Poleaxed

by Peter Tyrer

It is 1967. A mysterious disease appears in an English town. People fall down suddenly, poleaxed, and many die. Is it caused by a bacterium, a virus, a poison? Nobody knows, and top doctors squabble over its cause. But then two junior doctors and a young anthropology student, who has recovered from the disease, join together. The three investigators continue their work to find out the cause of the disease, a virus whose worst effects are only shown in those who are very anxious. They think they have found the cause and the solution. But will they be in time? This is a gripping dystopian tale, very much relevant to events unfolding today and written by Emeritus Professor of Community Psychiatry at Imperial College, London, Peter Tyrer whose long-standing interest in the connections between mental and physical health informed the novel.

250 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2020

Reviews

[Katy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Peter Tyrer is rightly recognised as a very distinguished and eminent Professor and a leading light in the field of mental health. This, his first fictional novel, is hailed as a very topical and prescient narrative of a fictional pandemic set in the UK in 1967. Within the narrative, we take in medical ethics, the stigma very much still associated with mental health and consideration of the role of women in medicine in this time period. This wide scope would be challenging for any writer, and sadly I don't feel that Professor Tyrer's obvious talents in his academic field have necessarily transferred seamlessly to the writing of fiction.

I read this book through Pigeonhole, and we are used to seeing a few errors in advance copies, but unfortunately, these were so pervasive as to make the book feel unedited and incomplete. As a rough draft, the novel shows promise but some of the threads within the story line are distracting and detrimental to the overall book and, although potentially an accurate portrayal of the views of the time, the descriptions of the female characters were either sexually objectifying or dismissive of their appearance. Without the context of this being a view expressed by a character, it becomes hard not to see this as a view held by the author, so the work takes on a rather distasteful chauvinistic air. Having had the author reading alongside us through Pigeonhole, I feel that this is not the author's intent but again, a good editor would be able to make suggestions to re-frame these descriptions as being the view of a character which would give these opinions some distance/remove from being simply an accepted view.

The "medical mystery detective plot" aspect of the book seemed a bit thin; I genuinely was surprised when we got to the end without any further developments. This whole aspect of the novel could have been explored in more depth and more subtly, and I would have been quite happy for it to replace entire sections of Barbara's plotline. It seemed that one character essentially came to all the right conclusions on the basis of a couple of conversations. Given how the medical mystery aspect of the story was so central to the synopsis, it seems to have been given a relatively cursory part in the actual telling, which is a shame as this really was the area that could have shone in this book.

Overall - good premise, poorly delivered. I sincerely hope that the author takes on board the feedback received at this stage and considers a rework of what currently reads as an OK first draft, as this has the potential for the makings of being an excellent novel in the right hands.

[Mags Schofield · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise of this book was good, but for me it was like a jigsaw puzzle. All the correct pieces were there, but not put together correctly, so that the picture is off. The author knows his stuff, and knew the story that he wanted to tell, but unfortunately this is a self published book that would really benefit from a good editor. Apart from spelling and grammatical errors, character name changes distracted from the story. As I read this through Pigeonhole, I was able to ask Peter about the book, as I felt that the synopsis told the reader nothing. He explained that he had three strands to the story, but these are not obvious or well interwoven, so the result is clunky and disjointed. The main female character suddenly behaves totally out of character, with no real explanation.
I would like to reread this book after it has been edited and rearranged as all the components are there for an interesting and topical novel.
Thanks to Peter and Pigeonhole for the opportunity to read this.

[Pheadra · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not for me. I read this in my online book club Pigeonhole but did not base my rating on the many grammatical errors as we often receive advance copies. The errors in character names changing repeatedly, however, did affect my feelings on the book and the fact that there appeared to be too many stories in tandem detracted from what should have been the main theme- a new disease that manifests on account of a mental predisposition, in a physical way. This was a pity as in these times the story would have been most relevant. 2 stars.

[Clare · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a firm DNF for me. I got to just over halfway through, and the representation of the main female character just switched me off. I wonder if the author likes women very much? The young female character was young, nubile and sex mad, and the middle-aged women were ox-like and plain. Ah well. The names of the characters (except for the beautiful Barbara) kept changing, which was rather confusing.
All that said, there’s a good story there that’s in dire need of an editor.

Otherwise, it could be a contender for the Bad Sex Awards...

[Catherine Rickard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Firstly, this was an interesting insight into the medical world of which I know nothing about. The focus is a strange, new illness and the rush to discover it's cause and find a cure. Extremely topical at the moment. Unfortunately, I found the writing to be a little dry for me and the dialogue stilted and unrealistic. There were a couple of moments where I found it hard to suspend my disbelief, scenes that seemed more like a young doctor's fantasy rather than a realistic event. Sorry!

[Nicola Mackenzie-Smaller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve taken some time to think about this review, Peter Tyrer is clearly an eminent psychiatrist and has used his expertise to write about a mysterious illness which seems to be impacted by mental health as well as an initial contagion. This is a fascinating premise, and highly plausible when you consider people’s recovery from other physical illness.
I read this with The Pigeonhole and whilst I quite often read books in this format which are proof copies, this one was desperately in need of some judicious editing. It was sometimes very confused about direction, there were some explorations of a female character’s developing sexual maturity which I felt were misjudged, and quite often characters names changed- sometimes in the same paragraph. This detracted from what was otherwise a really interesting idea, clearly written by someone who understood what it was like working in the field of mental health in the 1960s and with a great deal of insight into the comorbidity of mental and physical health conditions.
Deeply frustrating in a lot of ways, but with the bones of something interesting. I’d be interested to see what this became in the hands of a good editor. I also suspect I would love to read Peter Tyrer’s memoirs.

[Linda Kendell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Almost gave up halfway when it uncomfortably became a bit 50 shades which I felt had no relevance to the story of an unknown infection which closed the town of Medenby.
Not helped by it being a pre edit edition where names changed even in the same paragraph. Too many unmemorable characters left me wondering whether it was a misnamed or forgotten person when they cropped up.
The premise has promise but needs tightening up.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm afraid this is a DNF. The storyline and subject matter would normally draw me in, I love a good medical based story. However reading this through the Pigeonhole app (pre-publication) I don't feel I was reading a finished novel.

There were multiple mistakes on character names (interchanging them at will) and also with grammar throughout. This book needs a decent proof read and then a decent editor. The language is clunky and stilted because of the mistakes. Once it has been edited properly, I imagine it would be an ok read.

I'm disappointed that it wasn't edited before I could access it as the author is himself a doctor and I was enjoying his knowledgeable titbits and comments being added as we read each section.

[Margaret · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had promise, but sadly, for me it didn’t deliver. The editing (if there had been any) was appalling. I felt quite embarrassed for the author.
Aside from all this, the book just didn’t do it for me.
Thanks Pigeonhole and the author, Peter Tyrer for the opportunity to read this.

[Sally · Rating 2 out of 5]

This should have been so much more than it actually was, which is a shame. I still don’t know what to make of the main female character-can’t decide if she’s some sort of fantasy figure for some (male) readers, or a caricature. Either way, she’s not someone I can relate to.

[Contrary Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one had a touch of The Day of the Triffids about it in more way than one. One to read if you want to understand the machinations of unraveling a pandemic and how various medical associations and establishments work/ interact.

[Craigie Macfie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another superb novel from an author whose word count must by now be reaching Shakespearean proportions. And in a miracle of timing, it was written prior to the impact of the coronavirus on the world.
It is essentially a medical detective story, tracing investigation of a mysterious illness and its impact on a small English town. Interleaved with the main narrative theme, the author addresses a number of other issues: the prejudice and bias against mental illness in the 1960s; the importance of communication in managing epidemics; the political and social interfaces with public health; the impact of interpersonal conflict in policy decision-making and the complexity of the relationship between phenomena in the psychosocial sphere and those in the brain. There are snapshots of history and anthropology and even space for death, violence and sex. One character’s emergence from adolescence to womanhood can be conceived as a metaphor for both the gradually increasing understanding of the disease and even for the changes occurring in society’s responses to mental illness.
Without spoiling the denouement, the resolution of the origins of the mysterious disease clearly reflects recent research on the inter-relationship of stress and the immune system.
Aspiring writers will envy the lucidity of the prose, the author’s easy humour and the poetic colour of his descriptions of the natural surroundings, a hangover, perhaps, of his early interest in botany. The writing is clear, crisp and refreshingly free of clichés, the metaphors are well-chosen and the use of ‘corroborative details add artistic verisimilitude to an otherwise bland and unconvincing narrative’ (Not that the narrative is ‘bland and unconvincing’, but it is always a pleasure to quote Gilbert and the choices of details are telling.)
It is a significant problem for writers to convey the complexity of group interactions and here again the author excels. The depictions of meetings are insightful and well organized - no doubt this reflects the author’s experience in managing committees more than his psychiatric training. Contrary to popular belief, psychiatrists are not generally good at judging people or reading group behaviour and even Freud admitted to a lack of ‘Menschen kennt’.
It would be a poor reviewer who could not demonstrate sufficiently careful reading of a book to pick up minor flaws. This reviewer was alerted to an issue
many years ago which at that time exposed his lack of a full classical education and which has rendered him irritatingly pedantic about it ever since. The Greek definite article is ‘hoi’, so to refer to ‘the hoi poloi’ is unnecessary. In addition, ‘poloi’ refers to the common people; the Greek upper classes were ‘hoi aristoi’ - Q.E.D (Latin!)
This is a fine read, enjoyable and informative and can be thoroughly recommended.

[Star · Rating 2 out of 5]

**2.5 stars**

A fictional pandemic set in the UK in 1967 drew many parallels with the current COVID outbreak. Medenby township went into a lockdown to isolate and contain the contagion.
The cause of the pandemic remained a mystery and an investigating team was put into place to solve the case.
Some of the team members were leading medical professionals with scintillating careers; for example - a consultant neurologist who was 'supremely self-confident, not just because he knew more than everyone else, but had the additional advantage, of being ruggedly handsome. His only unflattering feature was his condescending smile, often shown when others failed to keep up with his scintillating intellect.'
I found an interesting subplot of the book to be how psychiatry is regarded in the overall medical profession.
'..Being a psychiatrist was like being in the third division of medicine. At the top were the respected physicians and surgeons who could point to their successes in terms of lives saved or turned around, followed by their attendant specialists in pathology, radiology, haematology and other disciplines that could back up clinical decisions with tests whose results were accepted as absolute fact. He, and other psychiatrists, had no other assets apart from their clinical skills. They were not treating people who would die without care, unless it was by suicide, and evidence for their success here was mediocre, and they had no independent tests to show their success. So they remained in the third division, tolerated by some and derided by many, 'shrinks', 'quacks' and 'trick-cyclists' who staggered across the medical stage as jesters and fools, preparing the audience for the serious action to come..'

The book attempted to offer as alternative look at psychology and how mental health of a person can be linked to general malaise that result in physiological manifestation.

Hopefully much more advances have been made in the last few decades to better understand the psychosocial causes and other factors influencing mental illness and its treatment.

[Fay Flude · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an incredibly original and quirky novel based on a virus that sweeps a particular town, Medenby in the East Midlands. I loved the premise of a group of medical professionals vying for status as they come together to form the Poleaxe Task Group, keen to stop the virus in its tracks but also keen to understand its origins so that victims of the condition can be better treated.
The author is at pains to point out that this is not a novel based on Coronavirus but I guess given the real life pandemic it will be hard for some readers to not draw parallels.
Poleaxe literally poleaxes people, as in victims lose the use of their legs. The virus is contained in just one town though, and although there are a few deaths, most people afflicted with the condition recover. The story is set in one hospital and focuses mainly on one patient Barbara Dukinfield.
I loved the politics surrounding the issue and the way in which experts in their own field are keen to assert their authority and elevate themselves in terms of power and prestige.
James Porton, a doctor working in public health is one such example of a man determined to gain personal glory in the face of this infectious disease. He is up against clinician Dr William Fothergill and later on there emerges an absolutely fascinating commentary on physical versus mental health.
This social commentary based on fictional events set in 1967 highlight just how some clinicians view mental health with condescension and place little importance or value on illnesses originating in the mind. Even though we are 60 years on, I found it satisfyingly interesting to compare how those suffering with mental health were treated then and how they are treated now.
I do not wish to spoil the plot so will just allude to an emerging correlation that initially stuns the experts in Medenby and which leads to rather dramatic events in Dr Porton's professional life. I loved the television interview with David Frost in particular.
The dialogue is funny, engaging, entertaining and at times quite quirky. Poleaxed was a thought provoking and illuminating read for me, which might not appeal to everyone but will certainly pique the curiosity of anyone who likes to learn whilst reading.
I will definitely remember this book and thank the author, the publisher and Pigeonhole for the chance to read a book with a difference, in exchange for this honest review.

[Joe Singleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this story but, sadly, at times it really annoyed me too. I find it really difficult to review this book as my emotions were all over the place whilst reading this. Some because of the storyline but mainly because of the editing - I think the author may need to request a refund from his editor. With good editing and a re-release I feel that this could be a best seller and one of the most talked about fiction books of the year but as it stands there are just too many errors.
When you consider that this book was written prior to the current pandemic (when we referred to Corona as a beer or fizzy pop) it is amazing. The author is a legend in his own right in that he was born in 1940 and he is a community psychiatrist and a researcher (over 600 publications, 18 in The Lancet) so he has the credentials to write a book like this.
The book is set in 1967 and it is not just a book about a pandemic but it also tells us a lot about the medical profession at the time, how mental health were treated and the male-controlled world of that era, it also takes us through a a journey from a girl to a woman.
If you read it, please stick with it as it does go down a few, what appear to be, rabbit holes but it really is worth sticking with it to the end.
Many thanks to Pigeonhole for providing me with a digital copy of the book which was sent to me in daily instalments (staves) as part of a reader-collaborative read.
Whilst reading the book my review wavered backwards and forwards between a 3 and a 4 star but having finished the book, editing aside, I give this a 5 star rating
#poleaxed #pigeonhole

[Joanna McQueen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Upon reading the synopsis I was intrigued and really wanted to read this book.
Unfortunately, I was disappointed.

There are several reasons for my disappointment;
1) I read a proof copy that was not proofread or edited very well so it made things difficult to read. Especially because I am a teacher and I couldn’t ignore all the mistakes.
2) The premise of the story was a fantastic idea, but the storytelling did not convey it very well.
3) The author’s political agenda hampered the progress of the story.

IF one were to ignore the above disappointments, I would say this:

Poleaxed is the story of a virus, a town and the people affected by the virus. It explores mental health in a time, 1960s, when mental health was not considered, by medical doctors, to be related to any medical phenomenon.

Peter does a great job of bringing this to light and challenging the social norms of the time, but it did detract from the story somewhat. But I can appreciate him wanting to make his point. The characters were interesting, in their own way, and they suited each level - patient, doctor, psychologist, etc - well. The events of the story unfolded at a steady pace and the ending was satisfying.

I think if I had the opportunity to reread this book with a right good editing, I'm sure that I would enjoy it so much more.

I was able to read this book with The Pigeonhole. So thanks to them, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author marketed this as a medical style mystery about what happens when a new contagious disease is identified in a small village during the late 60s. Poleaxe hits its victims with paralysis and sometimes death. Most of this is seen through the eyes of two doctors and a patient at a hospital who investigate the cause. This was written just before the covid pandemic, so the book has come about at the right time, but is more about the medical investigation than the consequences for those who have it, so I don't think it's likely to be upsetting. 


Firstly, I want to make it clear that I read a proof edition of the novel (from Pigeonhole) so some of the issues may be cleared up. However, whilst I though that the book had some interesting ideas it was rather a let down for me in terms of plot and more specifically the depiction of Barbara, the patient. I didn't appreciate the descriptions of 'firming breasts' and a 'creamy body' and thought that the author was objectifying her, particularly with the way that she was portrayed as being young, naive and virginal.


The author was obviously very knowledgeable about the medical side of things, especially about how doctors were treated during the period, and whilst I think the book had potential, I think it needed an editor or a few more constructively critical readers to help the author improve it. 

[Laura Hamilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Giving this a hopeful/promising 3 as it was a very early draft I read via the Pigeonhole which was littered with name errors, grammar errors, etc. This caused me a little confusing, was a bit jarring to the flow whilst reading.

It is set in 1967 in a small midlands town. People have succumbed to a mystery illness, some with fatal consequences, which paralyses the limbs and in extreme cases the respiratory system.
The starts of as a medical mystery with definite parallels with today, as the hospital and public health departments investigate the cause of this illness. As part of this it explores the (low) standing of mental health practitioners amongst their medical colleagues. It also follows the story of Barbara, one of the initial patients, who helps with the discovery of the cause whilst also uses her "brush with death" to reassess her life and make changes to it.
This is an interesting concept and the author is clearly very knowledgeable physician (psychiatrist) which we found out during the "readalong" on Pigeonhole. This book would definitely benefit from a proof reader and editorial input to help with the flow of the story.

[Sonja Charters · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hmm! This one is a tricky one to review.

The first half of the book - I have got to admit, I hated it!

The characters were all horrible, the storyline flipped between so many random sub sections that I really didn't understand what the heck was going on or what it was meant to be about.
There was even a completely random, clunky and unsympathetic sex scene that was just awful.

Throughout the whole book there were errors, missing words, mis-spelt words and even character name changes. It was very distracting.....if you weren't already confused enough.

However, I hate to put a book down, especially as I like to make myself try different genres and I'd already forced half the book in.....so continued.

I just thought I'd read it quickly and take it with a pinch of salt. But to my surprise, it did improve slightly.
The plot started to make a bit more sense and come together.

It helped to read along with the author as he could explain the ideas along the way, not at all like the "blurb", but the couple of storylines going along had some good points.

Not sure I'd recommend it.....but if you do read it, I'd love to hear your views too.

[Natalie Farr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poleaxe is the name given to a new mysterious disease/affliction which suddenly spread through the town of Medenby. This pandemic, much like current times with CoVid-19, causes fear throughout the population and the race is on to find out what causes it and how to cure it.

The story has several threads running through it including the Public Health Official who wants to find the root of Poleaxe and ‘save the town’, the recovering patient who looks more deeper into her illness and the psychiatry professionals who look at it from another angle.

I enjoyed the story and found myself keen to see how it would all end.

I am aware it is a self published book with the odd error but it didn’t distract from the story for me.

[Jane · Rating 1 out of 5]

The premise of this book sounded exciting and relevant - a mysterious illness affecting people in the 1960s and the race to control it before it spread further. However, I found the writing really clunky. The author had obviously done his research, but I was made very aware of this background study as I was reading and that stopped the flow of the narrative. The first sexual encounters of one of the characters were cringe worthy and I could not see how they fitted in with the story.
An aside is that the proof reading of the book was beyond poor. This made it an awkward read but was not the reason for my rating. An interesting concept, but its execution was not for me.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it at the pace of 'a stave a day' via the online book club Pigeonhole.
Written pre-COVID-19 times, it follows (mainly) one young woman through her journey of being ill with the titular disease, Poleaxe, escaping from her parents to college and enjoying her studies.
The plot jumped around somewhat, as the author had several things he wanted to say.
It also needed editing for typos and to tidy up the inconsistent names, but Pigeonhole often have advanced drafts, some in better states of the edit than others.

[Amelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to be able to read this interesting book set in the late sixties via the Pigeonhole App. Given the current Covid pandemic I was amazed to discover that this was written beforehand and the strong parallels between the pandemic and this book was pure coincidence. It was interesting to see the attitudes of the medical profession towards mental health and women in the workplace/profession back in the Sixties. Given Peter’s extensive career gives weight behind the book. I enjoyed this.

[The Breakneck Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story and the concept behind it. A unknown disease hitting a small village in the 1960s this book doesn't just explore the nature of the disease but the attitudes and perceptions of mental health and gender at the time. Ignore the negative Nellys having issues with the names/punctuation. It didn't detract from the story for me at all. If you are engrossed in the story you can work out what the name should be. I'm interested to read any other books by Peter.

[Robin Neave · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read which I neither liked or disliked. I learnt a lot which is a reflection of the knowledge and research of the author. It’s a first novel and I think that shows as the author is still trying to find his style/voice. When the narrative is plot-driven and is clearly a medical mystery, it reads well but when it veers off into other genres, it is less successful.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story on the whole.

Set in 1967 it explores the response to the emergence of a novel illness in a small English town. (I believe this was actually written prior to the covid pandemic).

I really loved the descriptions of life in 1967 and felt that the social mores and attitudes of the times were well reflected in the writing.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and The Book Guild for the arc of this book by Peter Tyrer.


This follows a pandemic in the year 1967- narratively this was a good read and interesting then half way thorugh i got lost and confused so i didnt finish as when i got confused it was getting a bit too much but overall a good book but 3 stars!

[Sam Bromley · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read, courtesy of pigeonhole. From the beginning I imagined that the story about a fledgling pandemic would pan out differently but as it went on further the book concentrated more on the politics and management of the pandemic, but an insightful read and worth reading through to the end.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this from my PigeonHole online review club.
I was interested in the story as it is very topical being about a pandemic - this being set in the 1960s. I agree with other reviewers that it had not been edited very well - which confused me a bit. I also found that the story jumped quite a bit & it wasn’t always easy to follow. It represents the 60s very well - including the lack of women in authority. There is even a fictional interview with David Frost which I did enjoy. It’s certainly worth a read - it’s quite a short story.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the premise of this book was quite fascinating as it had similarities with the Corona virus pandemic which we are all experiencing today. The book is set in 1967 when suddenly people started becoming Poleaxed for no apparent reason. As with today's pandemic, the doctors have to try and work out the cause and the best treatment for the disease. I know the author is an eminent and well respected professor who has written many books mainly medical, but I think this maybe his first book of fiction. It would have benefitted from a good editor and proof reader as there were many errors and confusing character name changes sometimes in the middle of a sentence. However I did enjoy reading it. Thanks to the Pigeonhole and the author for the opportunity.