Reviews tagging 'Rape'

The Alienist by Caleb Carr

23 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. 

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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

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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

tellingtragedy's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Blood, Murder, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Sexual violence, and Rape

Moderate: Sexism, Racism, and Animal cruelty

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.

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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

itsjadenbaby's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I liked the use of an Alienist and a journalist as the protagonists of the story. It takes the story to a new place where a cop protagonist couldn’t go. I really enjoyed it, the audiobook is a solid narration.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Child abuse, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Trafficking, and Murder

Moderate: Torture, Gun violence, Hate crime, Blood, Homophobia, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Animal death, Cannibalism, and Police brutality

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

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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

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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

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

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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

abigail_rb's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

The historical context that adds so much richness to the world can also drag the pace down at times. Overall very enjoyable.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, and Rape

sapphic_shroom's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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? Yes

5.0

Having watched the TV show adaptation of The Alienist, and enjoying it immensely (superb casting choices all around!), I was very curious to read the source material. Regrettably, that only came to fruition now, partly because the book was hard to find in my country, and I rarely order books online, and partly because my attention jumped from on thing to another, so once I did get my hands on a copy, it sadly sat on my shelf for a full year before I picked it up. 

And I am so glad I finally did. I have a sort of love-hate relationship with historical fiction, and I blame most of it on my short attention span which prevents me from enjoying books that don't hold my interest long enough. I was admittedly worried this would hinder my enjoyment of this book as well, which would be a sad thing considering how much I loved the show. Thankfully, I was hooked from the first chapter and would end up reading nearly a hundred pages or more a day - which is impressive considering my pace of reading. 

Everything about this book is captivating - the vivid historical setting, the inner voice of our narrator Mr. Moore, the circumstances of the crimes our group of investigators is trying to solve, the characters themselves. By the end of the book, I had not only become attached to our main trio - Dr. Kreizler, Mr. Moore and Sara Howard - but to the Isaacson brothers, Stevie, Cyrus, Mary, and so many more. All of the characters seemed thoroughly developed and most importantly - alive. Not many authors are able to write such characters. 

Perhaps if I had slowed down a little and enjoyed the book over a longer period of time, I would've felt more satisfaction in the investigation and the conclusions the characters arrived at nearing the end of the book, but I still felt as if I was in some way investigating with them, connecting the clues and digging deeper into the mind of the serial killer tormenting those young boys. 

The description of New York and its society in the 1890s was very well done and ensured that the atmosphere of the book would be even more gripping. It is obvious that the author put much thought and research into depicting the place and time accurately. 

All in all, one of the best books I've read in a while. I am excited to pick up The Angel of Darkness some time in the future. 

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Content Warnings

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