Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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65 of 73 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Freud, Hamlet, Murder and New York History, 7 Feb 2007
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.
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38 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A very entertaining read, 21 Feb 2007
Although I am not much of a reader of crime novels, I found myself devouring this book in a matter of days. Rubenfeld has a weaved a captivating and complex plot, placed it in a highly interesting context, added some effective suspension techniques, hereby creating a compelling narrative that is difficult to put down.
Set in New York City during the early 1900's, this book involves Sigmund Freud and his revolutionary psychoanalysis movement, bringing the reader not only suspense but also food for thought.
The author has clearly performed meticulous research on the novel. There are many historical details of New York City, involving not only major architectural changes such as sky scrapers and suspension bridges, but also the goings on in high society, and the poor living and working conditions of the less fortunate. Also impressive is his knowledge of psychoanalysis, which he successfully breaks down into basics, educating the reader in the process.
However, I found the unraveling of the plot a little too farfetched. Furthermore, I believe the characters are not well enough developed; even though this book is full of psychological theories, the characters remain flat as a board. I would therefore not call this a psychological thriller, but a crime novel with psychological aspects.
Also I found Rubenfeld's description of the scenes a little poor. He focuses mainly on what can be seen or heard, but he hardly describes how the characters feel, what they smell, etc., making this more an account of events, herein failing to bring the reader a sense of presence and creating distance between the story and the reader.
So my conclusion is that this book is definitely interesting enough to pick up, it is a very entertaining and educational read, though by no means is it groundbreaking or revolutionary.
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19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Trying too hard, 9 Mar 2007
As a debut novel, this book wasn't bad, but Rubenfeld tried too hard. It could have been a fantastic tale of murder, intrigue and double-crossing if the author had concentrated on the story instead of distracting the reader with weary-some investigations of Freud's Oedipus complex and clearly self-indulgent and protracted analyses of Hamlet, which I'm not ashamed to say I skipped over whenever possible. The basic story was great. I loved the descriptions of New York in 1909, and of the uptown high society, and downtown living. The main characters were appealing, especially Detective Littlemore, but other peripheral characters were clumsily introduced and never quite found their place in the story. Rubenfeld also seemed to be confused about who was narrating at some points. A page turner certainly, but rather spoiled by the author's apparent keenness to stuff it with everything he had.
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