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emberology 's review for:
The Alienist
by Caleb Carr
A killer prowls the streets in 1896 New York City, prompting a reporter and a brilliant alienist to investigate with the help of modern criminology methods.
There's absolutely nothing in that sentence that wouldn't get me all giddy and excited. I noted the existence of The Alienist a couple of years ago, and the announcement of the TV show bumped it further up on my reading list. I've learned to trust my instincts when it comes to choosing what to read, but although Carr chose an incredibly interesting topic to tackle in his debut novel, it failed miserably to catch my attention. Although I always encourage myself to finish books, because you never know if the last 100 pages are significantly better, sometimes quitting is the healthier choice. I also don't believe that a book should be left unrated if it's unfinished. I know I didn't like what I got, and that's that. In this case, when my bookmark fell off, I realized I don't care enough to find the page I had been reading.
There's nothing in The Alienist that seems effortless or seamless. Carr essentially writes fiction with the mind of a non-fiction writer, which results in a clinical and lackluster world where the plot is constantly interrupted by historical details that don't always relate to the actual story (my pet peeve in historical novels and probably the reason why I read so few of them; if I want a lecture, I'll stick to non-fiction).
When it comes to anachronisms, I don't necessarily mind them if they are a coherent part of the story or are supposed to be there for fun. When they result in a character like Kreiszler, who is burdened with so many opinions that won't offend a 21st century reader and with other perfect qualities, that character is not a human anymore. Only a miserable cardboard cutout. The rest of the characters are just as tedious, mere contrived tokens and devoid of personality, but at least a mountain of clichés hasn't been dumped on the poor things. Add to all this a few tacked on real historical figures and we've got me signing out and moving on to better things.
Sure, I've read worse, but The Alienist is just so dull, lifeless, and too easy to put down, which are perhaps the biggest no-nos to me. Not a huge mess, just... Dull. I can't even think of more adjectives! Unappealing both as a historical novel and a mystery novel.
As they say, though, there's a silver lining in everything. I watched the first episode of the TV show, and it was pretty great. Gritty and dark with fantastic costumes and set design, but above all: it evokes atmosphere fantastically, exactly what I was expecting from the book. You'd better believe I will be spending the rest of the weekend wrapped in my blanket and eating cookies and ice cream while watching the rest of the episodes. I've earned it.
There's absolutely nothing in that sentence that wouldn't get me all giddy and excited. I noted the existence of The Alienist a couple of years ago, and the announcement of the TV show bumped it further up on my reading list. I've learned to trust my instincts when it comes to choosing what to read, but although Carr chose an incredibly interesting topic to tackle in his debut novel, it failed miserably to catch my attention. Although I always encourage myself to finish books, because you never know if the last 100 pages are significantly better, sometimes quitting is the healthier choice. I also don't believe that a book should be left unrated if it's unfinished. I know I didn't like what I got, and that's that. In this case, when my bookmark fell off, I realized I don't care enough to find the page I had been reading.
There's nothing in The Alienist that seems effortless or seamless. Carr essentially writes fiction with the mind of a non-fiction writer, which results in a clinical and lackluster world where the plot is constantly interrupted by historical details that don't always relate to the actual story (my pet peeve in historical novels and probably the reason why I read so few of them; if I want a lecture, I'll stick to non-fiction).
When it comes to anachronisms, I don't necessarily mind them if they are a coherent part of the story or are supposed to be there for fun. When they result in a character like Kreiszler, who is burdened with so many opinions that won't offend a 21st century reader and with other perfect qualities, that character is not a human anymore. Only a miserable cardboard cutout. The rest of the characters are just as tedious, mere contrived tokens and devoid of personality, but at least a mountain of clichés hasn't been dumped on the poor things. Add to all this a few tacked on real historical figures and we've got me signing out and moving on to better things.
Sure, I've read worse, but The Alienist is just so dull, lifeless, and too easy to put down, which are perhaps the biggest no-nos to me. Not a huge mess, just... Dull. I can't even think of more adjectives! Unappealing both as a historical novel and a mystery novel.
As they say, though, there's a silver lining in everything. I watched the first episode of the TV show, and it was pretty great. Gritty and dark with fantastic costumes and set design, but above all: it evokes atmosphere fantastically, exactly what I was expecting from the book. You'd better believe I will be spending the rest of the weekend wrapped in my blanket and eating cookies and ice cream while watching the rest of the episodes. I've earned it.