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jhbandcats's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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
raginsagein's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.75
Graphic: Violence, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Child abuse, and Child death
Moderate: Alcohol, Addiction, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Drug use, Antisemitism, Deadnaming, Classism, Colonisation, and Cannibalism
carrionkid's review against another edition
2.5
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
srm's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Murder
Moderate: Death, Cannibalism, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Violence
Minor: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Sexism, and Torture
triciam's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Homophobia, and Hate crime
Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, and Grief