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ghost_name's review against another edition
1.0
Too long. Only finished it because I was roughly 300 pages in. Skimmed the final paces of the trial. Incredibly boring afterwards. Glad people enjoyed it in the 1950s when it first came out. But for me? Avoid.
sistermagpie's review against another edition
3.0
A fictional retelling of the Leopold and Loeb murders, Compulsion is definitely an interesting look into the pov of the time when it was written. I have to admit, I was prepared for the homophobia, and was expecting the characters' relationship to be seen as a mental illness, and explained through quasi-Freudian ideas that don't work at all, but the misogyny was possibly even worse. The murderers unsurprisingly have a lot of issues with women, but unfortunately the women in the book seem there to act out the weird ideas.
The character of Ruth is the very worst example, desperate to save the self-loathing murderer Judd through sex. This is a girl who is afraid "for Judd" even when he's attempting to attack her. Of course, it's hard to know where Levin is just presenting the way the characters would think and saying something that he himself believes. For instance, when the reporter character who's always been reliable, admits to fantasizing about raping a woman for fun during the war, it seems like Meyer must be saying a lot of men, even "good" ones feel entitled to rape, but having Ruth react to a near-attack (and Judd's lecturing about how rape isn't actually possible because all women consent in the end) as if it's the equivalent of a less than perfect (but far from terrible) date is harder to take.
It did make me want to read non-fiction about the actual murders, though.
The character of Ruth is the very worst example, desperate to save the self-loathing murderer Judd through sex. This is a girl who is afraid "for Judd" even when he's attempting to attack her. Of course, it's hard to know where Levin is just presenting the way the characters would think and saying something that he himself believes. For instance, when the reporter character who's always been reliable, admits to fantasizing about raping a woman for fun during the war, it seems like Meyer must be saying a lot of men, even "good" ones feel entitled to rape, but having Ruth react to a near-attack (and Judd's lecturing about how rape isn't actually possible because all women consent in the end) as if it's the equivalent of a less than perfect (but far from terrible) date is harder to take.
It did make me want to read non-fiction about the actual murders, though.
undomiel's review
5.0
Fantastic.
I adored this telling of a true-crime in the form of a fictional prose. Levin writes in a really compelling, atmospheric manner, and structures the story in a really strong way.
I wholly enjoyed this, and my experience was even more heightened by knowing the eerie connection between this book and Ian Brady!
A great read for any true crime lover.
I adored this telling of a true-crime in the form of a fictional prose. Levin writes in a really compelling, atmospheric manner, and structures the story in a really strong way.
I wholly enjoyed this, and my experience was even more heightened by knowing the eerie connection between this book and Ian Brady!
A great read for any true crime lover.
majesdane's review
4.0
Read this because I watched and enjoyed the movie adaption. My feelings on the book are similar; it's a good adaption of the Leopold and Loeb case.
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