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Summary: Never thought that Nietsche had wept in this way !!
Review: A kind of book that improves one's insight .. Full of elequent , vivid expressions reaching out the pulse of soul and it makes one think once again about life as an individual.. I really appriciate the author and his capacity.
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Summary: A wonderful contrast of two conflicting ideologies of life
Review: After reading this book, I am very intrigued by Yalom's own outlook at life. Perhaps, he is analyzing his own psyche in this book, personifying as Dr. Bruer. I am tentatively inclinded to conclude that Yalom has chosen the path of Bruer, and has found answers to his own existentential dilemmas? But my intrigue remains a sweet puzzle to me, something over which I will keep dwelling for a long time to come (I am also intrigued by Jack London's position in THE SEA WOLF: Did he secretly desire the ideologies of Captain Wolf Larson, but was not able to conclude the novel according to this secret desire?). Coming back to Yalom's book. I was about to accuse Yalom of simplistic solutions if both Nietzsche and Breur were cured of their respective obsessions using similar experiences. But here the author leaves us to wonder whether the treatment really worked for Nietzsche. Or have I mis-understood Nietzsche's cure?
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Summary: Painfully beatiful
Review: A painfully beautiful account of man's struggle against his own worst enemy - himself. Through intimate glimpses of the thoughts and lives of his facinating characters, you find Yalom painting a vivid picture of a reality we rarely admit. A reality that says: that which you see so easily in others is but only a reflection of yourself. Remarkable work.
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Summary: I loved this book.
Review: Dr Yalom's writings have always been influential. This book is very educational, but it is also very entertaining and thought provoking. A very smooth way to introduce oneself to existential psychotherapy.
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Summary: Mesmerizing
Review: Yalom's style is so smoothe that the reader doesn't feel as if a philosophy lecture is being given - yet it is, and it is wonderful. The answer to many questions is given in the main idea that we gain much knowledge about ourselves through our interactions with others. Do not let the title frighten you from engaging in this dialogue. Like Breuer, you will forced to challenge your convictions about life and how it "should" be lived. A powerful lesson is herein
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Summary: An extraordinary read
Review: Dr Yalom's novel is set in Vienna at the end of the 19th century, on the eve of the birth of psychoanalysis. The main characters are the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, Dr Joseph Bauer, one of the founders of psychoanalysis, and a then young (the year is 1882) medical intern called Sigmund Freud. As these protagonists discuss their ideas, preoccupations and frustrations, they create an original plot of a fictional relationship between an exceptional analysand and a talented analyst. As the fictional dialogue between Breuer and Nietzsche unfolds, the reader becomes aware of the fact that at this epoch it must have been the first time that a doctor realised that what mattered is not what a patient said but that he said it. These were truly the first steps towards psychotherapy. Breuer's task was not made easy by Nietzsche's character. His social fears and his misanthropy made him select an impersonal and distant style. His tone was often harsh and brittle, particularly when he talked about his deceptive lover, Lou Salomé, a woman Nietzsche actually met in the spring of 1882. The unpleasant experience he had with this one and only love affair made him resentful towards women. He felt that they corrupted and spoiled him, he avoided them because he thought that he was ill suited for them. This partly explains Nietzsche's total isolation, his feeling of belonging nowhere, having no lover, no circle of friends, no home, no family hearth, his life sounding like a hollow echo.
A wonderful achievement showing sad and troubled characters in an intriguing cross-discussion of philosophy and emerging psychotherapy, yet as gripping to read as a detective story.
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Summary: When Genius Soared
Review: This book drew me in from the start with its brilliant premise. The great philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche is in a suicidal depression, and his estranged friend Lou Salome seeks to help him out. In an insightfully imagined meeting between himself and one of the founders of modern psychology, Josef Breuer, the two engage in a series of talks that ultimately leads to the unraveling and subsequent recognition of both their problems. Only in historical fiction could you hope to get such a close and human portrait of the great thinker and his idea's. Cannot recommend it enough.
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Summary: OK, so Yalom is not a novelist.......
Review: The fact that Yalom is a psychologist and not a novelist has become the most common criticism of this book. However, I found it very interesting. Few times are fact and fiction so carefully intertwined to produce a book that makes you think about your existence and how you dealt / deal / will deal with it after reading the book.
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Summary: Intellect Meets Emotion - Welcome to Irvin Yalom's World
Review: I should start off with why this historical novel only gets three stars even though it had a deep impact on me personally at the time I read it. Yalom is at best a semi-compelling novelist. He is a gifted psychologist (both academically and as a therapist), but his style of writing can be a bit dry (or maybe its the subject matter) so I had to deduct one star for his limited skills as a writer of fiction. As with many meaningful books, this book has a small but loyal audience rather than having mass appeal. Given that Yalom is far from a giant in the literary world, I imagine the majority of the people who consider reading this book will have either a powerful interest in psychology (especially psychoanalysis) or a powerful interest in modern philosophy (especially the existential variety). Ideally, they will have at least, a healthy curiosity about both topics. I deducted the other star because I don't think this book will appeal to the "philosophy lovers" (redundant, n'est ce, pas?), particularly those oriented toward the work of Nietzsche, if they don't have that healthy curiosity about psychology. Although Yalom gives a very interesting interpretation of what Nietzsche's emotional make-up and what the nuances of his writing indicate about him personally, this is not a biography, nor a new take on Nietzsche. Anyone familiar with Nietzsche's biography will not be surprise by this novel, and at best will be amused at the dramatic license that Yalom takes in putting Nietzsche in a situation that never occurred. But if you consider yourself more inclined towards the psychological than the philosophical or biographical, then I would rate this book a four star read for you. As stated before, When Nietzsche Wept is an historical novel. The main characters are of course Frederich Nietzsche and Dr. Josef Breuer, who stumbled across the psychoanalytic talking cure most closely associated with Sigmund Freud, who was Breuer's informal understudy, contemporary, and friend. Sigmund Freud plays a supporting role in the novel as well as Lou Salome (the lover who spurned Nietzsche's love and probably acted as the catalyst for his most prolific writing period) and Anna O. (appearing in the novel as Bertha, Breuer's patient whom he treated for hysteria). Of course all of these people are key players in the intellectual movement taking place in the late nineteenth century in Europe. But the meeting of Breuer and Nietzsche, while plausible, is a fabrication of Yalom, a springboard that allows him to explore one of his favorite subjects: existential philosophy. It is obvious from Yalom's body of more academic work that he is a champion of the traditional psychoanalytic process. The key word is process, because Yalom uses this novel as a kind of `textbook example' of the psychoanalytic process. Note that Yalom is not interested in diagnosing mental illnesses from the DSM-IV and the like. He is of the thinking that just about all of us are suffering from some burning question: philosophical questions, morbid questions, existential questions. Yalom paints Breuer as the classic type A successful middle-aged man who finds himself having a midlife crisis. Its obvious that where Yalom portrays a large chunk of himself with Breuer: especially the bumbling and neurotic nature of that Breuer exemplifies in the novel. Yalom paints Nietzsche as a long-suffering intellectual attempting to completely detach himself from himself emotionally. In the course of the book, both men haphazardly stumble across emotional awakenings and enlightenments through the psychoanalytic process that they don't even realize they are involved in. Breuer's character muses throughout his and Nietzsche's treatment about the future implications of what he is discovering. The novel doesn't have a surprise ending or a gut-wrenching plotline. Just like Greek tragedies, you know how this one will turn out early on in the novel, but the enjoyment comes from watching the way things unfold. It has been said about psychoanalysis that in order for the process one must have time to waste, even though each moment is an important step in the journey that has no definite ending or conclusion. Some will argue that this book unrealistically turns into a Fantasy Island episode in that it quickly ties up neatly at the end with everyone changed from their lessons and optimistic about the future given their new experiences. In truth, the psychoanalytic process is much slower and sporadic (kind of like a drunk staggering to his home...the steps are unsteady and sometimes in the wrong direction but he gets there eventually). To keep things interesting and palatable, Yalom has to speed things up to a dizzying pace that does take on an almost hackneyed resolution. These two men develop the kind of trust that usually takes years to develop in a matter of weeks. And they make the kinds of changes that are usually hard fought struggles for life in almost an instant. But at its core, this novel paints the picture of two people healing themselves and healing each other in a loving relationship, which is what the subtle art of psychoanalysis is all about. It is not a science so the poetic license is okay. In closing, I say that if you find yourself open to experiencing the creative journey that psychologists from Freud to Yalom himself have mapped out, especially with such historically significant and engaging characters, this be the novel for you.
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