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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
This book is something that changes your perceptions for the most ordinary things.
emotional
informative
inspiring
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Worth reading for the premise alone. Style and characterization are decent but nothing special; but seriously, anyone who wants to write Freud treating Nietzsche is worth a little of your time.
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
At times too lengthy, but amazingly catching the spirit of Nietzsche's philosophy.
Provocative and insightful into Breuer and Nietzsche. A novel of two men trying to outwit one another while trying to save one another. A favorite!
throughout our lives, we come across those books that move us, either bringing us to tears or filling us with joy. there are books that you go through underlining sentences which hold big truths you want to embed into your mind with the stroke of the pencil. every now and then we stumble upon a book that inspires us, that stays with us for a while or becomes part of who we are. but only a couple of times during our lifetime do we encounter a book that changes us deeply from within.
when nietzsche wept was one of those books.
i’m deeply aware of the subjective tone this will be coloured in, for i see no other way to describe what this book meant to me.
i’ve always found it fascinating how incredibly magical life can be, when it toys with time and place. how extraordinary it is that the timing of things, whilst on many occasions seems completely off, sometimes happens to be the epitome of perfect. the first time i started reading when nietzsche wept i didn’t finish it for i was too busy doing whatever was it that i was doing however it kept me away from indulging in the story so i abandoned it only to revisit a couple of months later. but during those months, a lot of events have played out in my life from which i had no choice but to learn and evolve. what i’m trying to say is, i was coming into my second beginning of reading yalom’s book with a different mindset and honestly, with different expectations – the first time i was looking for a book to enjoy, the second time i was searching for an escape from the things happening around me and even more so, within me that i couldn’t bare with. so i needed something to keep my mind off the thoughts i didn’t want to think. altogether, during those months that i have been away, what had occurred had lead to my changing of the view upon life that now felt more closely related to the views expressed in this book. what i’m trying to say is, coming back to the beginning of this paragraph, an incredible coincidence of many different aspects coming together had transpired and as a result, i found in this book exactly what i was looking for. and much more. without getting too personal, this book spoke to me as if the words written had been said out loud and i had no choice but to listen. furthermore, i was given the sensation that the words were meant for me.
and that’s the ineffable experience you get only once or twice in your life – the experience of finishing a book with a certain flame burning in your chest that was not there beforehand but that will fuel the things you do and the person you become once you’ve turned the last page. but not only that; this book holds so much power over me for it managed to cleanse not only my future but even my past. the rumination it had inspired made me realise some things that have been there all along but needed a torch that would enlighten them.
maybe the book itself isn’t the best one you’ll read. it’s true that i didn’t enjoy every page equally or greatly - there were parts that i wished to go through as fast as possible, most of them being the ones about breuer’s personal life, the scenes without nietzsche. and to someone who’s only been acquaintanced with nietzsche’s philosophy, this also felt like a good introduction to further reading of his original works.
so, objectively – had i finished the book the first time i started it, i would’ve probably rated it somewhere between 3.5 and 4.5 stars.
but subjectively, having finished it now, all i can say is – i will forever cherish this piece of art.
when nietzsche wept was one of those books.
i’m deeply aware of the subjective tone this will be coloured in, for i see no other way to describe what this book meant to me.
i’ve always found it fascinating how incredibly magical life can be, when it toys with time and place. how extraordinary it is that the timing of things, whilst on many occasions seems completely off, sometimes happens to be the epitome of perfect. the first time i started reading when nietzsche wept i didn’t finish it for i was too busy doing whatever was it that i was doing however it kept me away from indulging in the story so i abandoned it only to revisit a couple of months later. but during those months, a lot of events have played out in my life from which i had no choice but to learn and evolve. what i’m trying to say is, i was coming into my second beginning of reading yalom’s book with a different mindset and honestly, with different expectations – the first time i was looking for a book to enjoy, the second time i was searching for an escape from the things happening around me and even more so, within me that i couldn’t bare with. so i needed something to keep my mind off the thoughts i didn’t want to think. altogether, during those months that i have been away, what had occurred had lead to my changing of the view upon life that now felt more closely related to the views expressed in this book. what i’m trying to say is, coming back to the beginning of this paragraph, an incredible coincidence of many different aspects coming together had transpired and as a result, i found in this book exactly what i was looking for. and much more. without getting too personal, this book spoke to me as if the words written had been said out loud and i had no choice but to listen. furthermore, i was given the sensation that the words were meant for me.
and that’s the ineffable experience you get only once or twice in your life – the experience of finishing a book with a certain flame burning in your chest that was not there beforehand but that will fuel the things you do and the person you become once you’ve turned the last page. but not only that; this book holds so much power over me for it managed to cleanse not only my future but even my past. the rumination it had inspired made me realise some things that have been there all along but needed a torch that would enlighten them.
maybe the book itself isn’t the best one you’ll read. it’s true that i didn’t enjoy every page equally or greatly - there were parts that i wished to go through as fast as possible, most of them being the ones about breuer’s personal life, the scenes without nietzsche. and to someone who’s only been acquaintanced with nietzsche’s philosophy, this also felt like a good introduction to further reading of his original works.
so, objectively – had i finished the book the first time i started it, i would’ve probably rated it somewhere between 3.5 and 4.5 stars.
but subjectively, having finished it now, all i can say is – i will forever cherish this piece of art.
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
a splendid book about the mind and its’ limits and extents. it manages to mix factual elements with a fictitious plot where nietzsche and breuer would’ve met and mutually helped one another. also explored breuer and freud’s friendship and the early stages of what would become psychotherapy. definitely a must read for big fans of psychology.