This is a book review for
Ascension: A Story of Mental Illness
by Daniel Trump,
which I posted on Goodreads.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Mental illness is a scary topic, especially when it comes out of the blue for someone young and previously healthy. Dalton Lewis, the protagonist of Ascension, was a bright college graduate in his early twenties when something went seriously wrong with his mind. For me the book’s greatest strength is that it reads like a good fiction, showing, rather than telling, what it feels like to live with paranoid schizophrenia.
In Dalton’s own words: “I know that sometimes I felt like I couldn’t communicate with people or finish sentences. Think of how much better I am on this new medication. Think of the next medication, or the next, or the next. I might be able to articulate ideas more effectively. I might be able to write better. Who knows? I might be able to write something that moves someone, truly, in their mind, heart and soul. That’s the goal…”
I don’t know what in his story is based on facts (the author of Ascension has mental disability) or what is fiction. Nevertheless, it moved me from the beginning to the end.
Thomas Young (1773 – 1829) sought these clues throughout his life. A child prodigy with interest in classics and mathematics, he was, according to 
It seems that an entire generation can recall what they were doing when they heard about Kennedy’s assassination, but Robbie’s response drew me to read on. The sheer absurdity of being sent to the principal by the teacher, the conversations and the people Robbie met that day, created an illusion that I was there, watching and listening to real people. This uncanny immersion continued as the story progressed, and news headlines entwined with Robbie’s private life. I cannot say that I liked everything I read – the hatred during the civil rights demonstrations, Robbie’s friend almost raped – but the bad things did not spoil the story. It has dark moments in a rich canvas with many bright episodes.
The Changelings – a clan of educated rats – know a lot about people. People know little about rats except that they steal food and cause plagues. When the Changelings arrive to a town that suffers from a shortage of food, they find, as expected, townspeople who hate rats and want to see them gone, by whatever means that takes. But no one is prepared for what else they’ll find in the town. 
