Children of Hunger

Author Iagnemma, Karl
Year 2003
First published 2003
Number of pages 33
Keywords medicine (biomedical research), historical, literary or mainstream

Abstract

Loosely based on the famous medical experiments carried out on Alexis St. Martin by Dr. William Beaumont, "Children of Hunger" emphasizes the role of human emotion in scientific research. The story highlights the terrible anxiety and cost sometimes associated with discovery. The three main characters--William, Julia, and Guillaume--are all deeply wounded individuals and in some ways, incomplete human beings.The title of the story is interesting since each main character has a unique "hunger": sexual desire and a vexed appetite (Guillaume), an insatiable lust for knowledge and discovery (William), and the craving for love and want of a child (Julia). Dr. William Barber is a fascinating physician-scientist whose obsession with experimentation requires sacrifices from the two people he professes to care for the most. (LitMed)