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greden's review against another edition
5.0
Yalom imagines what would happen if Nietzsche would come in contact with the grandfather of psychoanalysis, Breuer, and creates a scenario in which these two discover psychoanalysis together through a scenario where they were each other's patients.
--spoilers--
Josef Breuer, an accomplished bourgeoisie Jewish doctor is going through a mid-life crisis, he is feeling repelled by his wife and his idle time he is sucked into a whirlpool of sexual fantasy for his previous patient, Bertha, who he treated for hysteria with an experimental new treatment that included hypnosis.
Breuer comes in contact with Friedrich Nietzsche, whom he is assigned to treat for suicidal despair caused by love-sickness. Although Nietzsche proves a difficult patient to work with, Breuer is mysteriously intrigued by this highly intelligent philosopher, a freethinker with no responsibility or obligations.
As Nietzsche was about to leave treatment, Breuer, in a last-ditch effort to keep his patient, asks Nietzsche to be his doctor of dispair, while in return he offer his medical supervision for Nietzsche's migraine.
Nietzsche agrees, and he teaches his philosophy to Breuer in an attempt to overcome his mid-life crisis, in an attempt to find purpose in life and overcome the obsession with Bertha. Breuer is told that his sexual obsession with Bertha is just a mental distraction from the existential anxiety of time, aging, death, and meaning that accompanies the 40-year old mark.
What Nietzsche didn't know Breuer knew, was that Nietzsche was himself smitten by a woman, Lou Salome, and was obsessed with her.
In the end, they both helped each other overcome their respective obsession by realizing that the woman treated other men the same as themselves, and the particular man was incidental. Breuer realized that Bertha would project her father onto the next therapist, and Nietzsche realized that Lou had charmed Breuer just the same way as she charmed himself. Upon realizing this, Nietzsche cried in pain that this realization was a "desecration of memories."
Finally, Breuer learned to love his wife again by not displacing his resentment of time and lack of freedom onto her, and he started to embrace personal responsibility and realized if he had his choice, he would choose to stay with her.
This was a joy to read, well-written and smart. The compelling narrative is filled with psychological insight where Nietzsche's philosophy was put into therapeutic use. The drama is entertaining and some of it was astoundingly relatable.
--spoilers--
Josef Breuer, an accomplished bourgeoisie Jewish doctor is going through a mid-life crisis, he is feeling repelled by his wife and his idle time he is sucked into a whirlpool of sexual fantasy for his previous patient, Bertha, who he treated for hysteria with an experimental new treatment that included hypnosis.
Breuer comes in contact with Friedrich Nietzsche, whom he is assigned to treat for suicidal despair caused by love-sickness. Although Nietzsche proves a difficult patient to work with, Breuer is mysteriously intrigued by this highly intelligent philosopher, a freethinker with no responsibility or obligations.
As Nietzsche was about to leave treatment, Breuer, in a last-ditch effort to keep his patient, asks Nietzsche to be his doctor of dispair, while in return he offer his medical supervision for Nietzsche's migraine.
Nietzsche agrees, and he teaches his philosophy to Breuer in an attempt to overcome his mid-life crisis, in an attempt to find purpose in life and overcome the obsession with Bertha. Breuer is told that his sexual obsession with Bertha is just a mental distraction from the existential anxiety of time, aging, death, and meaning that accompanies the 40-year old mark.
What Nietzsche didn't know Breuer knew, was that Nietzsche was himself smitten by a woman, Lou Salome, and was obsessed with her.
In the end, they both helped each other overcome their respective obsession by realizing that the woman treated other men the same as themselves, and the particular man was incidental. Breuer realized that Bertha would project her father onto the next therapist, and Nietzsche realized that Lou had charmed Breuer just the same way as she charmed himself. Upon realizing this, Nietzsche cried in pain that this realization was a "desecration of memories."
Finally, Breuer learned to love his wife again by not displacing his resentment of time and lack of freedom onto her, and he started to embrace personal responsibility and realized if he had his choice, he would choose to stay with her.
This was a joy to read, well-written and smart. The compelling narrative is filled with psychological insight where Nietzsche's philosophy was put into therapeutic use. The drama is entertaining and some of it was astoundingly relatable.
ilj's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
alexandra_ivey's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
Beautiful philosophical journey. Made me appreciate nietzche while challenging his ideas. Deeply male but with a self-awareness of sexism.
decu777's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is simply compelling, from start to finish.
Watching these two massive figureheads of philosophy having a continuous intelectual dueling against eachother to try and figure out their reciprocal deepest secrets and darkest thoughts, while not realizing they are indirectly helping eachother in the process, is simply a brilliant dynamic that has been such a breath of fresh air.
This book is elevated even further by the near perfect pacing and conclusion.
Watching these two massive figureheads of philosophy having a continuous intelectual dueling against eachother to try and figure out their reciprocal deepest secrets and darkest thoughts, while not realizing they are indirectly helping eachother in the process, is simply a brilliant dynamic that has been such a breath of fresh air.
This book is elevated even further by the near perfect pacing and conclusion.
corscada's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
elena_revisited's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
aidonz's review against another edition
5.0
I was worried about the silliness of the historical fiction in this (Nietzsche in therapy? Sigmund freud is a recurring side character?), But it was incredibly well done and I ended up loving it. I've had to read Yalom several times for my group therapy and clinical social work classes and find that his professional expertise is critical to this book actually working. The story is centered around the despair and godlessness that is central to Nietzsche's philosophy and how his thinking genuinely led to the early stages of psychotherapy. Yalom is using this very unique context to fictionalize the treatment of depression in a thinker that was assuredly depressed as hell. And because Yalom is deep in the psychology field, he expertly interweaves power dynamics, relational vulnerability, and unconscious thought as themes in the narrative. It's basically psychology/philosophy student fan fiction. You get a light crash course on Nietzsche's philosophy (I basically knew nothing going in) and get a masterful exploration of psychoanalysis and the history of early freudian thinking. LOVED IT.