Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain

by: Oliver Sacks

Published by: Vintage /Random House

Reviewed by Kathy Perschmann

Oliver Sacks is a renowned neurologist and medical writer. He is also the author of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Awakenings, and An Anthropologist on Mars. This is a revised and expanded edition.

Here he writes on the topic of the brain and music, covering how music affects patients with schizophrenia, depression, profound autism, Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, Parkinsons, and post-encephalitics. His numerous anecdotes and studies also touch on musical hallucinations, earworms, and how strokes affect the perception and memory of music. He covers the physical problems that can affect musicians, like pianist Leon Fleisher, who had such severe problems with the functioning of his right hand (a dystonia) that he eventually could play with only one hand. He has treated his frozen right hand and arm with a combination of Rolfing and Botox, and his first two-handed recording in forty years was released in 2004.

I also enjoyed his stories about Darwin, Freud, Berloiz, Ravel, and Tchaikovsky. This book is designed for the layperson, with no deep knowledge of the brain or music. The stories of author Sack’s various patients and their reactions to music are captivating.

This paperback edition is expanded and revised; it would make a wonderful gift for anyone with an interest in music. The magnificent interaction between the brain and music is only beginning to be understood; but it is truly fascinating.

Armchair Interviews says: If you love music in any way, you’ll love this book.