Reviews tagging 'Racism'

L'Alienista by Caleb Carr

21 reviews

carrionkid's review against another edition

2.5

Well that sure was a novel

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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. 

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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

clemencepct's review against another edition

dark 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? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Rape, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Transphobia, Sexual assault, and Gore

Moderate: Sexism, Excrement, Racism, and Homophobia

thymelessly's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Murder

Moderate: Sexual violence, Racism, and Racial slurs

Minor: Drug use

braynard's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

I am a huge fan of science-based murder mysteries. I am also a huge fan of period piece. Naturally, this book gave me the best of both world. It was a crime thriller that avoided the cheesiness and stereotypes sometimes encountered in the genre. It also kept a good pace throughout the novel, meaning there were never spots where I got stuck or bored. 

In fact, I managed to finish this book in less than a week. 

There are some content issues within the book. It obviously focuses heavily on death, police corruption, and violence. It also features some of that classic 1890s racism, classism, and sexism. As long as you are prepared for all of those, it's a great read. 

The only plotline I was not a huge fan of was the story of Mary Palmer, Kreizler's maid.

She struggles with speech, so her character in the novel is already ostracized from the main plot. Two thirds of the way in, we fine out Laszlo is in love with her, only for her to die a chapter later. I get that there needed to be some consequences to remind Kreizler of the stakes, but it seemed unfair to me that Mary had to be the one who suffered them.

This is an wonderful book. If you like murder, history, psychology, or all three, please consider checking it out. Or, check out the television adaptation under the same name. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Pedophilia, and Violence

Minor: Racism, Sexism, and Sexual assault

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

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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

sarah_ann_roth's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Murder, Violence, and Mental illness

Moderate: Ableism, Transphobia, Sexism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Racial slurs, and Racism

triciam's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

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

_kimb's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Homophobia, Violence, Murder, Gore, Child abuse, Child death, and Torture

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual assault, Rape, Medical content, Emotional abuse, and Homophobia

Minor: Racial slurs and Racism

antonishapolitepeoples's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Death of parent