Empathy

The doyenne of current lesbian fiction, Sarah Schulman previously charmed readers with After Delores, a novel of romantic revenge. Empathy, which is even better, features another jilted-yet-jaunty narrator, Anna, whose self-taught shrink, Doc, helps her exorcise a bad case of self-doubt. Despite some clunky turns of phrase and a pat conclusion, Empathy is a genuine pleasure, full of electric dialogue and capped with a delicious surprise. Nobody describes countercultural New York more convincingly — or more endearingly — than Schulman. A-