''The Anatomy Lesson'' (1995) is a novel by John David Morley, inspired by Rembrandt’s painting ''

The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp ''The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp'' is a 1632 oil painting on canvas by Rembrandt housed in the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague, the Netherlands. The painting is regarded as one of Rembrandt's early masterpieces. In the work, Nicolaes Tu ...

''.

Summary

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, the streetwise, drug-addled, Dutch-American teenager Kiddo lives in the shadow of his hero-worshipped older brother, Morton, a brilliant science student who, having completed his physics and engineering Ph.D., is to take up a fellowship at

M.I.T. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...

But, after Morton’s premature death from a virulent strain of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

, Kiddo begins to uncover a shadow-side to his brother’s existence, even as he wrestles with the anguished question of Morton’s dying wish: that he attend the autopsy in which his own brother’s corpse will be dissected.

Reception

"Contemporary American fiction often forces on its readers a choice between head and heart. Mr. Morley's small, brilliant anatomy of love and loss succeeds in providing both," wrote novelist Rand Richards Cooper in ''

The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

'', seeing in Morley’s authorial output to date “a protean creative intelligence at work.” “Not since ''

Catcher in the Rye ''The Catcher in the Rye'' is an American novel by J. D. Salinger that was partially published in serial form from 1945–46 before being novelized in 1951. Originally intended for adults, it is often read by adolescents for its themes of angst ...

'' has anyone published so mesmerizing a piece of fiction about a disaffected teenager trying not to cope with reality,” judged Deloris Tarzan Ament in ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington ...

''. “An incredibly depressing, dead-on portrait of inept parents and aimless youth,” concluded Joanne Wilkinson in Booklist. “Blackly funny,” wrote Alex Clark in ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'', “but breathtakingly bleak.” “John David Morley is known to European and American literary connoisseurs as a writer who merits serious attention”, Bettina Drew wrote in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', before hailing the author's latest work as “a serious meditation on despair and loss and our inability to really know the people we love.” After '' Pictures from the Water Trade'' in 1985 and '' The Feast of Fools'' in 1994, ''The Anatomy Lesson'' became the third of Morley's novels to be designated a notable book by ''The New York Times Book Review''.'Best Sellers'
''The New York Times Book Review'' (September 17, 1995)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anatomy Lesson, The 1995 British novels English philosophical novels British bildungsromans Novels set in Amsterdam Novels by John David Morley Abacus books