The Melancholy Android

"What makes Pinocchio sad? Eric Wilson's twenty-first century anatomy of melancholy finds a rich psychological and philosophical nexus in imaginary androids, automata, golems, and mummies drawn from the annals of Western culture. In this provocative and wide-ranging meditation, the manufactured human becomes our understudy, enacting the age-old human tragicomedy of forever seeking--"and failing--"to connect with our mortal and immortal natures."