Sophia C. reviewed on 4/17/2012 + 289 more book reviews

Kathryn Harrison's Envy is an engaging, suspenseful, self-contained novel. I say "self-contained" in the sense that it cleverly constructs a universe around the protagonist, a middle aged psychoanalyst named Will, which veers off from plausible life experience. The death of a child, an estranged and disfigured identical twin who becomes a famous long distance swimmer, potential paternity suggested by a college reunion class update report, and uncontrollable sexual fantasies of his female patients seem like an excess of subplots, but after one dramatic scene all these elements pull together and the title begins to make sense. Most of the action involves Will's attempts to make sense of his present situation, through inner monologues, therapy sessions, and lunchtime conversations with his father, so readers who don't enjoy "psychobabble" might not find the sex scenes compelling enough to pick up this well-crafted story.

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