“Spellbindingly measured narrative that entertains and enthralls…A unique and captivating story of a young mind torn between science and art… engrossing debut novel by Kleiger.”
—Kirkus Reviews
About the Book
A historical fiction, with hints of magical realism, The 11th Inkblot is a coming of age story mystery involving childhood grief, trauma of war, and search for connections. Kleiger invites the reader to become a passenger on a moving interpretive journey of loss, madness, acceptance, and redemption.
About the Author
People and their stories amaze and inspire. As a practicing psychologist and psychoanalyst, my passion for listening to people tell their stories ripens with time.
Born and raised in Denver, J Herman Kleiger journeyed from the Rocky Mountains to the New England coast. He served as psychologist in the United States Navy before moving on to a successful private practice. He’s always been an avid writer, focused on human struggles, eventually incorporating his clinical and Rorschach expertise, personal history, and imagination into his first novel, The 11th Inkblot.
Praise for The 11th Inkblot
“A spellbindingly measured narrative that entertains and enthralls… A unique and captivating story of a young mind torn between science and art.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“The 11th Inkblot is a psychologically-textured coming of age mystery involving unexplained family alienation, childhood grief, trauma of war, and a search for connections.”
—NYRB
“J. Herman Kleiger's first work of fiction is a tour de force! This is a story of a man's journey through inchoate family conflict and confusion as a boy, the brutality and soul scarring of war as a young man, his subsequent descent into madness, and finally his resurrection through psychological treatment with a caring and brilliant therapist.”
—Barton Evans, Ph.D., Goodreads Review
“The young son of a watchmaker with a fascination for art begins creating inkblot drawings in this engrossing debut novel by Kleiger…One of the most compelling elements of this well-written and lovingly embroidered novel involves if or how Anton’s life will intersect with that of the Swiss psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach, pioneer of the eponymous inkblot test.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“A great read! Kleiger weaves a compelling tapestry of psychological history and fiction, filled with complex and fascinating characters living through trauma and loss. I found the depiction of the humane and sensitive treatment of PTSD highlighting the centrality of the long-term therapeutic relationship focused on reintegration of the self, instead of short-term maneuvers aimed at symptom relief especially moving.”
—Joseph Silvio, M.D., Amazon Review
“Prepare to be quickly drawn into this engrossing page-turner that fascinates in its historical accuracy and invites the reader into a beautifully spun web of interconnected lives and events…”
—Lj Leeson, Amazon Review
Latest Blog Post
When Nick Lotz began college, he felt increasingly awkward and out of place. He tried to make friends; and when they stopped returning his texts, he became consumed by anxiety and gripped by paralyzing self-consciousness which he just knew by their glances, everyone could see. So he withdrew, stopped attending classes, drank heavily, snorted Focalin (like Adderall, Focalin is indicated for ADHD), stayed up all night surfing the net, and…
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