Pornography and Psychiatry: An Analysis of "Psychiatrists Unhinged"

The German psychiatric cult novel, "Gumpelmann", was first published 2004 in Berlin, and an English version, "Psychiatrists Unhinged", appeared 2013. It is a narrative swarming with monstrous figures involved in weird events that rapidly cycle back and forth between the humorous, the anxious, the disgusting, the surreal and the tragic. Soon after its appearance, some critics felt the text was pornographic, failing to understanding the functioning of the bizarre sexual scenes in the context of the novel as a whole. An initial reaction to these charges was then prepared for German readers in the form of an essay. The present book, "Pornography and Psychiatry", contains a faithful rendering of this text. In it are discussed the novel’s literary aims and conception, its psychiatric background and positioning, and why and how the apparently obscene pervades both literature and psychiatric practice. For those unacquainted with the novel in either language, section two contains a detailed summary of the plot. If a reader manages to go through the entire essay - or if pressed for time, at least sections one, three, eight and nine - he or she will certainly have gained a better understanding of the author’s aims. And even if still unable to agree with some or all of what has been said, a fair-minded reader cannot really believe that the primary intention was to write a banal and trivial pornographic novel merely meant to titillate.