| Product: |
The Interpretation of Murder - Jed Rubenfeld |
| Date: |
19/06/08 (77 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Story is quite interesting
Disadvantages: Theory side to the book is rather heavy
After reading The Interpretation of Murder I cannot say it is the best book I have ever read, nor is the most compelling or well written but it is at least different.
The Interpretation of Murder tells the story of Dr Younger who meets Sigmund Freud when he arrives in New York. The morning after this meeting however a stunningly beautiful young girl is found tied-up and strangled in her penthouse apartment. Things however don't stop there as the following night Nora Acton, another young and beautiful heiress is found tied to a chandelier in her parents' home. Luckily however Nora is still alive but physically wounded and unable to speak.
It is not long before Freud and his followers, which include Carl Jung, Abraham Brill and Dr Younger, are enlisted to help Miss Acton recover her memory and name her attacker. This task however isn't as straight forward as it may first seem as, as well as Younger's attempts to uncover the attacker local coroner Hugel and a up-coming detective Littlemore are also undertaking their own investigation, with our without the Mayors help. What both parties discover though is definitely not what it first may seem and the web of intrigue, lies and scandal that they uncover leads them on a thrilling journey to the darkest places of the human mind.
This novel is certainly very different from anything I have ever read before. The blend of fictional characters, real characters, fictional tales and real-life theory give this book a real authenticity and in this way make it both entertaining and informative. Despite this however I somewhat struggled to get into the story. The prose are written well and the characters are on the whole believable some even likeable but the extent to which some of Freud's theories are described and the ever occurring Oedipus theory are for me just too much.
This is not to say however that the story told is not somewhat enjoyable it is just that it takes some getting used to, in fact a lot of getting used to, and the flicking of settings and characters makes this process a little harder than it could have been. Saying this however if you believe in the Oedipus theory (look it up if you are unsure what it is, I don't really wish to go into detail) or you are interested in psychological theory as a whole this book is definitely something you should read. If this doesn't sound like you it may still be possible that like me you may find some enjoyment in the novel but I wouldn't whole-heartedly recommend it.
On the whole therefore the novel is not something I would recommend to everyone. The story itself would have been more compelling had some of the theory been left out. As it is I feel the book can be quite heavy in places and won't be hankering to read it again for some time.
Summary: A psychological journey through the depths of the human mind
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