By many accounts, Jacques Lacan was an egoist, a hedonist, and something of a tyrant. Even though I study his work, I can't say that I like him very much, and I doubt that he was my kind of person.

Nonetheless, it is undeniable that Lacan had special qualities as a person. Catherine Millot captures this side of his character, from her perspective as his mistress for the last decade or so of his life. She does not shy away from at least some of ascribed shortcomings - he was a terrible driver, for instance, and an inveterate womanizer - but she also depicts a Lacan who could be generous, funny, intellectually brilliant, and engaging. A comparison is made between Lacan and Don Quixote, and it's not far off.

It is easy to dismiss Millot's memoir as a sugarcoating of the truth, another twist in the wars over psychoanalysis and its legacy. For my part, though, I found her testimony quite moving: there is a sincerity and vulnerability to this account that underpins her genuine affection for a man she admired and loved despite his many acknowledged faults. ( )