The Shadow of the Object: Psychoanalysis of the Unthought Known [Paperback]

Christopher Bollas (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0231066279 | ISBN-13: 978-0231066273 | Publication Date: June 7, 1989

Basing his view on the object relations theories of the "British School" of psychoanalysis, Christopher Bollas examines the human subject's memories of its earliest experiences (during infancy and childhood) of the object, whether it be mother, father, or self. He explains in well-written and non-technical language how the object can affect the child, or "cast in shadow," without the child being able to process this relation through mental representations of language.

(Journal of the British Association of Psychotherapists )

Editorial Reviews

Review

There is much in this book that is wise, clinically perceptive, and thought-provoking. Bollas is clearly exquisitely sensitive to affective nuances as clues to early, preoedipal events and their developmental consequences....Bollas's book is a lucid, creative, balanced... exposition. It deserves a respectful audience.

(The Psychoanalytic Quarterly )

About the Author

Christopher Bollas is Director of Education at the Austen Riggs Center of Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and Professor of English at the University of Massachusetts.

Product Details

• Paperback: 283 pages
• Publisher: Columbia University Press (June 7, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0231066279
• ISBN-13: 978-0231066273
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #459,850 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Luminosity of the Writing, July 23, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Shadow of the Object: Psychoanalysis of the Unthought Known (Paperback)

It would prove very difficult to over-praise this wonderful book. Bollas writes with such lucidity and wit about every topic he touches that I find myself returning to these pages just to re-experience his prose. If you value psychoanalysis performed in the Winnicottian mode, then you owe it to yourself to read this book.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful Writer, September 5, 2004

By 

Charlie Sandover "Sandover" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Shadow of the Object: Psychoanalysis of the Unthought Known (Paperback)

Bollas is a beautiful writer. This early book introduces the main themes of his writing, while avoiding the postmodern obtuseness of his some his more recent writings. A compassionate and wise observer of the human soul, he here relates his knowledge, as it has been won through the mystery and misery he has encountered.

41 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eye Opening, October 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Shadow of the Object: Psychoanalysis of the Unthought Known (Paperback)

At once amusing and heartbreakingly honest, Christopher Bollas has the ability to cut completely through the fog of ego and object attachment and promote understanding, awareness, acceptance and curiosity. This book is on my list of Life-Changing Must Haves.