Secret Dreams

This is a beautifully crafted novel which creates labyrinthine possibilities. Where does reality begin, and end? And what constitutes sanity: are measures relative or absolute? Keith Korman has written a novel which partially explores the journey of Fraulein S from apparent insanity to her role, some thirty years later, as a psychoanalyst in Russia. The challenge of curing her (a phrase which causes me uneasiness) is undertaken by Jung in conjunction with Freud. The novel is based loosely on the case of Sabina Spielrein. This sketchy outline simply serves to provide the barest foundation upon which Mr Korman has constructed a beautiful, multilayered novel. It explores human strengths and frailties, and the complex capacity of the mind to protect itself from obliteration. Some of the imagery is confronting, but never gratuitous. For me, this novel is ultimately about triumph, belief and also hubris. I read this novel some months ago, and have been thinking about it since: some of the imagery and much of the prose will stay with me forever. I have yet to read Mr Korman's other novels: but I will. Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Historical novels can't be easy to write -- authors either rely too much on fact and too little on their own imagination, or vice-versa. The sheer genius of Korman's book is that the reader can never be sure whether he's looking at a brilliant rendering of a historical event or the brilliant rendering of Korman's imagination. The author creates a world so realistic that the reader feels he is transported back to the Vienna of Freud and Jung, back to Stalin's Russia, and into the dreams of his protagonist. Once opened, this book is nearly impossible to put down, despite its considerable heft. And when one does take a break from it, Korman's work lingers in the mind, particularly in the reader's own dreams. Perhaps this was his intent, as the title subtly implies. Korman's comprehensive research into the early days of psychoanalysis is clearly evident on every page; the manner in which he blends one part history and one part fiction is nothing short of masterful.

This book brought me back to the essence of myself, and began my journey to the real me... Anyone that is searching, thinking that love and hope is lost should read this... Can't be faint at heart or afraid of the unfamiliar...But if you enjoy feasting your eyes on the glory of a well written book. This is the one for you... I got lost while reading it, and found myself in the end.