The Interpretation of Murder
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Experienced readers of crime and thrillers tend to stifle a yawn these days when they encounter a mountain of hype about a new book or author. But the fevered word of mouth that has been generated by Jed Rubenfeld’s The Interpretation of Murder is, for once, justified. This is a remarkably ambitious book, taking on a powerful suspenseful narrative, assiduously researched historical detail and a brilliant evocation of time and character. It's not surprising that the book has already been sold in 20 different countries, and is already something of an international publishing phenomenon. The secret, of course, is in plotting, and few carry this off as adroitly as the author does here. But there is some wonderful historical detail here also, and a conjuring up of real-life characters that is very intelligently done.
Despite the outward success of his visit to the USA, Sigmund Freud always spoke as if some trauma had befallen him there. He blamed the country for physical ailments that afflicted him long before his visit. Freud’s biographers have been bemused by his reaction, wondering whether some terrible unknown event might have happened in America that could explain this. The Interpretation of Murder is strikingly written literary thriller constructed around Freud’s American visit. An attractive young debutante is discovered bound, whipped and strangled in a luxurious New York apartment and another society beauty narrowly escapes the same fate. But nothing about the attacks--or the victims--is as it seems.
--Barry Forshaw
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Review
'A spectacular debut... fiendishly clever... a fascinating recreation of a golden age in which much of the New York of today is recognisable' -- Guardian 'Rubenfeld writes beautifully, his style skillfully evoking the period, as he weaves all these threads into an intriguing mystery with a fascinating glimpse into the early days of psychoanalysis' -- Sunday Telegraph 'An unusually intelligent novel which entertains, informs and intrigues on several levels' -- The Times
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
81 of 90 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Freud, Hamlet, Murder and New York History,
By
This review is from: The Interpretation of Murder (Paperback)
OK I'll admit it I'm a fan of the Richard and Judy book club! When I heard the review of this book I knew that I would have to read it, as it deals with three of my favourite things: - Freud, Murder literature and New York (not necessarily in that order). The author is the current Robert R. Slaughter Professor of Law at Yale University. At Princeton he wrote his senior thesis on Freud and at the Juilliard School of Drama studied Shakespeare. Both of these influences are clearly seen in this his first novel. The title is a play on Freud's famous work `The Interpretation of Dreams', the central character Nora, is modelled on the case study of `Dora' and many references are made to the Oedipal explanation of Hamlet.
This book is a work of fiction, but there are some historical truths. Freud did indeed make his one and only visit to New York in 1909, along with Jung. His biographers have long puzzled over the trauma that must have happened there as he refused to speak about it and in fact labelled Americans `savages'. The story begins with Freud's arrival in New York, the very next morning a beautiful heiress is found bound and strangled in her apartment. The following night another, Nora Acton is discovered bound and wounded, but still alive. The attack has left her unable to speak or remember anything about her ordeal. Freud and a young American, Stratham Younger are enlisted to help Nora Action recover her memory in order to catch the killer. Being a thriller, the story has numerous twists and turns and, of course, the obligatory twist at the end. However, along the way it beautifully blends fact and fiction, psychoanalytical theory and a vibrant picture of New York society and history. I was particularly fascinated by the engineering and human story behind the construction of the Manhattan Bridge. I hadn't realised that many men had died from the effects of decompression as a result of working below the surface in caissons building the foundations of the bridge. Discoveries were made then, that still benefit divers today, about how to minimize the effects, by slowly coming to the surface, in order to reacclimatize the body. I thoroughly recommend this book to you. Once I started I could not put it down. Slip this book into your suitcase; it will make a brilliant holiday read.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Okay.,
By
This review is from: The Interpretation of Murder (Paperback)
I think 3 stars is just about right for this book.Set during Freud's visit to New York around the turn of the last century it works reasonably well,but the writing is at times very clumsy and uninvolving.Every now and then the narrative stops and the author presents us with a great slab of description of a building or a large chunk of local history.That apart,it's a reasonable plot, although not one that will tax your intelligence too much,and the characters are fairly well drawn without ever being compelling.
I have to say that Caleb Carr did this sort of thing far,far, better in The Alienist,where he manages to work both period detail and a brief history of psychology fairly seamlessly into a far better narrative.Given that both books are set in New York in similar periods and with similar protaganists I would certainly recommend Carr's book over this one any day. Another triumph of marketing over talent I'm afraid,but reasonably diverting nevertheless,although I wouldn't really recommend it.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not good enough to spend time on,
By Jezza (London) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Interpretation of Murder (Paperback)
In the end I finished this, though it took two attempts. It's not quite good enough, though there is probably a good book in there somewhere. The plot is interestingly complex, and I'm not sure I even followed all of it. But the writing is clunky, and I was especially put off by the continual shifts in narrative viewpoint. It's OK to flip between characters' stories (everyone does that nowadays) but it seems rather crude and televisual here; and I don't think it makes sense for one of these characters to be a first person narrator, but then for other characters to be described by an ommiscient third person narrator.
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