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These two books under review are very similar to each other, as are earlier books by Barnaby Barratt. Now located in South Africa, he has been a world traveler having lived in India, England, Thailand, Michigan, and Harvard where he obtained a PhD. In addition he holds a second doctorate in human sexuality and taught that subject as a professor of family medicine at Wayne State University in Detroit for many years. Invited to South Africa by Mark Solms, he is a training analyst at the psychoanalytic institute and teaches at two South African universities.
Both books suffer from Barratt's erudition and complexity. Where there is a simpler way to express an idea, he chooses a more difficult one. This is not to say that there are no rewards. His extensive reading and knowledge is demonstrated on every page. For example, he translates many of Freud's German words and concepts in a more thoughtful and probably correct way, getting away from Strachey's scientistic and often misleading translations. Perhaps the new translation by Solms will correct some of Strachey's translations. My own reading of Freud in German is that he is an excellent essayist.
On the other hand, Barratt chooses to use very complex words when a much simpler one would do and be understood as well. I am not the first reviewer to make this observation, and most past reviews have been critical. What may account for this is his need to employ his considerable knowledge of philosophy and his wide reading. But that is a weak excuse. I maintain that this complexity is not necessary, and if he wrote in a less hyperintellectualized manner, he would be read more, as he has something of value to say about psychoanalysis.
Barratt is most interested in Freud's writing until 1914 after which he feels that Freud shifted to be more systematic, with concentrations on ego psychology. In this position he is supported by the work of Andre Green, who has been a powerful influence on his thinking, along with Jean Laplanche