Synopsis "Butcher"

From one of our most accomplished storytellers, an extraordinary and arresting novel about a women's asylum in the nineteenth century, and a terrifying doctor who wants to change the world In this harrowing story based on authentic historical documents, we follow the career of Dr. Silas Weir, "Father of Gyno-Psychiatry," as he ascends from professional anonymity to national renown. Humiliated by a procedure gone terribly wrong, Weir is forced to take a position at the New Jersey Asylum for Female Lunatics, where he reigns. There, he is allowed to continue his practice, unchecked for decades, making a name for himself by focusing on women who have been neglected by the state--women he subjects to the most grotesque modes of experimentation. As he begins to establish himself as a pioneer of nineteenth-century surgery, Weir's ambition is fueled by his obsessive fascination with a young Irish indentured servant named Brigit, who becomes not only Weir's primary experimental subject, but also the agent of his destruction. Narrated by Silas Weir's eldest son, who has repudiated his father's brutal legacy, Butcher is a unique blend of fiction and fact, a nightmare voyage through the darkest regions of the American psyche conjoined, in its startling conclusion, with unexpected romance. Once again, Joyce Carol Oates has written a spellbinding novel confirming her position as one of our celebrated American visionaries of the imagination.

Joyce Carol Oates

(Author)

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Born in Lockport, New York, in 1938, this author has established herself as one of the most influential voices in contemporary literature in the United States. With a prolific career spanning over fifty novels, hundreds of short stories, a dozen essays, eleven volumes of poetry, and several plays, her work is a testament to the ingenuity and depth with which she has explored the human condition

Throughout her career, she has received prestigious awards such as the National Book Award, the PEN/Malamud Award, and the Prix Fémina Étranger. In Spain, her distinctive dark humor has been recognized with the BBK Ja! Bilbao Award and the Pepe Carvalho Award 2021. Additionally, in 2010 she was honored with the National Humanities Medal, the highest civilian honor in the humanities in the U.S., and in 2012, Oregon State University awarded her the Stone Award in recognition of her literary legacy

Her style, always unsettling and visionary, has challenged conventions and offered new perspectives on society, identity, and morality, making her an essential reference in the international literary scene.

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