There were times when I had to put it down, to close its cover and step away, to allow my mind to wrap around its ideas—to stand at a distance from the story of Alan Macaulay and Sandy Grey and grasp the gravity of their plight, the sheer insanity of war and the injustices perpetrated on those who lack ability to prove their innocence…. [Bowering] does not seek moments to be those moments just arrive.”
— The Globe and Mail
"Marilyn Bowering explores the relationship between innocence, injustice, and motiveless malevolence in a story that is so layered and compelling that you will be dazzled by her wisdom and huge talent. The characters will break your heart, renew your faith, and remind you what it takes to be human."
— Rosemary Sullivan, author of Villa World War II, Escape, and a House in Marseille
“Once into it, I read almost without stop, fascinated with her narrator and the world he found himself in. Continuously inventive, it was also totally (frighteningly) believable. The whole novel seemed to imply that to find hell (with its monsters) we need only look to the fairly-recent past and not very far from home. One of its biggest successes for me is that this visit to a kind of hell is conducted by a generous heart that guides us from somewhere just slightly behind the visible narrator. It's a superb novel.”
— Jack Hodgins
"Who among us does not feel nowadays that we are in a madhouse, locked into an insane world in which anger, ignorance and cruelty are winning the war? But help is on the way -- we have a new hero, unlikely though he may seem. Young Sandy Grey reminds us that imagination and language are the tools we need to break free and Marilyn Bowering proves it, by writing an astonishing novel through which optimism carries us forward and makes us believe that, in Sandy's final words, You can always count on love."
— Isabel Huggan, author of The Elizabeth Stories and Belonging
"Marilyn Bowering is one of our whistle blowers. Her new book tells us What it Means to be Human -- something we seem on the brink of forgetting. Classic in form, this white knuckle book leads us through a contemporary underworld before bringing us up, once again, to the light. Required reading!"
— P.K. Page, winner of the Governor General's Award for The Metal and the Flower
"One of Canada's most eloquent storytellers has given us a compelling and exquisitely crafted tale about hope, love and creativity, in, of all places, a Canadian mental asylum."
— Susan Swan, author of What Casanova Told Me
“Taut and suspenseful, Bowering’s judicious use ...
304 pages, Paperback
First published August 29, 2006
About the author
Marilyn Bowering
43 books15 followersMARILYN BOWERING’s first novel, To All Appearances A Lady, was a New York Times Notable Book. Her second novel, Visible Worlds, was short-listed for the prestigious Orange Prize, nominated for the Dublin IMPAC Prize, and awarded the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. Visible Worlds was praised by The Independent as “a tour de force … a wonderful piece of storytelling” and by The New York Times Book Review as “a vast, sprawling feast of a book.” Her novel What it Takes to Be Human was praised by The Globe and Mail as “a great novel… [Bowering] does not seek moments to be brilliant: those moments just arrive.” A new novel, The Unfinished World, was published in late 2025. Bill Gaston, author of Juliet Was a Surprise and The World, called The Unfinished World "a beautiful, insightful novel that performs a remarkable trick with history, time, and memory, a brilliant interweaving that is both teasingly cerebral as well as richly heartfelt.”
More Richly in Earth, part memoir and part literary investigation of a 17th century female Scottish Gaelic bard, was published by McGill Queen’s Press in 2024 and was long-listed for the Saltire Prize. The Scottish Gaelic writer Maoilios Caimbeul called it "a major work."
Marilyn Bowering is also an award-winning poet and librettist. Jan Zwicky says of Bowering, Her brilliant imagistic gift is always offered in service to the mystery of insight, the other invisible worlds gathered close in this one. Bowering’s poetry includes Human Bodies: Collected Poems 1987-1999, Green, an interplay of form and conversations and Soul Mouth, a book of story and memoir poems. With Threshold (photographs by Xan Shian), Marilyn Bowering extends the conversation to an encounter with a 17th century female Scottish Gaelic bard. Of What Is Long Past Occurs in Full Light (illustrations by Ken Laidlaw), Jan Zwicky comments, Despite her unflinching acknowledgement of the horrors humans visit on themselves and others, her vision is grounded in the subtle integrity of love. A new book of poetry, Frayed Linens, will be published in November 2025.
Marilyn Bowering has received many poetry prizes including the Ruth and David Lampe Award, the Gwen MacEwen Poetry prize, the Pat Lowther Prize, the Dorothy Livesay Prize, several National Magazine Awards, two nominations for the Governor General’s award, and shortlisting for the Prix Italia and the Sony Award. An opera, Marilyn Forever (composer Gavin Bryars), has received production premieres (2013-2022) in Victoria, BC; Long Beach, Ca.; Adelaide, Australia; Vienna, Austria; Oxford and Glasgow, UK; and Hagen and Saarbrücken, Germany. Bowering’s work has been translated into a number of languages including Spanish, Finnish, German, Romanian, Russian, and Punjabi.
Marilyn Bowering was born in Winnipeg and grew up in Victoria, BC. She has lived in various parts of Canada and in Greece, Scotland and Spain and now makes her home on Vancouver Island.
More Richly in Earth, part memoir and part literary investigation of a 17th century female Scottish Gaelic bard, was published by McGill Queen’s Press in 2024 and was long-listed for the Saltire Prize. The Scottish Gaelic writer Maoilios Caimbeul called it "a major work."
Marilyn Bowering is also an award-winning poet and librettist. Jan Zwicky says of Bowering, Her brilliant imagistic gift is always offered in service to the mystery of insight, the other invisible worlds gathered close in this one. Bowering’s poetry includes Human Bodies: Collected Poems 1987-1999, Green, an interplay of form and conversations and Soul Mouth, a book of story and memoir poems. With Threshold (photographs by Xan Shian), Marilyn Bowering extends the conversation to an encounter with a 17th century female Scottish Gaelic bard. Of What Is Long Past Occurs in Full Light (illustrations by Ken Laidlaw), Jan Zwicky comments, Despite her unflinching acknowledgement of the horrors humans visit on themselves and others, her vision is grounded in the subtle integrity of love. A new book of poetry, Frayed Linens, will be published in November 2025.
Marilyn Bowering has received many poetry prizes including the Ruth and David Lampe Award, the Gwen MacEwen Poetry prize, the Pat Lowther Prize, the Dorothy Livesay Prize, several National Magazine Awards, two nominations for the Governor General’s award, and shortlisting for the Prix Italia and the Sony Award. An opera, Marilyn Forever (composer Gavin Bryars), has received production premieres (2013-2022) in Victoria, BC; Long Beach, Ca.; Adelaide, Australia; Vienna, Austria; Oxford and Glasgow, UK; and Hagen and Saarbrücken, Germany. Bowering’s work has been translated into a number of languages including Spanish, Finnish, German, Romanian, Russian, and Punjabi.
Marilyn Bowering was born in Winnipeg and grew up in Victoria, BC. She has lived in various parts of Canada and in Greece, Scotland and Spain and now makes her home on Vancouver Island.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 28, 2014
What It Takes to Be Human
I could not put the book down until 2:30 a.m...a wonderfully paced and beautifully written story about a young man who is committed to an insane asylum by his (obvious to me) insane parents. There he has to hang on to his sanity while being experimented on with truth serum (sodium pentothal) or insulin injections, followed by relentless and devious interrogations. There is, as well as the criminally insane, a population of conscientious objectors and others whose chief failing seems to be hailing from German or Japanese, Chinese or Russian ethnic backgrounds. Communists and even a Mac-Pap veteran of the Spanish Civil War are memorably included as well as gay men, including former soldiers who are now being punished and "treated". The research is skillfully integrated and may serve as an eye-opener for some readers as to who exactly decides who the criminally insane "element" is and who has the power to put people away without a formal, legal link to the outside world. There is, as we fear, one particularly abusive staff member because there almost always is at least one sadistic bully in the workplace, and/or, in institutions like prisons and asylums with few objective eyes checking in to monitor and punish such behaviours.
I could not put the book down until 2:30 a.m...a wonderfully paced and beautifully written story about a young man who is committed to an insane asylum by his (obvious to me) insane parents. There he has to hang on to his sanity while being experimented on with truth serum (sodium pentothal) or insulin injections, followed by relentless and devious interrogations. There is, as well as the criminally insane, a population of conscientious objectors and others whose chief failing seems to be hailing from German or Japanese, Chinese or Russian ethnic backgrounds. Communists and even a Mac-Pap veteran of the Spanish Civil War are memorably included as well as gay men, including former soldiers who are now being punished and "treated". The research is skillfully integrated and may serve as an eye-opener for some readers as to who exactly decides who the criminally insane "element" is and who has the power to put people away without a formal, legal link to the outside world. There is, as we fear, one particularly abusive staff member because there almost always is at least one sadistic bully in the workplace, and/or, in institutions like prisons and asylums with few objective eyes checking in to monitor and punish such behaviours.
Here we have a possibly unreliable narrator whose main ally on the "outside" is a beautiful dipsomaniac who clearly identifies with Sandy Grey as a man the same age as her own son, missing in action in Europe. She gives him a how-to writing guide, paper and pencils and Sandy begins his study of another inmate from an earlier time whose files he has discovered, those of an immigrant Scotsman wrongly accused of murder and summarily executed after a hasty and controversial trial. This case has very clear parallels to his own situation, as he is incarcerated with the threat of lobotomy, cold water hoses, experimental electrocution, castration and other horrors if he doesn't present his own sanity well enough to the attending doctors. And of course, he does go spectacularly off the rails from time to time. Who wouldn't?
It was truly gripping to follow the ravelling and unravelling of young Sandy's mind as he grappled with his own synthesis of reality vs the presentation of reality he had, on good advice from other inmates, to conjure up for the doctors and the Board. If the ending seems a little too neatly tied up with a bow, it's also an intense relief to this reader to know several of the outcomes did come to pass and justice was achieved at last! I'd recommend this for military history buffs, medical personnel and other writers who want to enjoy an interesting novel structure, deeply imagined characters, great Canadian and international historical research and the pleasure of a terrific story, very well-told.
March 12, 2013
"What it Takes to Be Human" by Marilyn Bowering
Marilyn Bowering is one of my favourite authors, based mainly on her book "To All Appearances a Lady". So when someone in my book club picked this book to read I was thrilled. Now, not so much. I stuck it out to the end, but when it was all done, I'm not sure why. This is the story of Sandy Grey, who is arrested after assaulting his father and given time in an insane asylum rather than prison. Although it takes much of the book to unravel exactly why Sandy did assault his father,it is clear pretty near the beginning that Sandy isn't insane. In fact, many of the people at the asylum are not insane, just at the wrong place at the wrong time: like Kosho, who is Japanese. The story takes place during WWII and Kosho was arrested for some unknown crime. And Karl, who is German and becomes Sandy's first friend at the asylum. And Bob, who eventually escapes, but sends postcards from the outside. Like Bowering's other books,this is set on Vancouver Island,near where I live and the details are great, so I often feel I could just go to these places. When Sandy writes about a former inmate who was hanged, he describes a time in a prison which still exists here. Now known as the Wilkinson Road Prison, Bowering describes the crenelated brick towers, which immediately pinpoint the building to anyone who knows heritage buildings in the area. What I wasn't so sure about was the wandering story line, as Sandy describes his therapy of "truth serum", his time caring for rabbits and pigeons, his friendship with a woman he meets on a ferry as he tries to escape, his love from when he was 8, his very weird parents. I think the last few lines sum up what Bowering was trying to get across: "And if I am to give advice to anyone, it is this: Never give up, no matter how bad things look and Be true to your heart and You can always count on love."
The book was (as always) well written and mostly engaging,the descriptions of places and events fascinating.
Marilyn Bowering is one of my favourite authors, based mainly on her book "To All Appearances a Lady". So when someone in my book club picked this book to read I was thrilled. Now, not so much. I stuck it out to the end, but when it was all done, I'm not sure why. This is the story of Sandy Grey, who is arrested after assaulting his father and given time in an insane asylum rather than prison. Although it takes much of the book to unravel exactly why Sandy did assault his father,it is clear pretty near the beginning that Sandy isn't insane. In fact, many of the people at the asylum are not insane, just at the wrong place at the wrong time: like Kosho, who is Japanese. The story takes place during WWII and Kosho was arrested for some unknown crime. And Karl, who is German and becomes Sandy's first friend at the asylum. And Bob, who eventually escapes, but sends postcards from the outside. Like Bowering's other books,this is set on Vancouver Island,near where I live and the details are great, so I often feel I could just go to these places. When Sandy writes about a former inmate who was hanged, he describes a time in a prison which still exists here. Now known as the Wilkinson Road Prison, Bowering describes the crenelated brick towers, which immediately pinpoint the building to anyone who knows heritage buildings in the area. What I wasn't so sure about was the wandering story line, as Sandy describes his therapy of "truth serum", his time caring for rabbits and pigeons, his friendship with a woman he meets on a ferry as he tries to escape, his love from when he was 8, his very weird parents. I think the last few lines sum up what Bowering was trying to get across: "And if I am to give advice to anyone, it is this: Never give up, no matter how bad things look and Be true to your heart and You can always count on love."
The book was (as always) well written and mostly engaging,the descriptions of places and events fascinating.
February 13, 2018
I almost quit on this story but I always slog on, so I did. The premise is quite good but there are do many inconsistencies and unlikely events which make the story quite unbelievable. For example, dr Frank often tells Sandy to just tell the truth about the events that led up to the attack on his father but he doesn’t until he is forced to under several treatments of sodium pentathol. Sure he didn’t trust him at first but after a while he begins to so why not tell the story then. I also had to wonder why, after deciding to give Dr Frank his report of Coopers attack on Karl and Tom, he chickens out when Ron approaches. So he had no choice then to give it to him in the hopes her would give it to Dr Frank. Like many of the events in the book, this makes absolutely no sense since, at the time, he had even less reason to trust Ron who, after all, witnessed the assault as well but didn’t report it. If I mention all the inconsistencies in this story I would have to write several pages so I won’t. Just a poorly conceived book, in my opinion.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 9, 2017
A young man is incarcerated in a mental institution for an assault upon his very religious and domineering father. His treatment ranges from compassionate to diabolical as various attempts are made to “cure” him. As part of his self-treatment, he attempts to investigate the hanging of an inmate in the building at the time that it was a prison.
He comes to the asylum after jumping overboard from a ferry in an attempt to escape and being rescued by a wealthy widow who frequently comes to his assistance while he is in the asylum. His relationship with Georgina, with one understanding guard, and with the two doctors who are doing their best to be helpful are the major focus of one part of the story. The other part is focused on the sad impacts of lobotomy and of insulin shock and cruel guards.
In the end, I am not sure that the coincidence of events which lead to his escape and his new life are really believable, but he went through so much, that I am willing to accept it.
He comes to the asylum after jumping overboard from a ferry in an attempt to escape and being rescued by a wealthy widow who frequently comes to his assistance while he is in the asylum. His relationship with Georgina, with one understanding guard, and with the two doctors who are doing their best to be helpful are the major focus of one part of the story. The other part is focused on the sad impacts of lobotomy and of insulin shock and cruel guards.
In the end, I am not sure that the coincidence of events which lead to his escape and his new life are really believable, but he went through so much, that I am willing to accept it.
May 25, 2013
I was amazed by the way the storyline went back and forth, just like life, but then the ending surprised me, and made me feel betrayed by the author, she just threw it all away :(
Anyway, still a good book to go through even though it failed to quench my thirst for answers.
Anyway, still a good book to go through even though it failed to quench my thirst for answers.
August 31, 2007
This book is set mostly in an asylum for the criminally insane. There is much horror and treachery seen there, but in the end there is much hope for Sandy Grey
Liz
Liz
January 11, 2024
This review is from my friend Suzanne Ross who just finished the book.
“Sandy Grey, the main character in the book ‘What it Takes to be Human’ by Marilyn Bowering, is now in my heart. He inspires strength when I feel my frailties.
“The book structure is brilliantly complex. We are walked through dark places before emerging into light. The early chapters can be wrenching to read - the forces stacked against him, the raw power of his abusers - but over time we feel the trueness in Sandy and recognize the simple hero that he is.
“Sandy’s quiet goodness above all odds shows us who we are and can be; he shows us what it takes to be human.”
“Sandy Grey, the main character in the book ‘What it Takes to be Human’ by Marilyn Bowering, is now in my heart. He inspires strength when I feel my frailties.
“The book structure is brilliantly complex. We are walked through dark places before emerging into light. The early chapters can be wrenching to read - the forces stacked against him, the raw power of his abusers - but over time we feel the trueness in Sandy and recognize the simple hero that he is.
“Sandy’s quiet goodness above all odds shows us who we are and can be; he shows us what it takes to be human.”
July 25, 2023
I really struggled to get into this one.
February 10, 2008
Given the subject - war, family, mental health, sexuality all playing an role - I expected much. Unfortunately, I was very bored throughout. Pity. Much potential but it just felt unfinished.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews