The Treatment

by Daniel Menaker

Jake Singer is an anxious young schoolteacher in New York--barely on speaking terms with his father, recently abandoned by his girlfriend, and heading for a life of compromise and mediocrity at a prestigious New York prep school. Emotionally paralyzed by a case of the vapors, he embarks on a course of psychoanalysis with a maniacal Cuban-Catholic Freudian--Dr. Ernesto Morales, therapist from hell, a man who wields his sarcasm like a machete in the slash-and-burn process he calls interpretation. Morales's accent and tactics are worthy of the Spanish Inquisition, and Jake is just trying to keep him at a distance while he plans his escape. But when he meets socialite widow Allegra Marshall, and finds himself upwardly mobile in the Manhattan of serious money and glamour--as he bounces from the couch to Allegra's bed in the allegedly real world and back again--his whole life begins to take on the eerie, overdetermined quality of an analytic session.

While he struggles to resolve the psychic grudge he bears his parents, Jake becomes embroiled in another parental conflict--of a different kind and with even higher stakes--that may threaten the future of one of Allegra's adopted children. And if from his horizontal vantage point on Morales's couch Jake's world has started to feel suffocatingly predictable, life beyond the couch makes it clear that the world's true organizing principles are chance and that the only indisputable axiom is happenstance.

With wit, grace, and style, Daniel Menaker has written a hilarious novel about coming to terms with life's unruliness, about trying to extract meaning from chaos. Jake gets the Treatment--not just from Morales but from the world--and his notion of unending improvement collides with the possibility of taking pleasure when and where he can, and learning to accept love in place of perfection.    

Genres: Fiction, Adult Fiction, Psychology

269 pages, Hardcover

Published May 19, 1998

About the author

DANIEL MENAKER began his career as a fact checker at The New Yorker, where he became an editor and worked for twenty-six years. A former book editor, Menaker is the author of six books; he has written for the New York Times, the Atlantic, Parents, Redbook, and many others.

Reviews

[Sbrdsbks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hoofdpersoon is Jake Singer, docent Engels aan chique middelbare school, die in therapie is bij psychiater die hem nogal hard aanpakt, hevige strijd in de behandelkamer maar tegelijkertijd gaat het wel steeds beter met Jake. Hij knoopt relaties aan, eerste kortstondige, later een langdurige met rijke weduwe. Daarbij verwikkelingen met biologische moeder en haar partner.

Levendig geschreven boek, er gebeurt altijd wat, goed opgebouwd, ook de manier waarop de biologische moeder in deel II naar voren komt. Goede karakterschetsen van belangrijkste personen, en geloofwaardige ontwikkeling van deze karakters. Minder vond ik op een gegeven moment de gesprekken met de psychiater, niet alleen van de sessies zelf maar ook de momenten dat Jake zich voorstelt hoe deze zou reageren als hij erbij zou zijn. En laatste hoofdstuk had niet echt gehoeven, verhaal is eigenlijk eerder al uit.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm. Didn't love it, didn't hate it, which I guess makes it your typical 3-star book. I'm actually trying to figure out exactly why I didn't love it. Certainly the premise appealed to me -- naturally I would enjoy a book exploring a complicated therapist-patient relationship. I guess one thing that bothered me was that the analysis itself broke a heck of a lot of rules. Dr. Morales was way more confrontational and directive than most therapists would be (I'm being conservative by saying "most"), and certainly psychoanalysts. His character was cute, but a little over the top -- I couldn't completely enjoy it, because it felt a little contrived to me. Other aspects of the book were contrived as well, and some of the resolutions were a little too neat. I think I was also bothered by the structure of the book. At times it felt like the analysis and the events in Jake's life were two different books; even though they converged (obviously), there was a disconnect between the story of the analysis and the story of Jake, Allegra, Sarah & Paul, etc.

Despite all my complaints, I did keep reading and didn't mind doing so. I didn't find myself wishing for the book to end, even with all its flaws -- hence the three stars.

[Delacole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good story with a good ending and I recommend it to readers who like or can skim past the occasional complex sentence, paragraph, and long monologue. I nearly stopped reading the book 97 pages in, when with no introduction, Daniel Menaker introjected a 20 page short story that had nothing to do with what had so far been told. Have patience and keep reading; you'll be glad that you persevered.

[Rob A · Rating 2 out of 5]

Borrowed this from my building bookshelf based on the blurb. It drew me in a little with the psychoanalysis, and prep school teaching in nyc.

Unfortunately the plot and writing couldn’t really keep me engaged. I found myself skimming pages towards the last 3rd and ended up being more grateful it was over than excited to find out what happened next.

The interactions with children in the story were sweet at least.

[Sabrina Sobhy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book in a random used bookstore because of its psychoanalysis theme. Gave it a chance despite the lack of quality reviews and the subpar rating. Honestly, such a scattered book. Sometimes I would get sucked in and other times I felt like I was reading 3 other different books. An odd read. Not sure id recommend.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

How lucky am I to have found this book in a swap box? Quite.
Laugh out loud moments. Pondering moments. Staying-up-late moments to stay with it. Never missing the beauty of Menaker's writing either. Find this gem.

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I finally found the time to actually finish a book - summer must be approaching! This book was turned into a movie that a friend of mine suggested we see, and the movie was cute but I felt a lot was missing, and was excited to see it was based on a book - generally that means that the book itself is a good read and most probably better than the movie. Sure enough - the writing is quite good (though there are whole passages where I'm surprised that the same clever author then breaks so many basic rules of fiction... not sure why he got away with that)and the premise most interesting - a man who is for a variety of reasons incapable of sustaining a relationship has a turbulent experience in psychoanalysis which seems to only aggravate him further but might in fact be empowering him - very clever and very Freudian (as a warning ... ) but I imagine anyone in 'the business' would appreciate this book. It wasn't a perfect read by any stretch but certainly after watching the movie it was a big step up.

[Brian Coughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I partially love it just because the analyst is from NY Psychoanalytic. I have mixed feelings about it: though the analyst is a total caricature, he's nonetheless interesting and has an approach to therapy that I would never consider. I have a hard time not critiquing his technique, but still gained some new ideas by watching him work. It seems to me that the author probably had an experience with an analyst that he felt conflicted about, left prematurely, and has now written a novel about it in order to deal with his feelings.

From a literary perspective, the book feels too divided. Early on, we spend a lot of time on the couch. Later in the book, it turns into a sort of action/adventure filled with coincidental meetings, dodged bullets, etc. This made me feel cheap, like the author couldn't figure out how to maintain a plot centered on the analysis, so he gave up.

Overall, a fairly fun read that is interesting at times for those interested in psychoanalysis.

[Florita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daniel Menaker is senior Vice President and Executive Editor-in-Chief of Random House, so you'd expect his own fiction to be of a high standard - and it is.

I am not sure why I picked up this tale of a New York school teacher's journey through therapy from my local library sale, but I am glad I did. It is funny, moving, elegantly structured and beautifully written.

The eccentric Cuban therapist Ernesto Morales is a deeply lovable character who I still recall with a smile, some years after reading the book.

Incidentally, Menaker was also the editor of the controversial Primary Colors.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't hate this book. It wasn't poorly written. It just wasn't very good.

It has two registers-- the first is the main character's psychoanalysis, in person or imagined, and the second is the recounting of events in his life, leading to an adoption plot. The anecdotes and adoption plot were better. The analysis part was mostly dumb--didn't like the analyst character, the voice/writing, and although it was supposed to be funny, it just wasn't. It was tedious. If you cut all that, the book would be too short and simple, with the main character a bit of a Gary Stu.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoy Menaker's writing. This was recently made into a not-bad movie, but the reason it's a very good book is that it both takes a good look at what would lead someone into therapy and why it so rarely works. Besides that, it's another great look at . . . what happens after the relationship.

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

i read the galley of the hardcover so it may be a bit different but i liked the pacing and i am a fan of anything Freudian. the characters were more believable/likeable/engaging than the nicely-turned plot.

[Marsha]

Univ. Bookstore --

[Dan Piette]

Shrink wrapping

[Winston Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting portrayal of American middle class dependence on psychoanalysis.

[Shane Hart · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read, at times a little forced but I found I got compeletely lost in the fictional world. Some interesting insights into the worlds of the ethics of a teacher and a counsellor.

[martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

disappointing last quarter, but great writing.

[Angela · Rating 1 out of 5]

The description on the jacket was comical and so was the book until about half way through. Jakes analyst(psychiatrist) is foreign and his English was a bit rough. He constantly misquotes idioms such as "letting the cat out of the bag" . It was hilarious . Then the dumb stuff happens and the story goes away from a person struggling with his past.