Reviews with content warning for Torture - The Alienist

Reviews tagging 'Torture'

The Alienist by Caleb Carr

15 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

swapacoinforafish's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

mirrorofneptune's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

This is an interesting book, but decidedly not for me. I found the premise interesting and liked the main cast of characters, but I found myself repeatedly “checking out” and then checking back in as the plot progressed– there were a couple plot detours I think the book could’ve done without that might’ve helped the pacing. I can’t speak to the historical accuracy of the methods used by the investigative team, but some of their leaps of psychological logic really tested my suspension of disbelief. I was honestly done long before we got to the big confrontation with the perpetrator.

Content Warnings

itsjadenbaby's review

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings

that_bookworm_guy's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

carlaabra's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This was surprisingly good, and I don’t like historical fiction usually. Our narrator is witty (I’ve chuckled) and self-aware, which makes sense given the story is being recollected by our narrator 15 years in the future. I’m not a big fan of the explicit foreshadowing at the end of chapters, eg (I’m making this up) “I felt as though XYZ was looking up, but as I would find out in a few days time, our troubles would only get worse”. Before reading I thought some of the psychoanalysis/profiling would be boring/repetitive (I’ve watched Criminal Minds so I’m basically an expert /s) but it’s been quite interesting. I liked all the main characters and how they bounced off eachother. One gripe is the author’s treatment of side characters, who seemingly exist to be in danger and create tension. Our main characters are too precious to harm, I guess.

Content Warnings