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Summary: The Fig Eater
Review: I was very consumed by the reading of this book. I was compelled to read as the interesting story unfolded. There were Holmes-like crime solving techniques and old fashioned investigating that made it a very engrossing book. However, I have yet to decide if the book was worth it in the end. There are a number of details that are completely unresolved and that are thrown in and given enough attention to in the formulation of the plot to warrent an explanation. As in real crime solving, there are many clues that are followed but that lead nowhere, which is entirely believable. However, there are some fundamental superstitious clues left behind at the scene of the crime that are never tied up. I would have liked to have some resolution to their inclusion in the book in the first place if they were not going to be relevant.
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Summary: Missing pieces...but still very good..
Review: I must state for the record, that this book will grab you from the very first page and keep you there to the very last, and never once satisfy you fully. I enjoyed it only because I was waiting throughout the entire book for the clues and the puzzle to be put together... I was satisfied, but never the way the first paragraph promised me.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a good book
Review: Someone chose this for our book club and not ONE person liked it. I tried to read the whole thing, some of the settings were appealing, however parts of it got so bizarre and it was just strange. Sorry to the author or anyone that likes it, but out of 12 women, not one person finished it or liked it.
Rating:
Summary: Huh?
Review: I judged this book by it's cover (okay, so it was nice artwork) But, never again. The relationships were vague and disjointed and downright strange. I couldn't relate to any of the characters. And at the end of this murder mystery there were dozens of unanswered questions. Frustrating! A big waste of time, in my opinion.
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Summary: intriguing mystery with some major flaws
Review: I read this book on a vacation and found it to be a page turner. I loved the atmosphere, the gypsy elements, the police procedure at the turn of the century and some of the characters. However, I spent some time pouring over the book after I finished and found many holes. First of all, the first major section of the book is about the fig (which is quite well done), but this turns out to be the biggest loose end around -- when we FINALLY find the tree, what is the relevance? how does it implicate the murderer? In fact, there are many scenes that are well described that turn out to have NOTHING to do with the plot. In short, there are many nice set pieces, but the storytelling does not hold together as many reviewers have pointed out. I enjoyed the book, but as a real detective story, it is lacking. too much pedantic research, not enough hard info to dig our teeth into. Still a good read, but not a masterwork.
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Summary: CSI Vienna, 1910
Review: The Fig Eater by Jody Shields reads like a combination of a CSI episode and a research paper. If you like historical forensic medicine, you'll find the first 25 pages fascinating, as the analysis of a murder scene unfolds with pinpoint historical accuracy. You'll also enjoy the many references to the police procedures of the time as the Inspector mentors Franz, a young policeman in the fundamentals of patient investigation. For this purpose, Shields relies heavily on the System der Kriminalistik, by Hans gross, published in 1904. One of the passages read begins "When he starts work, the most important thing for the Investigating Officer is to discover the exact moment when he can form a definite opinion. The importance of this cannot be too much insisted upon, for upon it success or failure often depends."
The same might be said of a writer, and therein lies the failure of this book. Shields values the pieces of information she has come across too highly and maintains a psychic distance from the characters of the story. Though she uses myriad historical details to pin the reader into place, she fails to allow us to grow close to, or care much about, the characters. Even the most intriguing character (Erzebet, the Inspector's wife, who lives in a mental landscape of Hungarian folk tales) is viewed as if from the wrong end of a telescope. Specifically, the two most disruptive elements in the writing style are the choppiness of the passages (seldom does one scene last longer than a couple of pages), and Shields's stylistic reliance on the present tense. This lends the book to being difficult to staying involved with, and difficult to pick up again once it is put down.
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Summary: The Delightful Difference
Review: The Fig Eater neither paralleled the Dress Lodger nor The Alienist, LOL, but I enjoyed numerous aspects of The Fig Eater very much, because it has its own internal parallel of investigation between the Inspector's criminal, methodical, and psychological modus operandi and Erzebet's, the Hungarian wife's, obsessive, mystical investigation grounded in folklore and superstition, which she keeps strategically hidden from her husband. Fascinating stuff, to me. The entire novel retains this separateness, and only the reader is privy to this dual existence. There are many dead ends for the pair working independently from one another, not really loose ends. Their theories just don't pan out, especially when they investigate on misassumptions and misinformation within the constraints of the times. So we have time spent in a TB clinic, a fig tree buried in the snow, and one inmate of an asylum who fancies himself a werewolf as false leads. I also don't think it is intended to follow a conventional mystery format as there are too many inadvertent red herrings, the pace is slow, and the revelation of historical atmosphere and tedious criminological procedures might thwart the reader looking for "a good mystery." I found it a riveting reading experience, and loved the detail. unlike anything else currently available. That's a very good book, one which is different! It appears to be beautifully wrought historical fiction, VERY loosely based on a "what if?", regarding Freud's patient, Dora, centered on a terrible murder and quest for a killer. Not to give anything away, some of Freudian Dora's history is replicated. Both investigators are obsessive by nature and yet influenced by each other. How can they not be? One steals her husband's, the inspector's notes, and the other is inordinately influenced by the occult observations and weird behaviors of his wife. The novel is somewhat circular, in that bits of pieces and information are revealed miles apart from one another and to different characters, and this info is not always accurate. Once again, threads not
tied up seem to be unraveled and air born false seeds from the start, as well as muffled by the conservative society. There is underlying, exquisite, yet suggested eroticism, and unspoken but cogent characterization revealed by nuances and actions, not by dialogue or much internal monologue. Graphic images presented have a purpose. The culture of the times is well illustrated, and the Austrian and Hungarian words and references can be vaguely determined by context, which helped me considerably. I'll never forget the passion and intent of Erzebet, steeped as she is in superstition and vengeance. Perhaps the servant she nursed who subsequently died, or her consideration of the violated figure she witnessed while applying make-up to Dora, led her to an inordinate and consumate connection and rage. Her motivation is unclear, but it matters not, because she is on a mission. This character with fierce intent will remain in my on deck circle for good, and the fact that serious considerations are reflected upon in a coffeehouse,over a glass or three of wine, or during an impossible task, such as reading a burned journal, seal my approval. What an interesting amalgam of a novel. I don't have the time it takes to write the review which would give this book the justice it deserves. Words come slowly to me when they have to be organized. The Fig Eater is definitely not for everyone, but I'll sure purchase the next novel by Jody Shields in a heartbeat, and I'm still rereading bits and snatches. Roe
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Summary: Book Groups, Beware!
Review: Obviously this book is being marketed to reading groups, as evidenced by the list of questions to consider in the back of the book. All I can say is, someone has grossly underestimated the intelligence of the average book group in America. Beware! The storytelling is just plain bad. There are so many loose ends, and things never explained, that reading the novel ends up being an exercise in tolerance. Where, oh where, was the editor here? Why did no one tell Ms. Shields that there is more to a novel than atmosphere? Why did no one tell her that a reader is far more concerned with plot than what is on Ms. Shield's index cards? Research is necessary, of course, but should not be the focus of a novel, only the background. References to Freud are bogus and unnecessary. The REAL crime here is that the author could have used her not-inconsiderable skills to write a truly good book about this time period. For example, instead of simply referring to Freud in order to get dubious credibility in the reviews, why not go into true detail about the impact of his teachings on women? Especially then? Why not flesh out the characters and make them understandable? Or even likeable? The book is about details, not people. What a waste of talent.
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Summary: Disappointing
Review: I am a huge fan of Caleb Carr's The Alienist and Angel of Darkness. I am tired of any period novel being aligned with Carr's works. This pales in comparision to his fine novels. Ms. Shields' attempts at creating suspense are thwarted by her own inability to follow through. I don't know if this is a result of bad structure or bad editing. Either way, I found the novel to be a huge waste of my time.
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Summary: Historical crime proves romantically intriguing...
Review: In this historical tale of murder, one is readily provided with hours of enjoyable reading. The German terms might prove distracting, but the novel which interweaves Freudian theory with gypsies' superstitions is one that will offer a gratifying read for years to come.
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