Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

The Alienist by Caleb Carr

10 reviews

jhbandcats's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

As a fan of Caleb Carr, I was floored to see a recent interview where he announced he had terminal cancer. He was describing his newest book, My Beloved Monster, a memoir of his life with a semi-feral cat which also addressed his abusive childhood. Because I loved both cats and Carr, I had to read that book. 

I finished the memoir a few days ago and immediately started The Alienist. When I first read it, Google didn’t exist and I knew nothing of Carr’s history. Reading it now was a very different experience than in 1994. I understood Carr’s references and had images of old New York at my fingertips, able to see High Bridge Tower, Croton Reservoir, and other landmarks. 

I could see Carr’s childhood everywhere in the book. His knowledge about alcoholic and abusive parents clearly comes from experience. That and his study of New York City give a vivid feel to the whole book, despite its taking place a century earlier than when written. 

The Alienist is a page-turner but it’s not for the faint of heart looking for a beach read. It addresses class and wealth and education, power and corruption, mental illness and the care of the mentally ill, the desperation that drives children into prostitution, and the violence that results from continued abuse and bullying. It’s a beautifully written story about a terrible time when terrible things happened all too frequently. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Body horror, Mental illness, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Pedophilia, Torture, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Excrement, Homophobia, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Violence, Child death, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual violence, and Bullying

sappypatheticm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Animal death, Gore, Xenophobia, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Murder, Sexual violence, Violence, Kidnapping, Racism, Rape, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Pedophilia, Death, Blood, Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, and Child death

Moderate: Excrement, Cannibalism, Police brutality, and Antisemitism

swapacoinforafish's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny informative 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? It's complicated

5.0

I enjoyed this book very much. The story was gripping and the writing very succinct. I was invested every step of the way and really enjoyed the range of characters.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gore, and Murder

Minor: Child abuse, Mental illness, Animal death, Child death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Cannibalism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, and Torture

that_bookworm_guy's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

This is a dark story that has a pot of descriptions and explanation of the plot and the history. I've read reviews that have mentioned it's a lot of description and details, but I absolutely love that

The story is long but doesn’t feel as long as it looks. I was a little intimated by the length but it feels shorter than it is. 

I really enjoyed this

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Vomit, Body horror, Medical content, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Sexual content, Trafficking, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

katielizroy's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

A super compelling plot but the writing style reads a bit slow. Great book for those interested in old New York City though a lot of the details throughout are a bit tough to read

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Stalking, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Gore, Pedophilia, Blood, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Ableism, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, and Death

carrionkid's review against another edition

2.5

Well that sure was a novel

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, and Racial slurs

avareadsoccasionally's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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? No

3.5

Started slow, the world building and establishing the time period and setting was dull and packed into the beginning. However, the middle and end were really interesting and compelling. A good murder mystery read. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Death, Murder, and Child death

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Racism, Rape, Stalking, Mental illness, and Pedophilia

Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Police brutality, Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, and Medical content

readheadmarie's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

1.0

This book was extremely difficult for me to read. Had this book not been for a book club I would have DNF’d it less than halfway in. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Child death, and Kidnapping

acrosstheskyinstars's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Classism, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Colonisation and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

alih's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, and Pedophilia