The Alienist

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Summary: Excellent period mystery
Review: Very well written, true to period. If you like Arthur Conan Doyle, you ought to like this

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Summary: Long, constipated, and boring -- Sherlock Holmes-ish.
Review: How in the world did this become a best seller??

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Summary: Like GANGS OF NEW YORK crossed with SE7EN
Review: An Alienist was an old term to describe a psychiatrist (a person who studies alienated people) and given that the start of the nineteen hundreds was to turn medical science on its head, this little tale takes us back to the origins of how and why it changed, by developing the process of psychiatry (or to be more precise behavioral science) with the analysis of a story about a Serial Killer roaming the rooftops of New York City, to murder and disfigure male child prostitutes that he has kidnapped for some strange reason, told through the eyes of New York Times journalist - John Moore, as he recalls this period of his life and which he wishes to commit to the page.

Moore is called to a crime scene by a friend of his, Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, the Alienist, to help him with an enquiry. They hook up with the police commissioner, Theodore Roosevelt and Sara Howard, the first woman police officer in New York, to investigate the murders along with two 'new age' brother detectives with a scientific bent - Marcus and Lucius. The problem is that the city does not care about the murder of child prostitutes, new policing techniques and Dr. Kreizler has some unorthodox views about metal illness that do not get him much respect in the city. Using Kreizler's ideas about the psychology of the killer the team decides to "profile" the killer to see if they can track him down before he commits the next murder. The Alienist - for all intensive purposes - is about the complex process of developing that profile and this is where the strength of the book really is and is main reason why you will enjoy reading it.

Apart from that deductive element The Alienist is really a run-of-the-mill "hunt the serial killer" type clichéd material. It does not really move outside of anything we have seen or read before (the analysis of the sexual orientation of killer is akin to that of what we have seen before in Silence of the Lambs) , but it does do exceptionally well in the psychology of criminal behavior department and to be honest you do not really get a chance to see this in 'fiction' much which gives the every day Joe Soap a chance to learn a bit about the early days of forensics and psychiatry.

For instance, one of the detectives manages within 24 hours of examining a murder victim to find that the killer uses a huge hunting knife and procures the very same knife by conducting cutting tests with various types of knifes that he has purchased around the city. These little forensic type discoveries are a joy to read and then when applied to the actual profile they are developing, helps take the case one step further. Here they are dealing with a man they have never met, who is cunning and smart and yet by using science and logic are able to track him down even though they do not have the techniques we have today like fingerprinting, DNA testing and security video tapes. So there is a struggle there in the book which sort of explains how the minority must go against the majority sometimes in order to advance mankind. It is all great stuff.

Carr does a good job of creating a tense atmosphere with vivid descriptions of a late 1800s New York City with all its political corruption, street violence and the gangster owned parts of town. He also does not shy away from describing the more grotesque parts of the story (various mutilations are covered in EXTREME detail along with a final act that is quite chilling), so this can be X-rated material at times and hard to stomach - however the English is first rate and a thrill to dive into the dictionary now again without breaking the flow of the story.

In spite of this The Alienist does have some negatives for all its positives. The first is that the motives for the killings are never fully explained and many loose ends are left untied - specifically how and why the killer did what he did. So even though the amazing detective work helps to find the killer, the whole psychology element really does fly out the window and you realize that in many ways you have been had. The story is about catching the killer and putting him out of commission, but Carr focuses a lot on developing the profile of the killer only to pull the rug out from us in the end in a sort - "I guess we will never really know sort of way" and that can annoying for some. I can get over some plot devices and story elements that are little corny or some parts that are farfetched (really just Hollywood suspension of disbelief type plots) but the lack of cohesion in the end really took a star of this thing in a big way. This is not a good call given the time you will spend reading and learning about the profile they are creating. I am sure those who have little contact with crime fiction will find the book more than satisfactory but those with experience may not like where it all leads.

Don't let that put you off though. It is still a hell of a good read - just don't spend too much time trying to work things out because it will be a futile attempt by the time you turn the end pages. Having said that though I would certainly check out this author's other works just on the bases of having read this one. The bottom line is that this is a descent crime drama with a detailed exploration of early psychiatry and forensic work.

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Summary: The Alienist, by Caleb Carr
Review: The Alientist, by Caleb Carr, is one of the most unique novels you are likely to read. Although it could be termed a mystery, I think it works better as historical fiction. Anyone disappointed with the recent film Gangs of New York should look to this book as more interesting historical fictional set in 1800s New York. Unlike that movie, however, this book really conveys a sense of old time New York during the turn of the century. But the setting does not dominate the novel, rather it serves as a striking backdrop for the considerable story, using such real life characters as Theodore Roosevelt. J.P. Morgan and Anthony Comstock (whose ancestors also appear in the similarly themed Quicksilver, by Neal Stevenson) also make brief apperances. As with Quicksilver, the settings and characters compliment the plot, using it to examine philosophical and religious issues, a trait not commonly found in typical mysteries. The end result that the main thrust of the plot (i.e. the search for a serial killer) takes on greater meaning, in its attempt to show the difficulties faced by attempting to reconcile civilization's greater struggles with that of the (seemingly insignificant) individual.

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Summary: Entertaining, addicting story in the tradition of Doyle
Review: Why can't there be a third adventure with Dr. Laszlo Kreizler and his associates? And then, why not a fourth? With "The Alienist" and the sequel "The Angel of Darkness," Carr gives readers a multi-sensory run through 1890s New York City, complete with details of brutal, grizzly murders, boys forced into prostitution, a psychotic serial killer with cannibalistic tendencies, unthinkably filthy dives and dinner for six at Delmonico's when it was the best restaurant in town. Through it all are the associates, a group of motley characters and life experiences, all friends working together to solve crime. There's no point to reviewing it beyond what's available on this page.

Carr's story-telling in "Alienist" is better than "Angel," but both books make reading them compulsive. The attention to detail and to then-emerging psychological and criminal sciences creates an interaction for readers that makes me wish Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had been born 100 years later. And now it's wonderful to see that Mr. Carr is taking on a Sherlock Holmes project with the "Italian Secretary." I can't wait to get my copy to read.

It's this reader's strongest hope that after paying proper homage to Doyle, Carr returns to those gritty boulevards of Turn-of-the-Century NYC to tell another tale of Dr. Kreizler et al. These characters are wonderful gifts to American literature and they are every bit as worthwhile to great story-telling as Holmes and Watson. Continuing the Kreizler saga would be in the tradition of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.


Rating:
Summary: very very good!
Review: Honestly, I picked up this book because I thought the cover was pretty. But it turned out to be an excellent book with great verisimilitude. Taking place in the late 19th century NYC, Carr really takes you into the city. I was kept interested by the "novel" techniques of fingerprinting, criminal profiling, etc by the main characters. Not for the faint however. The serial killer is targeting boy prostitutes and no details are spared in the grisly murders (no really, NONE) or in the descriptions of the rather sordid side of the city itself.

I'm a teenager and it kept me interested, if that means anything. :)

Rating:
Summary: The Alienist
Review: 'The Alienist' is a very good blend of history and criminal fiction. It deftly chronicles life in 1890s New York City whilst several characters, with guest appearances from the then police commissioner Theodore Roosevelt, track down a psychotic killer/cannibal. Caleb Carr truly succeeds in capturing the feel of a bygone New York; I found it to be wonderful escapism. However the murder mystery itself, while often very clever and unpredictable, stretches credibility - the author overcooked it a bit.


Bottom line: a well-written mystery for fans of old New York. Recommended.

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Summary: Great for all the wrong reasons- or are they the right ones?
Review: There's something about this novel. Everyone I know who's read it has loved it, and yet very few would say they ordinarily go for this type of read. I've thought quite a lot about this, so instead of simply summarizing the novel and reiterating what every other reviewer here has already said, I'm going to put forth two basic reasons why I think this novel works so well, despite its weaknesses.

1. It feels like being transported into a Hollywood film. The whole novel feels as if Mr. Carr were writing it with the sole object of making it into a film, and he has even said himself that he's quite the movie buff and would prefer to make movies than write books. Every plot twist is Hollywood-esque, the characters always say exactly the right thing at exactly the right time, and the descriptions of 19th Century New York City are so vivid that they almost feel like setting descriptions for a screenplay. This sounds as if it would be cliché, and I suppose in a way it is, but the clichés are so perfectly executed that you really don't mind them.

2. The main characters, while by no means unique, are very engaging. Moore's continual inability to grasp basic concepts, while obviously only a tool to ensure the reader's understanding, is actually pretty funny. Sara is the typical feminist, but she's got an edge and almost a neuroticism that makes her really exciting. The Isaacsons aren't nearly developed enough, and usually all they do is bicker, but their eccentricities are good for a laugh. Teddy Roosevelt is in full form, of course. I love Dr. Kreizler; every person should know at least one Laszlo Kreizler in their life. He may not be a terribly imaginative character, but he's got everything that a good guy should have: he's brilliant, he's selfless, he's dedicated to saving unwanted and abused children from terrible fates, and he's even tragic beneath the surface. Does he not intrigue you?

I could explain that the novel is well-researched as historical novels go, or that the characters' method of criminal profiling is fascinating to watch, or that it's a fun mystery novel, but it's all already been said. Really, what makes The Alienist so great is its ability to draw you into its world and into its characters, not despite their being cliché, but because they're cliché. They're enjoyable characters, and it's an enjoyable plot. What more do you need?

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Summary: A CLASSIC
Review: My new year's resolution is to post reviews on the books that I have been touting or slamming for a long time. Put me down squarely in the column of those who were mesmerized from page one with Caleb Carr's extraordinary The Alienist. Using a deft style highly reminiscent of Henry James, Caleb Carr etches in detail one of the most mesmerizing portraits of turn-of-the century New York ever written. I am a former history major and history buff who will read anything I can that will bring alive some forgotten portion of history, American, European, Eastern. I know of few writers who succeeded more thoroughly than Caleb Carr. And I loved his characters: Kreizler, the "alienist", which is how psychiatrists were called during the time, and Moore, the alcoholic reporter, and the two jewish detectives who were among the only honest cops in the NYPD, and Moore's assistant, a former street criminal named Stevie, and the lingering presence of Theodore Roosevelt, reform-minded police commissioner, who brought them together to solve the grizzly murders of boy prostitutes in a society that considered the victims less than human. There is an entire chapter that describes an epic dinner that the main characters enjoy at the legendary Delmonicos that is worth the price of purchase. I have read the book twice now and have given several as gifts. I think there is a definite upturn in great historical fiction and non-fiction: after E.L. Doctorow came Caleb Carr, and there are many others now following in their path and doing a great service to the art form. Bravo, Caleb Carr.

Rating:
Summary: Disturbing, boring
Review: For me, this book was unfinishable. I got about 100 pages in and just couldn't read any more. And that's a rarity for me. I typically read 30-40 novels a year, and this is one of only 2-3 in the last 10 years I can recall not wanting to finish.
Mostly I found the author to be longwinded and boring. That alone I could have survived. But, combine a boring style with gruesome descriptions of a murdered child, and I just thought I had better things to do with my time than finish this.