1909 Sigmund Freud est à New York pour donner une série de conférences sur la psychanalyse. Au même moment, une jeune femme de la bonne société est étranglée après avoir été sauvagement torturée. Freud, fatigué, malade, en butte à l'hostilité de l'intelligentsia locale, se retrouve malgré lui impliqué dans l'enquête que mène l'inspecteur Littlemore...
Des bas-fonds de Chinatown aux hôtels particuliers de Gramercy Park, ce thriller à l'intrigue impeccable nous plonge dans le New York en mutation du début des gratte-ciel. ( )

Loved this book! ( )

A disciple of Freud solves a murder in 1909 New York. Setting aside the needlessly convoluted plot, the main female character and her motivations (which are the motivations for the murder) are straight out of Freud (deliberately so, as the author makes clear in the afterword). So, unless you read Dora: An Analysis of a Case of Hysteria nodding the whole way through and saying, "This is SO TRUE! This is EXACTLY how women think!", you are not going to like this book. I am pretty sure the author's intention was not to show us how writing a female character based entirely on what Freud thought women were like creates a wildly inconsistent, wholly unsympathetic, and completely unrealistic heroine with motivations that make no sense, but that was the end effect of this book.

Also, if you think Freud has women right you are a) a man and b) a jerk.

As a genealogist, I appreciate the quantity and quality of the research done for this book: the architecture, the social climate, etc. It was the only thing that kept me going through this totally absurd drama, culminating in an equally unsatisfactory finale. Very disappointed with this novel. ( )

This book is very loosely based on Freud's trip to America in 1909. Nothing much is known about it, and ever since he hated America and never went back. I say very loosely - obviously, with no real records to the contrary and a lot of imagination, the author has created a thrilling murder/assault case around the time of Freud's trip. (The author does admit this; he doesn't admit to it being completely accurate.) Although Freud himself does not solve the murder, his (fictional) friend Dr Younger does, and seeks Freud's advice as he psychoanalyzes the surviving victim of the attacks.

When reading this book you have to bear in mind that it is mainly fictional. A lot of the characters did not exist, neither did several of the buildings, nor the murder case. I found myself enjoying it a lot more when I ignored that it was supposed to be about Freud and Jung, but more just a group of psychoanalysts, as otherwise it is rather difficult to believe in places. However, I believe that Freud and Jung's characters did keep true to the reality (from what I know of them both), including conversations and the theories/ideas they have.

With that in mind, I really enjoyed it; it was thrilling and exciting, and had enough plot twists to keep me guessing as to who the culprit is and to whether they will be able to prove it. The ending completely surprised me, too, as well as the final analysis of Nora, the victim of the attacks. I would certainly recommend it to others who like mysteries; it's really worth the time to read (it is quite long). Unfortunately it doesn't look like Jed has any other fiction novels available from a quick search on Amazon, which is a shame, but I will keep an eye out all the same. ( )

I believe that this book is not meant for everyone to like unless you're familiar with psychoanalytical concepts such as Oedipus complex and mechanism of repression etc. A thriller incorporating well explained psychoanalytical concepts is an amazing accomplish! A fast paced, well written novel. Set in Manhattan, New York, a story of 1909 Sigmund Freud's visit to America along with his protege and rival Mr. Carl Gustav Jung. When a wealthy young debutante died, discovered in an elegant luxurious apartment near the city. She was found tied bound, whipped and strangled and another second victim narrowly escaped but could not recover the events of what happened. Authorities calls upon Freud to help with the investigation and to recover the victim's memory.Through out the book you will notice that Mr. Carl Gustav Jung was depicted as self-absorbed, treacherous, racist in which I don't know why. Jung-bashing aside the novel is a worthy read. ( )

Although I could see how this novel could be tarred with the taint of The Da Vinci Code I found it to be a fascinating and inventive crime novel that weaves together the biographies of Freud and Jung with the history of early twentieth century Manhattan, pscyhoanalysis and a critical theory of Shakespeare's Hamlet. ( )

Set in America in early 1900 this story follows the arrival of Sigmund Freud to America to give talks about his theories and the science of psychology.

At the same time a debutante is found bound and strangled in a luxury apartment block. This is followed by a youg heiress being found tied to a chandelier in her parents home. Are the cases linked? Are they done by the same person or is there a group involved?

Dr. Younger takes on the case and tries to break through the amnesia of the young heiress to find the secrets she is hiding about the attack? Freud says it is all down to an sexual act she has seen when she was a child which has traumatised her - but is this the case?

Also at the same time someone is trying to spoil Freuds reputation with slander regarding this methods.

Can the murderer be found and Freuds reputation saved?

As a first novel it is good - there are areas which were really slow going and hard work. But overall worht a read. Though the last 50 pages or so were the best - the tension built and there were a lot of twists in the plot which changed where you thought the story would go.

The best was saved till last and for that I would try the next one Jed Rubenfeld writes.....if for no other reason to see if he can keep to the level he finished this first book with. ( )

Dumb dumb dumb

Dumb dumb dumb

I only quite enjoyed this book. It has a lot of flaws. I enjoyed the description of 1909 New York - its massive change and energy. But I found the characters a bit flat and the change of point of viewconfu sing.
I didn't guess the twist but I knew it wasn't the obvious candidate. I liked some of the psychological history aspects but I found the Hamlet discussion irrelevant. I suspect the author had a view that he desperately wanted to make and so shoehorned this aspect in. And heobviously doesn't like Jung much.
The supposedly stupid detective actually solves the mystery, when you expect the narrator to do so.
In the foreword, the author claims that he is trying to explain why
Freud called Americans "savages" but in the end the book singularly
fails to do this.
The ending is actually quite confusing and complex, I'm still not sure who actually killed the girl.
In many ways, the author tries to show off his knowledge a bit too much. ( )

A fascinating thriller set in 1909 Manhattan with Sigmun Freud as a main character. Intriguing to the last page. ( )

http://boekenwijs.blogspot.com/2008/1... ( )

Good book. Freud is visiting America for the first time with his collegues Jung and Ferenczi. He is met by another follower of psychoanlaysis, Stratham Younger, when he arrives. Younger is pulled in by the Mayor of New York to analyze a seeming victim of a violent crime similar to other recent crimes in the city. It is Younger's job to find the truth about the incident from Nora, the young woman who was attacked. Younger ends up on a quest to help solve all the murders with a green detective and downtrodden coroner. Freud and his collegues are involved in Younger's investigation.

This is a story with many threads which are surprisingly all wrapped up nicely at the non-typical ending. A literary work of fact/fiction that is astounding, insightful and makes you question what is or is not true.

See more of my reviews at http://myobsessionwithbooks.blogspot....
( )

In 1909, Sigmund Freud paid his one and only visit to the US, when he went to accept an honorary award from Clark University. On his way to Massachusetts, he stopped briefly in New York. But not much is known about the visit, or why Freud vowed never to return. In this novel, Jed Rubenfeld tries to fill in the gaps.

Accompanying Freud is Dr. Karl Jung; waiting at the pier in New York to greet them is Dr. Strathan Younger, a young doctor loosely connected with the wealthy elite of New York City.

On the day after Freud’s arrival, a young woman is found murdered in a penthouse uptown. Later, another young woman, Nora Acton, is attacked, but she can remember nothing of the attack or her attacker. Freud uses his psychoanalytic powers to help solve the crime, with Dr. Younger at his side. Similar in scope to Caleb Carr’s The Alienist, The Interpretation of Murder focuses on the upper stratum of New York society, whereas The Alienist focuses on the poor and the seediest underbelly of New York crime.

Rubenfeld’s descriptions of early 20th century New York are fascinating—I was especially struck by his descriptions of the subway system, so different today from what it was 100 years ago (believe it or not, the stations actually had chandeliers in them!). Also intriguing are the descriptions of how the Manhattan Bridge was built. It’s clear that Rubenfeld has done his historical research. The murder is intriguing and the way the crime is solved is ingenious. But Dr. Younger isn’t a very intriguing narrator; at least, not as interesting as The Alienist’s John Schuyler Moore. As with all first novels, the book is clunky in some places, especially the ending—the denouement is more of a tell-all than a show-all. ( )

An unusual story involving a young surgeon in a mysterious "apparent" murder. He is a protegee of Freud who is on a visit to the USA where the action takes place and he enlists the help of the eminent psychiatrist in trying to find out what has happened. An interesting mystery, but a bit far fetched I thought. ( )

Title: The Interpretation of Murder
Author: Jed Rubenfeld
Genre: Historical Fiction

The Gist: In the summer of 1909, Sigmund Freud arrived by steamship in New York Harbor for a short visit to America. Though he would live another thirty years, he would never return to this country. Little is known about the week he spent in Manhattan, and Freud's biographers have long speculated as to why, in his later years, he referred to Americans as "savages" and "criminals."

Commentary: If you like Caleb Carr's The Alienist and The Angel of Darkness, you will most likely enjoy Jed Rubenfeld's The Interpretation of Murder. This work is a fully absorbing story full of psych theory vintage 1909 and early forensic scientific theory overlaid with the attitudes and prejudices of the period. Rubenfeld provides an interesting look on how one's class, family ties, ethnicity, profession, and religion affected one's position in New York high society. Even Freud comments on this process and how it will effect his success in America.

So dust off your Psych 101 text books, because Freudian theory is the main theory on which Rubenfeld builds his tale. Not too light, not too heavy this book will have you thinking and rethinking about what really drives people to do the things that they do. Does it all have to do with repressed sexual desires? Are all neurosis rooted in childhood trauma? What do we make of Jung and his odd behavior? But what will really get you going is figuring out WHO DID IT?

The Interpretation of Murder is a great read. It has everything you could possibly want to keep you turning the pages: intrigue, scandal, humor, romance, adventure, and well, murder. ( )

An interesting interweaving of the plot with historical New York in the early 20th Century and the emergence of psychoanalysis. However, I found the plot to be overly complex and a bit too "cute." Overall though, an enjoyable read. ( )

The year is 1909 and Sigmund Freud (along with disciples Jung and Ferenczi) have just arrived in New York to give a series of lectures on the budding field of psychoanalysis. At the same time, a rash of brutal attacks on young socialites captures the public's attention. Asked by Freud to analyze a surviving victim, psychology student Stratham Younger soon becomes involved in both the murder investigation and the tensions among Freud and his followers.

I'll be frank here - I really dislike Freud. All of the id, ego, superego stuff is fine, but his insistence that every urge in the human psyche is based on something sexual (or fecal for that matter) strikes me as utterly ludicrous. And he definitely lost any support I may have given him with his interpretation of Hamlet. It simply doesn't make any sense to me (much like Kierkegaard's interpretation of Hamlet - which is a long story involving over-eager philosophy grad student teachers) But generally speaking, such sweeping interpretations of plays don't work from a character development or motivation point of view, and as a former acting student, I have little patience with people approaching plays from other perspectives. It's a quirk of mine. So (all of that was vaguely relevant, I promise) when Younger announces that it is that very interpretation of Hamlet that inspired him to turn to psychoanalysis and Freud in particular, well, I knew I was going to be in trouble.

Although, to be honest, Freud wasn't actually my biggest problem with this book. The issue was that this tried too hard to be another 'Alienist' (even the cover is markedly similar) and it just doesn't fare too well in comparison. The mystery never quite takes off, its resolution is disappointing, and the fact that the hero frequently finds time during 'exciting moments' to stop and mull over the Oedipal complex or ruminate on how to 'solve' Hamlet, doesn't exactly speed things along and get your heart racing. Or at least it didn't mine…

Detective Littlemore was probably the best character in the novel, but sadly we're forced to spend significantly more time with Younger and his whining about transference, countertransference, and his rather pathetic 'love story' with a very disturbed young woman.

But worst of all, none of it answers the question posed in the preface - what happened in America that was so horrid that Freud referred to Americans as monsters and never returned? Because nothing between the covers of this novel warrants so strong a reaction. It's just a failed Caleb Carr copycat.

Also posted my blog. ( )

The story starts with the narrator, a psychiatrist at Clark University,welcoming Sigmund Freud to New York City in 1909. Some interesting characters of historical interest within psychiatry and otherwise are brought into the story, including the mayor, McClellan and the fellow who murdered the architect, Stanley White.

The plot is convoluted with rather extraordinary weird behavior on the part of most involved. The relations between the Astors and the Vanderbilts was rather interesiing. ( )

An entertaining mystery set in early 20th century New York, where the hero attempts to solve a murder and an attempted murder with the help of an amnesiac debutante, a frustrated city coroner, an enterprising young policeman, Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud. Enjoyable. ( )

So so ( )

http://bogdanphd.blogspot.com/2008/01... ( )

In this blending of fact and fiction, Freud comes to America to deliver lectures, where he gets involved with a fictional murder and meets Dr. Stratham Younger (also fictional). Wealthy Nora Acton has survived a sadistic assault by a man who, only the night previously, inflicted the same wounds on another woman—who did not survive. Nora has lost her memory of the attack, and Younger attempts to psychoanalyze her to bring her memory back, while at the same time attempting to derail a plot to destroy Freud’s reputation in America.

I enjoyed it a lot, although it was disquieting. Everything worked out in the end. Nora’s motivations and traumas remain a little clouded, but that seems fitting—how well can one person really know another? Fact and fiction are blended well—Freud is not really a central character (which I would have found too much of a stretch), but adds interest to the story. I also found believable and interesting the struggles of some characters, particularly Younger, with Freud’s ideas, which can be distasteful and which we now know are not the whole story. Still, the characters for the most part accepted those ideas without the reader being forced to as well. The side characters, from the acerbic coroner Hugel to the investigating Detective Littleton, were also well-drawn. ( )

An interesting book, but it lacked some depth. I put this down to the author's (admirable) intention to remain true to the facts of Freud's visit to New York, but I felt that none of the characters, except perhaps Stratham Younger, truly came to life for me.

Many of the conversations were a little false as Rubenfeld sought to describe psychoanalytic theory. I have studied Freud and therefore found myself skipping over the theoretical discussions, hoping that a bit more action might follow.

The ending was a little disappointing, but the descriptions of New York at the turn of last century and New York society were fantastic. Definitely worth a read, but don't take it too seriously. ( )