Interpreting murders, minds and mysteries (The Interpretation of Murder - Jed Rubenfeld)

Member Name: martin24

Product:	The Interpretation of Murder - Jed Rubenfeld
Date:	20/03/08 (53 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: intriguing read

Disadvantages: slow to get going

Interpreting murders, minds and mysteries

The Interpretation of Murder is the first novel from Jed Rubenfeld (see below) and was published in 2006. It won the Richard & Judy Book Club Best Read. I received the book as a gift at Christmas, and it came as a welcome break for me from reading John Rebus novels!


The Book

Although it is a novel - and therefore fiction - it is based around real events and at the end of the book is a section explaining which events in the book are real - and which are false.
The book is set in 1909, in New York. It begins with Sigmund Freud and his two European compatriots Carl Jung and Sandor Ferenczi arriving by steamboat into Manhattan Harbour. Awaiting their arrival is Stratham Younger, a fresh faced psychologist who has read, re-read and re-read again all of Freud's most famous works and has been waiting for this moment for, seemingly, his whole life.

On the books cover, it claims that it explains why Freud thought of Americans as "savages" - that is, filling in a gap in history that has never been filled by fact by a thrilling piece of fiction.
The book concentrates mainly on the relationship between Freud and Younger, although towards the end of the book there is an increasing amount of tension between Freud and Jung - a tale of jealousy.

There are mainly three storylines running throughout the book.
The main one, obviously, is the murder of two of New York's most beautiful, eligible heiresses within the space of 3 days. Throughout Stratham Younger joins one of New York's detectives, Jimmy Littlemore, and actually often outwits him! This storyline explores many different themes, including jealousy as well as corruption within the Police Force.

The second storyline is that of Nora Acton. She is another stunning heiress, who is attacked in the early pages of the book - and is so traumatised that she cannot speak of the ordeal. This is where Stratham comes in, trying to find out how previous events in her life could have made her so traumatised.
Finally, there is the issue of the Freudian Theory, or the Oedipus Complex (see below). This was both highly controversial at that time in America, and a lot of academics would do anything possible to stop it being broadcasted.

The book ends, as most novels do with a surprising twist, and one that you couldn't see coming.

Jed Rubenfeld
Rubenfeld is the Professor of Law at one of the best known Universities in the world, Harvard. An expert on constitutional aw, criminal law and the First Amendment he has a keen interest in American history. At the time of writing, The Interpretation of Murder (still his only novel), has sold over 1m copies worldwide.


Freudian Theory

Perhaps Freud's best known work, his ideal of repressed sexual desire is called the Oedipus Complex and tries to explain that we all have suppressed sexual desires for our mothers and fathers. Make of this what you will!

My Opinion (on the book, not Freud's Theory!!)
I really enjoyed reading this book. It took a long time to get into and even by the fortieth or fiftieth page I was considering putting the book down. However, I had heard good things so I thought it was worth carrying on. How right I was! A deeply thought out, intriguing read was what I got for my perseverance! The three storylines twisted and turned until they all got bound together by Rubenfeld's exquisite skill and masterful writing. It is difficult to believe that this is his first novel, and I can't imagine it will be his last! The language is easy to understand, and the book also offers an insight into early 20th century America - something that Rubenfeld apparently went to great pains to recreate accurately.

I really enjoy the idea of the book being semi-true, and will certainly look for more books from this genre in the future.
I certainly enjoyed it, and wholly recommend it to the mature reader! It would appeal to anybody who is interested in a crime novel, but also anyone who has an interest in psychology and the works of Freud.


8/10


Prices and Availability

Available from £2.40 on Amazon marketplace

Thanks for reading
Martin24©

Summary: really well worth sticking with this one if you can!