Rating: 
Summary: collapses after page 250
Review: Wow. I've never had the rug pulled out from under me like that before. It was like first enjoying a warm handshake and then feeling a delayed joy-buzzer, but one whose existence is unknown to the person whose hand you are shaking. Since there are lots of positives to the book, let me get the negatives over with as quickly and bluntly as possible. Everything after about page 250 insulted my intelligence. The climax of the book is not only absurdly contrived, but is simply recycled from the sort of thing you can even find on The Brady Brunch from time to time. I could hardly believe Yalom was serious. (In fact, I keep wondering if the ending is one of those "Social Text" sorts of literary hoaxes, but I fear not.) Even worse than the corny plot device was the breathless pop psychology to which it gives rise. Breuer's experience of self-discovery towards the end is actually shallow, and not just an incredible anachronism. The only thing missing from the denouement is to have Breuer and Nietzsche listening to New Age music or passing a joint back and forth. Another flaw is that Yalom's Nietzsche is unconvincingly quick in his invention of modern psychoanalytic techniques on the fly. Roughly two weeks after starting from scratch, Counselor Fritz is serving up numerous practical techniques for breaking obsession that seem to be straight from the contemporary therapist's toolbox. Now, let's swing to the positive. Although I wouldn't read another of Yalom's novels after this, he clearly wouldn't be a bad therapist to have. He abounds with practical advice on how to approach one's life, and comes off as a sometimes piercing but always humane observer of the world. (I just didn't find his 1990's self-help outlook and anti-co-dependency message believable in connection with the historical personages in this novel.) It must also be admitted that this novel is able to provoke a highly personal train of thought in the reader's mind similar to that which arises from a typical good off-the-shelf psychology book. For that reason, I don't want to trash the author completely, because his work did touch me on some level. Up to about page 250, I was actually entranced by this novel, very entranced in fact, spending hours reading it in a cafe and forgetting all else. There were a few patches of unconvincing dialogue early on, mostly from Nietzsche's mouth. But the scene-setting was always fabulous. Nietzsche and Breuer come to life as believable autonomous entities (at least until their reinvention as high school guidance counselors at the end). Lou Salome and especially the young Freud are wonderful peripheral figures; I'd actually have liked to see more of this Freud, a dynamic young intellectual tiger, an optimist with no trace of the brooding oversexualization that many wrongly ascribe to him. The interaction between Breuer and Nietzsche is also surprisingly believable, up to and including the cemetery scene. In constructing Nietzsche's dialogue, Yalom relies heavily on Nietzsche's published ideas. This technique always runs the risk of a display of erudition or of inside jokes directed at the knowing reader, but Yalom avoids this perfectly. Ironically, the real "loser" of the book turns out to be Lou Salome, whose imperious dominance at the beginning of the book is converted by the end into the mere result of transparent and immature feminine wiles. That woman was no angel, but her magnetic appeal to figures of the status of Nietzsche, Rilke, and Freud was the result of a lot more than predatory flirtation. Her depth doesn't come through at all in this novel, and neither does the elusive disturbingness of her tendency to "use" great men, if that's what it was. If this novel had been executed in such a way as to allow the reader to finish it with a straight face, it had the potential to start a brand new genre-- we might call it "counterfactual biography." The way things stand, I think we can only view it as a literary experiment gone awry, despite an excellent premise and some moments of real psychological/historical drama.
Rating: 
Summary: great book
Review: I was immediately absorbed by the exchange between the characters of Nietzsche and Josef Breuer. I was fascinated by how the novel keep me clenched in its claws, simply by its engaging dialogue.
When Nietzsche Wept successfully seeks to make the moral argument that despair lies in the recognition that one has made faulty choices, or the lack of any choice at all. The novels scenario is the examination, by Friedrich Nietzsche and Josef Breuer, into the life motifs of Breuer, and he has manipulated his life into archetypal themes. The character of Bertha, who Breuer holds an obsession for, Nietzsche also shares this obsession with the character of Leo, exist only as an instrument of choice, which is the real issue at hand. The issue of choice and being able to choose alludes to the central argument of the novel. It is the taking of responsibility that is a release from the despair that one feels from the lack of choice, or the making the wrong choices.
Ultimately, the challenge for Breuer and Nietzsche becomes to find what the meaning of the obsession is, rather than to focus on the obsession itself. (i.e. trying to find ways to end the obsession, or treating the obsession as if it was a sickness in itself, rather than simply a symptom in a larger illness).
The role of the unconsciousness plays a slightly different position then it is thought of in the Freudian tradition. The unconsciousness takes on a far less role than it does in the Freudian school of thought. The unconsciousness of Breuer and Nietzsche allows more room for the individual to make choices. This seems to logically correlate with the humanistic tradition that has grown out of the existential roots of Nietzsche.
During the concluding chapters of the novel, Nietzsche and Breuer walk through a cemetery, while it begins to storm, Nietzsche confronts Breuer with many similarities between his mother and his current fascination with Bertha. The questions that Nietzsche is confronting Breuer with seem to have no innate meaning in themselves, they are only used to progress Breuer to the core issues that disturb him, that is the issues surrounding his death. Once the transparency of these issues are realized by Breuer, the core issues make themselves known, Breuer realizes that his life has not been consciously chosen by himself, and therefore has no meaning to himself. His next actions become clear, he must choose his life. The eminence of death forces an evaluation of the value he has given his life, and demands that responsibility be taken for it. Yalom initially "tricks" the reader into thinking that Breuer actually chooses this new life, free from his wife and responsibilities as a doctor. This ties directly into psychology's tactic to repair oneself through the fantasy mind. I felt that this portion of the novel was a bit thin. It is almost that Breuer fails to make the actual changes in his life, and settles for an imaginary version of the freedom that his psyche desires. The text is a bit unclear about how this is accomplished, besides that he was able to make these choices in an unconscious state.. The conclusion of this novel seems to end a little too easily. The novel then proceeds to tie up all of its loose ends with Nietzsche and Breuer revealing all of their hidden agendas. In the end everyone is honest, and wrapped up nicely.
I thought that it was interesting how the personalities of the individual theorists of Nietzsche and Breuer not only influenced how they viewed the world, but also how they developed their theories of humans. Nietzsche, being an untrusting and suspicious individual, developed his ideas presuming that he was correct in feeling this about others, and began with this premise.
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: This was a great novel and I wanted to give it 5 stars but I couldn't bring myself to do it since Yalom doesn't seem to have a firm understanding of philosophy and his understanding of Nietzsche is mundane at best.
It's a good book and I'm sure all Nietzsche fans such as myself will get a big kick out of reading a story with Nietzsche in it, but as a source of information it would be wise to see this novel as an expression of Yalom's idea's and NOT as a biographical study of Nietzsche.
Rating:
Summary: Lachrymose Atheist!
Review: This novel opens with a bizarre request. After an intense affair with Friedrich Nietzsche, Lou Salome meets Dr Josef Bruer, an early associate of Sigmund Freud, in a Venetian cafe bathed in the autumnal sunshine of 1882. Believing the future of European philosophy to be teetering on the edge of an abyss, she begs the eminent physician to treat Nietzsche's worsening despair; Nietzsche, it transpires, is caught up in the brooding mood that overtakes all unhappy lovers. Naturally, both physician and philosopher express some initial disquiet. Eventually, however, a series of meetings take place and soon Bruer discovers that the only way he can "heal" Nietzsche is if he confronts his own feelings for Bertha, a beautiful, but profoundly unstable, former patient. Healer becomes sufferer. Sufferer becomes healer. Bruer and Nietzsche talk for hours and, quite unexpectedly, the psycho-analytic revolution is given birth through the strangest of encounters.Needless to say, Yalom has imagined this encounter between Bruer and Nietzsche. It never actually took place, although Bruer was an eminent 19th century physician and assisted Freud's breakthrough in psychiatry. Furthermore, students of the history of ideas have known for a long time how devastated Nietzsche was after Salome spurned his affection for her. Yalom pointedly portrays both Bruer and Nietzsche as worringly fragile and devastatingly powerful, but it is the angst-ridden world of Nietzsche that he captures so well. Yalom imaginatively weaves the insights of one of the most trenchant critics of traditional Christianity into a novel that is at once mature and complicated, as well as being fun and readable.
Rating:
Summary: A Therapeutic Read
Review: If you are, like me, a fan of Irving Yalom's non-fiction, you might wonder at what you will encounter in his fiction. Wonder no more. This book is fantastic! A highlight of his non-fictional accounts of psycho-therapeutic encounters with patients has always been the deep humanity of his characterization of people - even desperately unhappy people. He accomplishes the same in this book, while taking-on the daunting task of centering his fictionalized account around some of the most famous names in the history of philosophy and psychology. If you have not read Yalom, I would encourage you to buy this book - but do so along with a purchase of one of his non-fiction works: "Momma and the Meaning of Life : Tales of Psychotherapy" or "Love's Executioner : And Other Tales of Psychotherapy", and go ahead and read the latter first. You might well have little anticipation of enjoying accounts of psychotherapy, but I think you will discover that Yalom, at least, does a captivating job of describing the human condition through his eyes and those of his patients. Along the way you will slowly unravel the nature and power of Yalom's "existential" approach to therapy. Once you have encountered this approach to life and life-change through the mixture of the personal and the theoretic in Yalom's non-fiction, you will doubly enjoy the undercurrents of "When Nietzche Wept". Most novels seek to imbed one of more philosophies of life within their character's being or actions. But so many of these turn into such a hodge-podge of pop-culture and authorial idiosyncrasy that characters can lack the coherence that binds us to them as readers. Under the hands of an accomplished novelist this coherence is the challenge met - and the connection to the reader is the connection to the seeming hodge-podge of our own lives - but such success is sadly uncommon. Yalom takes a different tack and succeeds wonderfully, building his characters upon a deeply developed professional awareness of what drives and defines us. Having established over decades of thought and therapy and writing the central elements at the core of being - which he collectively captures as "existential" - he builds his characters on that base. It is an amazing thing to see how compellingly these characters present themselves and, in my opinion, further proof of the fundamental power and veracity of the existentialist perspective. Yalom is no dry Camus, though, worrying his suicide beads. He and his characters show a powerful connection to life which is manifest in their powerful connection to the world of ideas. As larger-than-life historic figures, his main characters, Nietzche and Josef Breuer (with Sigmund Freud as a minor character!) do not emerge with the gloss of historical polish. But neither do they emerge as simple folks. The mutual swell of their explorations of the nature of man meets with an explosive energy that Yalom expertly guides through a full and developed and engaging story.
Rating:
Summary: Psychology and Philosophy: Interwined, Entertained
Review: WHEN NIETZSCHE WEPT was required reading for one of my psychology courses in college. It was also my introduction to Irvin D. Yalom. I've been a big Yalom fan since. In all his works, Yalom is very real, very genuine. WNW is no exception. You can almost see Yalom in the characters of Dr. Josef Breuer AND Nietzsche, and, if you look closely enough, possibly also Freud. Although it is said that Breuer and Nietzsche never met, you would never know in reading it for the first time. Yalom allows the reader to imagine many things. the book is rich in detail, and is a priceless teaching tool. A person with not even a fancy for either psychology or philosophy could still enjoy the book and learn quite a bit in the process.
Rating:
Summary: Impressive
Review: For those who have read Hemann Hesse, you will find a lot of Harry Haller in this book. Humanizing Nietzsche is done greatly in concordance with "Human, all too Human", the explanations to some of the ideology behind Zaratustra that appear on the book, as well as an example of Psychotherapy that clearly demonstrate Yalom's capabilities as a writer and psychologist. This book is, however, best intended for those who have experience the solitude of both characters in the book. It is also recommended to do some research on psychology and read some Nietzsche so you can better exploit the great contents of the book.
Rating: 
Summary: A book of ideas that breaks your heart-and sets you free
Review: "One must have chaos and frenzy within oneself to give birth to a dancing star." Nietzsche, in WHEN NIETZSCHE WEPT Like the writings of Nietzsche himself, commenting a great deal in this review on the book from a personal standpoint could serve to actually take away the luster of its brilliance, and its powerful effect. The words carry more weight and bounce to the ounce than any retort on them could hope to muster. The book begins rather slowly for me; you are so aware of the fact that the pieces of this profound chess game to be played are being put on the board in the first couple of chapters that it seems as if the writer, Dr. Yalom of Stanford University, is complimenting himself pedantically on his research. But that is the only thing that could keep this magnificent book from getting five stars from me; once he gets going and Nietzsche and Breuer begin their talks, my world began to open and my heart began to both break and be reinvigorated with fire as my mind was blown and reblown simultaneously. At the beginning you wonder when it's getting started, by the time you reach near the middle... be sure you don't have to be somewhere important, need a good night's sleep or get in a car to start driving- you won't be able to put it down! Nor will you escape from having it deeply, deeply touch you. "I try to teach him that lovers of truth do not fear stormy or dirty water. What we fear is SHALLOW water!" "If you kill God, you must also leave the shelter of the temple..." "A wise Jewish teacher advised his followers to break with their mother and father and to seek perfection. THAT might be a step worthy of a lad of infinite promise. that might have been the right dance to the right tune..." "... you take pride in your meekness. You make a virtue of necessity; you bury your feelings deep, and then, because you experience no resentment, you assume that you are saintlike..." "...he presents himself as good- he does no harm- other than to himself and to nature! I must stop him from being one of those who call themselves good because they have no claws..." "Duty? Can duty take precedence over your love for yourself and your own quest for unconditional freedom? If you have not attained yourself, then 'duty' is merely a euphemism for using others for your own enlargement." "I dream of a love in which two people share a passion to search together for some higher truth. Perhaps I should not call it love. Perhaps it's real name is friendship." "Bertha is a cornucopia of mystery, protection, and salvation! Josef Breuer calls this love. But its real name is prayer." This is a wonderful book.
Rating:
Summary: A Brilliant work of a revolutionary visionary
Review: This book is an incredibly creative work that raises difficult questions, but offers some comfort with plausible answers. A book with great ideas along with a moving plot. Bravo Yalom! We hope for more!
Rating:
Summary: Bravo!
Review: I am an American living in Italy. I found this book last year, read it and couldn't forget it. There were some truths that scared me. I am rereading it, underlining, making notes and enjoying it even more. I fouond WHEN NIETZCHE WEPT an intelligent, inventive and engrossing novel. Bravo, Signor Yalom.
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