Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

The Alienist by Caleb Carr

10 reviews

lilias's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, Child death, Sexual assault, and Child abuse

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Xenophobia, Stalking, Racial slurs, Racism, Trafficking, Torture, and Transphobia

bxnnny's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

a fairly slow-paced and dense read, but kept me interested throughout. felt like an 1800s version of mindhunter. i found the main character to be one of the least likeable characters (besides the obvious criminals/bad guys) as he often came across as whiny and narrow-minded and i grew tired of his constant need of approval and inclusion by the others. there were also some weird undertones of homophobia and perhaps even transphobia and just general bigotry mainly from him that i didn't enjoy either. i suppose one could argue that "times were different then," but i still wasn't a fan. the writing could often times be pretty dense and over-explanatory, but i become used to the writing style as the story progressed and i ultimately was interested enough in the plot to keep reading. i didn't expect teddy roosevelt to be a character at all, much less play a fairly prominent role, and the book at times just felt like a weird teddy roosevelt fan fiction. which, i guess it could actually be considered one...

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Trafficking, Child abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, Racial slurs, Racism, Transphobia, Mental illness, Murder, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Confinement

Moderate: Rape, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, and Stalking

Minor: Sexism, Sexual violence, and Antisemitism

aileena99's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, and Child death

Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexism, Murder, Transphobia, Homophobia, Child abuse, Racism, and Pedophilia

benfkz's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Child death

Moderate: Murder, Pedophilia, Gore, and Homophobia

Minor: Sexism and Gun violence

clemencepct's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Rape, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Transphobia, Sexual assault, and Gore

Moderate: Sexism, Excrement, Racism, and Homophobia

braynard's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I am a huge fan of science-based murder mysteries. I am also a huge fan of period piece. Naturally, this book gave me the best of both world. It was a crime thriller that avoided the cheesiness and stereotypes sometimes encountered in the genre. It also kept a good pace throughout the novel, meaning there were never spots where I got stuck or bored. 

In fact, I managed to finish this book in less than a week. 

There are some content issues within the book. It obviously focuses heavily on death, police corruption, and violence. It also features some of that classic 1890s racism, classism, and sexism. As long as you are prepared for all of those, it's a great read. 

The only plotline I was not a huge fan of was the story of Mary Palmer, Kreizler's maid.

She struggles with speech, so her character in the novel is already ostracized from the main plot. Two thirds of the way in, we fine out Laszlo is in love with her, only for her to die a chapter later. I get that there needed to be some consequences to remind Kreizler of the stakes, but it seemed unfair to me that Mary had to be the one who suffered them.

This is an wonderful book. If you like murder, history, psychology, or all three, please consider checking it out. Or, check out the television adaptation under the same name. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Pedophilia, and Violence

Minor: Racism, Sexism, and Sexual assault

srm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Fascinating period mystery. I love the characters.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Murder

Moderate: Death, Cannibalism, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Violence

Minor: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Sexism, and Torture

sarah_ann_roth's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Murder, Violence, and Mental illness

Moderate: Ableism, Transphobia, Sexism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Racial slurs, and Racism

triciam's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Homophobia, and Hate crime

Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, and Grief

lilifane's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 These were very dense 500 pages but worth it.
You definitely need at least some interest in the following, though: New York City (preferably it's history) and CSI/Criminal Minds (crime scene investigations and criminal profiling). Because there is a lot and I mean A LOT of words dedicated to these topics. Which means I loved it.

The story takes place in 1896 New York City and is a about an alienist (duh) trying to catch a serial killer. But it's not really a who done it, it focuses more on the psychological factor of such a crime, on the obsacles during that time to pursue such a goal and on all the methods of forensic science and criminal profiling that we take for granted now but that didn't really exist back then or were just being discovered.

I needed some time to get into the writing style and setting but once I was used to it, I really enjoyed it. To discover one of my favourite cities in such a historical setting was really cool and I appreciated how much time Carr spend on describing it in such a detailed and intimate way. (I wasn't that much interested in the political aspects though.)
The whole investigation process was amazing. Yes, it was very detailed and slow paced sometimes but... I didn't know that a whole chapter about the analysis of one letter could be this exciting. And discovering all those details with the protagonists little by little was absolutely rewarding.
Fell in love with the protagonists very quickly btw. The way they interacted with each other was just beautiful.

But... there are some things that bothered me, although most be attributed to the time the book was placed in. Sooo few women for example (although a very very cool one among the protagonists). And the way mentally ill people, queer people, sex worker were talked about even by some of the progressive protagonists (although one aspect of the book is to accept/respect these margialised groups more). I'm conflicted. Some deaths and the purpose they had make me angry. And this has nothing to do with the time period, this I just didn't like.

But as a whole I was really impressed by the book and how smart the plot was. And the author's note in my edition was hilatious. The story with the fake photo is my new fav thing. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, and Vomit