4.15 AVERAGE


Although it's a fictional book, the things related in it could have happened. It's a great book!! It presents great dialogs and great ideas!

A Novel of Obsession....
challenging emotional informative mysterious reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
emotional inspiring reflective medium-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

The best book I’ve ever read.

I just watched the movie, based on this book, and really liked it. The director uses very short cuts in scenes to make moments go faster or jump a bit, reflecting the feelings of Nietzsche and Breuer when they are frantic. The acting was nicely done, too. There are moments in the film that are almost like inside jokes, such as when Nietzsche actually tried to protect a horse from being whipped, though he was a bit delusional at the time. Also, there is a flash of a picture of two men (Nietzsche and Henry) and a woman (Salome) in a wagon. She holds a whip. This picture actually exists.

I read the book while taking a graduate class on Nietzsche and politics. I found that the book captured a lot of what he felt. Weirdly, Nietzsche himself often did not have the courage to live how he theorized man should. He was suspicious, easily shaken, and often felt betrayed (his "friends" like Wagner, Salome, and Henry reaffirmed his anxiety).

While you can enjoy When Nietzsche Wept on its own, it's much better to know the philosopher and his main works and history, which I'm sure is the case with any historical novel.

This book is nothing if not thought-provoking. Fascinating. Wonderful. I'm definitely gonna be thinking about it for a long time.

Irvin Yalom is a brilliant thinker and mediocre novelist.
challenging inspiring reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes