Rich, broad ranging, skilful, imaginative,
absorbing — all these can be applied to Irvin Yalom’s latest novel.  But they
do not scratch the surface of the mechanisms, both of the mind that created the
tale and the unique methods evolved to reach that end.  It seems to me that the
author is, and always will be, a philosophical analyst, of the literature he
chooses to read, of the conversations he has and of the behavior he observes in
those around him.   His own life, then, is based firstly and firmly in his
intellect.  It follows that his writing, whether fiction or non-fiction, has
that intellect and not creative imagination central to it.

The overwhelmingly dilemma when
reading this book is, then, can the personification of ideas as characters, and
the animation of philosophies of life as a story-line grab the reader’s
attention and hold it?  The triumph of this book is that it does.  How it does
is its fascination.

Firstly, there is the juxtaposition
of the beliefs of the main two protagonists.  Introduced first is a
life-affirming, sympathetic and engaging therapist who is dying.  He contacts
an ex-patient who has overcome a crippling personality disorder by a
‘Schopenhauer Cure’ (his words).  This cure has left him emotionally cold,
alone, unable and unwilling to engage with anyone else and thus only choosing
to nourish his intellect.  The paradoxes here are that the therapist had been
completely unable to help this patient, that that patient who is demonstrably
unable to relate to anyone believes he will make a good ‘philosophical
therapist’ and that the life-affirming therapist is dying while the
life-negating ex-patient prepares to take over his role.  A compromise is
reached: the patient will attend a series of group therapy sessions run by his
ex therapist if the latter will discourse with him about Schopenauer.  Thus the
stage is set: the other characters, members of the group, play their roles in
animating perspectives around self awareness and denial, sexuality, betrayal
and forgiveness, human insight and self-delusion and morality.

Perhaps the greatest achievement of
the writing is the skilful way in which the life and writings of Schopenauer
are dexterously woven through the book as both a commentary on what is
happening and as a contrasting light to the philosophy of life that is
implied.  This thread is a dense and repeated leitmotif.  It heads every
chapter with epigrams and fills chapters four, six, eight, ten, twelve,
fourteen, sixteen, twenty, twenty-two, twenty-five, twenty-eight, thirty-one,
thirty-three, thirty-three, thirty-five, thirty-nine and forty-one.  But,
surprisingly, the writing remains balanced and interesting.  This is due, in
part, to the shortness of these commentaries.  Demonstrably, too, they are
completely relevant.  Phillip, the subject of the ‘Schopenhauer Cure’ says:

"First to know Schopenauer is to know me.  We
are inseparable, twin-brained" (p.169)

The chapter headings, such as
‘Pessimism as a Way of Life’ — No rose without a thorn, but many a thorn
without a rose. (Ch.28, p.231), ‘Suffering, Rage and Perseverance’, (Ch.33,
p.277) and ‘Porcupines, Genius and the Misanthropists Guide to Human Nature’
(Ch.25, p.207), all point to the illumination of ideas from a different
direction.  However the question remains as to whether such philosophical
reflection is appropriate to a work of fiction.

Setting aside the academic question
of whether the structure of the book is correct or is uncomfortable in a work
of fiction, it cannot be denied that this book is a tour de-force in the
interplay between abstract ideas, (philosophy and a particular philosopher) and
creative, fictional, plot and character.  There is no doubt which came first —
a seven year gestation period attests to this. 

But we are left with curiously
one-dimensional characters.  There is Tony, who says to Phillip:

‘Schopenauer has cured you but now you need to be
saved from the Schopenauer cure’ (p.330) 

He is too obviously an ‘expert in
emotional accessibility’ (p.344).  This, in turn, contrasts with Phillip’s (and
Schopenhauer’s) complete lack of such accessibility.  Rebecca’s role is chief
justice; Pam’s the violated, vengeful woman.  It is the interplay of just such
simplistic characters and the powerful emotions they represent that initially
holds the attention, especially in contrast to the extremely complex thinking
and character of Schopenauer and his disciple, Phillip.  However, in the end
there is a sense of dissatisfaction.  Both the constraints of the book’s
structure and its firm basis in philosophy at the expense of creativity leave a
sense of being shortchanged by the writer’s imagination for the unexpected, the
contradictory and the poetic in human nature.

The Schopenhauer Cure, then,
is a unique, well-written, absorbing book that interweaves philosophy and
fiction to create an absorbing tale of human existence and dialogue.  Its forte
— the examination of a philosophy personified by a character in such a way as
to analyze both with clarity — is also its disappointment as it prevents the
three dimensional development of its supporting characters. Despite this, there
is more than enough to engage and rivet any reader’s attention.

© 2005 Fran Gillespie

Fran Gillespie writes about
herself:

I am a
mental health consumer of forty years standing. My family is steeped in this
experience as we have traced it through four generations I therefore have also
a personal understanding of caring in this difficult area. In the last five
years I have moved from hiding under the blankets to giving evidence to an enquiry
into the human rights of the mentally ill in Australia to spearheading an understanding of the mental health
consumer as a resource in our community in Hobart, Tasmania. With the support of like-minded people a system of paid
consumer consultants arose from this activism. I am at present on leave from
studying for a research Masters in Medicine that centres on an analysis of the
development of mental health consumerism in Tasmania. I believe that it is necessary to set aside anger
generated from personal experience in this area in order to achieve lasting
solutions. Thus I also work as a consumer advocate.

Categories: Fiction, Psychotherapy, Philosophical