Reviews with content warning for Rape - The Alienist

Reviews tagging 'Rape'

The Alienist by Caleb Carr

23 reviews

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...

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jmross10's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

The book was a bit drawn out.

The strongest part for me was the use of history to inform the story, particularly the criminology aspect. It was interesting to see how the characters drew certain conclusions based on early studies and new practices. I especially liked that they tried (at least one) scientific principle that had no real basis. It shows the trial and error aspect of research which suits the subject matter.

It’s not a fast read by any means but it was an interesting one.

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elwirax's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense

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

3.5

"The defenders of decent society and the disciples of degeneracy are often the same people."

What I enjoyed most about this book was the very vivid world building and its great exploration of psychology, criminology and the ever elusive question of what makes a serial killer. I loved the case report style of the writing, the snippets of hindsight and the historical context which really made the book feel like non fiction. There were also many interesting themes explored such as class division, immigration, lack of equality (racism, sexism) and the birth of new radical ideas in the time period which made the story so compelling.

However, the characterisation really lacked for me. Sara was by far my favourite in the adaptation but the book didn't always shine light to her greatness. Kreizler and Moore were equally interesting in the show but were rather flat in the book. I think their characterisation and relationships were more developed in the adaptation, the lack of this in the book made it feel like a slog to get through at times with all the info dumping in terms of buildings and the landscape.

Another major factor that I disliked in this book was the use of outdated language ( n word f slur and g slur). Just because it's historically accurate does not mean I want to read it.

Overall, the period setting, themes and the mystery felt authentic and kept me interested. However, this was not a perfect book with often problematic language or ideas. The slow nature of the book can be attributed to the concentration on aspects that didnt serve much of a purpose and could've been re-directed into better character building. Therefore I couldn't give it anything above a 3.5. Nonetheless, it was an interesting read that I may return to in the future for the atmosphere alone.

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rob's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.0

It had the potential to be a great story, but failed to realistically tie everything together.

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avareadsoccasionally's review against another edition

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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.

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