… A man who has a strange relationship with cinema, a rich man bored with his money, the mother of a dictator, a couple who love each other in a… peculiar way, and a maniac obsessed with fame are some of the characters making up Confessions to te Psychoanalyst. A brilliantly funny book which, with sharp wit and a sense of rhythm, parodies the effects of modern society and our lifestyles. Themes such as love, fashion, crises, bureaucracy, technology, prejudice, education and cinema provide the narrative thread for a series of psychological confessions that raise a laugh and deep reflection. An elegant, incisive book, completely up-to-the-moment, which has received excellent reviews in te press and on the radio, El País, RNE, Cadena SR etc. Two of the stories in this book—"Crisis" and "Circumstance" have won prizes.
Confessions to the Psychoanalyst does exactly what it says on the tin. The book is a fictional collection of short accounts from the psychologist’s couch with a brief introduction from the psychologist that states clearly that the purpose of the texts
is to entertain and to share a “journey through the niches of the human mind and the effects society can have on it”.
The title also suggests an element of tongue-in-cheek, and Izara Batres doesn’t disappoint. The range of characters who open themselves up to the psychologist include a man who falls in love with his computer, the mother of a dictator, and a man obsessed
with being famous: all people who live in the modern world that we share and who suffer its effects in unexpected ways. With themes such as cinema, television and fashion, these patients making their amusing – yet distinctly worrying – confessions
are people just like us.
Batres’ style is sharp and astute. .. The author’s exploration of how these circumstances can affect human behaviour is reflected in her characters with subtlety and impressive insight into the human mind, as well as an acute perspective of the aspects
in society today that we consider normal.
The style of humour of the book lends itself easily to a British readership, using intelligent writing and straight-faced accounts of absurd situations that a British audience would find easily accessible…
The wit and humour of this book are very well suited to the British market …
From the reader´s report by Suky Taylor