REVIEW: Freud's Mistress by Karen Mack & Jennifer Kaufman

Title: Freud's Mistress
Authors: Karen Mack and Jennifer Kaufman
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Release Date: June 3, 2014 (paperback)

384 pages

Rating:  ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

Summary: {Goodreads}    

In fin-de-siècle Vienna, it was not easy for a woman to find fulfillment both intellectually and sexually.

But many believe that Minna Bernays was able to find both with one man—her brother-in-law, Sigmund Freud.

At once a portrait of two sisters—the rebellious, independent Minna and her inhibited sister, Martha—and of the compelling and controversial doctor who would be revered as one of the twentieth century’s greatest thinkers, Freud’s Mistress is a novel rich with passion and historical detail and a portrait of forbidden desire [with] a thought-provoking central question: How far are you willing to go to be happy?”*

*Publishers Weekly

Short version? Good premise, interesting subject, good and detailed writing, but overall disappointing. It was slow and the ending left a little to be desired.

I really wanted to like this one. Sigmund Freud is fascinating, and so are his contributions to psychology. But this book... not so much. I didn't hate it, but I didn't enjoy it very much either.

Let's start off with the good. The writing is great! - especially in the beginning when we get setting, characters, and all that good stuff. I actually really enjoyed the beginning and thought that Minna's character was going to be a good one. She was intelligent and driven, but she was dealing with dwindling funds, no job, and no marriage prospects so she moved in with her sister and her husband (Freud). That's the start of a good story in my opinion.

The premise is great, it has so much potential. I didn't know about it, but I wasn't surprised that Freud would have a mistress. While thinking about Freud as a romantic prospect isn't the easiest thing to do, I was excited to see how this would play out. Unfortunately, the relationship between Minna and Freud dragged on too long. There's only so many secret looks and whispers I can take! And when they finally take their affair to the next level, the story seems rushed to the end. I think that focusing more on the affair itself, instead of what led up to it, would have been a much more interesting story.

Overall, I was disappointed. I picked it up and put it down maybe 7 or 8 times over the 2 weeks it took me to read it. It was just OK for me, so I don't have much to say about it.

Review also posted on Goodreads.