Rating: 
Summary: Not really a page turner but
Review: An average crime story without surprises and twists. When I think about that book it reminds of a phrase I heard a long time ago: 'Everything has been said before!' Nothing in the story plot is surprising or exciting. The chase after the murder is a straightforward plot and not even the end of the story offers interesting or surprising moments. Why would you read that book? Because of the vivid and historically well researched descriptions of New York and its people in 1896. The book is also an interesting read if you enjoy forensics and the history of it. However, the character development is kind of odd and not very realistic in some instances. For example, the forensic team investigating the murders consists of a woman and a black man. Back at that time, the level of involvement of these characters would have been rather impossible or at least very different. I got the impression the author tried to be too politically correct. Another odd part is Kreizler's mysterious childhood which influences his decisions in some cases. This part of the story is not sufficiently enough addressed and contradicts with the overall approach of explaining everything in great detail. All in all an average crime story and nothing you have to read.
Rating: 
Summary: Life is too short
Review: If you like reading about someone knocking on the door for TWO PAGES pages until, on the THIRD page, it is finally revealed who is knocking on the door, this is the book for you. Tries too hard for witty repartee which makes for very tedious reading. This book could have been 1/4 the length. Needless to say, it did not hold my interest.
Rating: 
Summary: In twenty years...
Review: this novel will be held in the same opinion as A Clockwork Orange and Great Gatsby. Fantastic.
Rating:
Summary: History or Fiction!
Review: As a New Yorker I was fascinated with the descriptions of the city that seemed to be as much of this book as the story was. His unfortunate injection of real-life characters (Roosevelt, Riis, Morgan, etc.)lent incredulity to the story which was otherwise cogent and a fair read, but left something to be desired, particularly the staged ending.
Rating:
Summary: Garbage
Review: This is one of those books that's so badly written it's painful to read. Its main selling point, nestled in the cliched context of a historical police procedural, is its spectacularly tasteless descriptions of the sexual abuse and murder of children. Future students of twentieth century popular culture should note that this exercise in crude exploitation became a runaway bestseller at a time when American was supposedly experiencing a return to "traditional family values."
Rating:
Summary: Hi Mr. Steigleder
Review: The Alienist written by Caleb Carr takes place in New York in the late 1800s. It is about a group of about six people, including one woman who try to solve a serial murder case. This serial murders name is Japeth Dury in early life and is later changed to John Beecham. He had been kiling for some time but lately had been killing young boy whores. The process was long but the members of the secret team, out to get Dury, eventually Caught him during the act. At this time the murderer was accidentally killed. This killing made Kreizler, a member of the secret team, angry because he wanted to research the man's thinking behing his murders.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Historical Thriller
Review: Part Gore Vidal historical novel, part Silence of the Lambs, part Arthur Conan Doyle sleuth novel. The Alienist is undoubtedly a page turner that has appeal to fans of any of the above styles of fiction, A serial killer is on the loose in turn of the century New York and Caleb Carr takes that premise and utilizes it to great effect incorporating a tour of late 19th century Manhattan life that references many historical personalities and allows the reader to experience the suspense of the investigation through their eyes. At first I was skeptical and the introduction of certain characters such as Theodore Roosevelt seemed contrived but after the first 50 pages or so I was completely absorbed in this fast moving story. There is gore,sexual depravity and violence so if that is not necessarily your thing stay clear. However the Alienist delivers a suspenseful psychological thriller and despite a few gratuitous sidebars (the introduction of Roosevelt's family and children was the worst example, as were the numerous detailed descriptions of Delmonico's menu), to give the story it's historical context the novel is hugely entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: The alienist
Review: This is such a well written, well researched book. I cannot even begin to imagine what went into writing this book, but it deserves much more accolades than I can begin to heap upon it. Just a thrill ride full of historical information that truly makes you stop and think.The author has so thought out his characters, his setting, his plot SO well. There are no holes to be found and you will not want to put this down until you've read the last breath-taking page. There is no rushing through anything; the author is no hurry here. He is down for the count, ready to tell the story as completely as it deserves to be told. Excellent
Rating:
Summary: A Virtual Time Machine
Review: When Caleb Carr is bad he is downright awful but when he is good, there are few writers who can approach him. Opening the pages of this book is like taking a journey to the past...one an almost smell the fetid streets, hear the neighs of the horses, see the sights and sounds of turn of the century New York City. This novel of the rudimentary beginnings of police profiling details the acceptance of psychological methods for solving crimes. That breakthrough gave psychology and the psychologist (or alientist) a measure of legitimacy. This is one part history, one part horror and one part detective. I was literally rivited by both the story and the characters and the ending was one of those tour-de-forces that are both rare and sublime.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Thriller, Not so Great Historical Novel
Review: I read The Alienist after hearing praise for Caleb Carr's depiction of 1896 New York City, and for his use of a psychological "profiler" in order to catch a serial killer. I found the novel to be a quick read, and an entertaining (although bleak) murder mystery/thriller, but as a period piece it left a little something to be desired. Some of the readers have commented here at Amazon that the setting, turn of the century New York, was the real highlight of the novel for them. That, and the inclusion of Teddy Roosevelt as New York's police commissioner, made me anxious to read the novel. However I thought Roosevelt was sparcely used and a virtual non-factor, and I thought the novel failed to really deliver the goods setting-wise. For example, early in the novel the "alienist" Laszlo gathers up his team for a dinner at famous NY restaurant Delmonico's, which I thought was a nice touch. However, for the rest of the novel, if anyone was to meet for dinner, they met at Delmonico's. It was as if Carr researched, found one restaurant that was around in 1896, and popped it into his plot whenever he wanted a little color. Overall the dialogue of the characters, and the Hell's Kitchen locale, could have been set in virtually any other decade over the past 100 years. The minor characters were also a little wooden to me, and their motivations unclear. We are to believe that the Isaacson brothers risked their careers at the police department, and basically went without sleep to assist in this investigation, because they were so overwhelmed with the delicacies they were fed at Delmonico's? However, in fairness if the local color was a little contrived, the hunt for a serial killer preying upon New York's young hustlers was very well-written. I enjoyed in particular Carr's depiction of experimental use of fingerprints, psychological profiling (heresy at the time), and an unsuccessful attempt to retrieve a visual picture of the killer from the eyeballs of a victim. I suspect Carr did a great deal of research re the limits of criminology at the turn of the century. In summary, I recommend the Alienist as a good historical thriller, capturing the subject of police psychology in its infant stages. However, for those seeking an authentic fictional trip back to the NYC of the turn of the century, I prefer Doctorow to the picture we get here from Mr. Carr.
|
