A Curable Romantic

Starred review from May 31, 2010
Skibell's fat, cheeky, and sweeping latest begins in early 1895 Austria when his endearing protagonist, young Dr. Jakob Sammelsohn, comes face-to-face with Sigmund Freud in a room full of mirrors that create an ironic "unending trail of Freuds." Eventually, the story follows Sammelsohn through the shadow of Freud, the arms of several lovers, and eventually to the Warsaw ghetto, providing a grand portrait of Eastern Europe, but it is the initial setup of Sammelsohn as a naïve crucible for Freud's vicarious obsessions that makes Skibell (A Blessing on the Moon) more of a social satirist than a straightforward portraitist. In the figure of Sammelsohn, we see the timid makings of the modern psychoanalytic man: the young doctor is, at heart, a lonely romantic led into a bungle of overanalysis in a world "glittering with the usual accoutrements of late-century masquerade," sporting the foolish instrumentation of "monocles, lorgnettes, pince-nez, stickpins, watchfobs" and an "assortment of impractical hats." Skibell's delicious juxtaposition of Sammelsohn against the cocainesnorting Freud, and Sammelsohn's infatuation with the "cruel, vindictive, haughty, caustic, dismissive, even murderous" character of Emma Eckstein, one of Freud's patients, make for a magnetic collection of personalities.

Starred review from November 29, 2010
Dr. Jakob Sammuelsohn shares his astute and often sardonic views of the Jewish communities of Europe from 1890s Vienna to the 1940 Warsaw ghetto in Skibell’s lush historical novel. After he falls in love at first sight with Emma Eckstein, Freud’s famous patient, Sammuelsohn becomes a member of Freud’s circle. Eventually, his attention wanders, and his unrewarding love for Emma is displaced by the allure of other women, including Loe Bernfeld, a famous proponent of Esperanto. Jeff Woodman is a chameleon. He vanishes into each character and milks every satiric ounce out of Skibell’s merry novel in one of the best audios of the year. An Algonquin hardcover (Reviews, May 31).