Tel (Arafat's Elephant: Stories) reimagines Freud's final days in London as WWII approaches in this elegant but oblique debut. In dreamlike chapters (from "Apple" to "Zebra"), "The Doktor" explores his new city—he walks in parks, buys gelato and considers taking a bus—emerging as a pensive, questioning man who "is most fascinated by jokes, though he seldom laughs at them"; as a "connoisseur of silence" who reflects on foggy London and his own history. The narrative is noticeably short on event, and the lone secondary character is Freud's long-time disciple Dr. Ernest Jones, who accompanies Freud on some of his outings and gives him morphine to dull the pain of the cancer that is slowly consuming him. The focus, instead, is on Freud's perceptions: Is human thought "a rough draft of dog psychology"? Do sex dreams signify a desire for flight? In one charming chapter, a figure called the Valuer appraises Freud's knickknacks, turning up his nose at a Dali sketch in favor of a ship-in-a-bottle Freud built when he was young. As the book progresses, it becomes less and less clear what is real and what's dreamed. Freud's visit to Madam Tussaud's to contemplate his wax likeness, for example, seems to take place after the eminent man has been euthanized by his beloved Jones. Tel's story is based on fact—Freud did spend his last days in London, though Jones did not give him the final morphine overdose—but the author favors airy philosophizing and rich meditations over a strong narrative thread. Artful as the novel is, many readers may wish for more plot and substance. (Aug.)
