Sarah Schulman, Empathy (1992)
We’re in New York at the end of the 1980s
Anna O is a Jewish lesbian who can’t maintain a relationship with a woman
Doc. is a self-appointed “street psychiatrist” who sees his clients for three sessions only
I loved Sarah Schulman’s novels Rat Bohemia and After Dolores, and I enjoyed People in Trouble, but I’m not totally convinced by Empathy. This doesn’t mean I think it’s bad, really; it’s still very readable and there are plenty of moments in which she demonstrates her great capacity for insight, but it seems to be doing too much (trying a bit too hard perhaps) and I saw the twist coming a mile off. You also need to know a bit about Freud to understand it.
In general, I’d say it’s probably the kind of book you might write while you were having therapy after most of your friends died from AIDs. In fact, it feels a bit like reading someone’s therapy journal (which may well be the intention) and I’m honestly not sure how to write about it. All I can say is, if you’re new to Schulman, don’t start with this one.
Here’s a mildly pretentious review from the Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer Culture
Empathy (1992) takes on the Freudian accusations that lesbians hate men or want to be men. In challenging this relational identity, Schulman rejects the social realist linear narrative in favor of a variety of literary styles: plays, a movie, a short story, a college essay, a poem, personal ads, and recipes. All these genres combine to refute the traditional “coming-out” narrative form. Lesbian identity thus becomes a clash of systems, a traveling implosion. “With Empathy, the lesbian novel comes of age,” comments Fay Weldon.
That should tell you if it’s your kind of thing or not.
X-posted to Nerves Strengthened with Tea