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A review by andrew_russell
The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld
3.0
The main strength in this book lies in the meticulous historical research which forms the backbone of the story. Integrated within a classic whodunnit are passages of detail on the construction of the Manhattan Bridge, the rise of the automobile industry, the early history of the New York taxicab and of a society which still paraded it's young women at a series of balls where they were labelled 'debutantes' and paired off with bachelors as though they were young birds in the mating season.
The storyline was cleverly conceived, original and fresh. It was obvious from the get go that Rubenfeld knows bags and bags about Freud and the era he lived in. Added to this is the fact that I haven't read anything similar to this in concept before, i.e. a historical murder mystery with the emphasis on historical accuracy.
However, there are some aspects of the writing style which I think, from my own personal viewpoint, could have been made more enjoyable to read. The historical detail, while a welcome addition to any work of fiction, at times seemed to almost distract from the story itself. This was because, more often than not, they were inserted within the story as passages of historical non-fiction, rather than being blended within the tale itself. Given the choice of historical detail and a coherent and rhythmic story, I would choose the latter.
A common difficulty in historical fiction, particularly that which is based on real life characters, is ensuring that the characters have "character". Rubenfeld didn't make a bad fist of this but you don't have to look too far to find characters that are better written. The ones in this book just were not differentiated enough to round them off and make them interesting. At times I found this slightly irritating, particularly as Rubenfeld hopped around a fair bit from chapter to chapter. Younger and Littlemore were so similar that when their paths began to cross, I essentially gave up trying to figure out who had done what as far as their plotlines went, which did nothing to enhance the reading experience.
The final issue was the Shakespearean interludes. Why? Self indulgence on the part of the author? I think so. It added nothing to the story, was completely irrelevant and was about as dry as old sunbaked dung. Rubenfeld could have saved some pages of dirge and missed this tosh out altogether. These didn't happen too often but were still annoying.
All in all though, with the meticulous, true to life historical research, it's not a bad book and actually, unusually good for a debut. But Rubenfeld has some work to do if he wishes to hold readers attention long-term and develop his characters sufficiently well for a compelling series. That said, I would give the next one a go.
The storyline was cleverly conceived, original and fresh. It was obvious from the get go that Rubenfeld knows bags and bags about Freud and the era he lived in. Added to this is the fact that I haven't read anything similar to this in concept before, i.e. a historical murder mystery with the emphasis on historical accuracy.
However, there are some aspects of the writing style which I think, from my own personal viewpoint, could have been made more enjoyable to read. The historical detail, while a welcome addition to any work of fiction, at times seemed to almost distract from the story itself. This was because, more often than not, they were inserted within the story as passages of historical non-fiction, rather than being blended within the tale itself. Given the choice of historical detail and a coherent and rhythmic story, I would choose the latter.
A common difficulty in historical fiction, particularly that which is based on real life characters, is ensuring that the characters have "character". Rubenfeld didn't make a bad fist of this but you don't have to look too far to find characters that are better written. The ones in this book just were not differentiated enough to round them off and make them interesting. At times I found this slightly irritating, particularly as Rubenfeld hopped around a fair bit from chapter to chapter. Younger and Littlemore were so similar that when their paths began to cross, I essentially gave up trying to figure out who had done what as far as their plotlines went, which did nothing to enhance the reading experience.
The final issue was the Shakespearean interludes. Why? Self indulgence on the part of the author? I think so. It added nothing to the story, was completely irrelevant and was about as dry as old sunbaked dung. Rubenfeld could have saved some pages of dirge and missed this tosh out altogether. These didn't happen too often but were still annoying.
All in all though, with the meticulous, true to life historical research, it's not a bad book and actually, unusually good for a debut. But Rubenfeld has some work to do if he wishes to hold readers attention long-term and develop his characters sufficiently well for a compelling series. That said, I would give the next one a go.