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The Interpretation of Murder | 
 enlarge | Author: Jed Rubenfeld
Publisher: Headline Review, London
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy Used: £0.01
You Save: £7.98 (100%)
New (57) Used (544) Collectible (4) from £0.01
Rating:  181 reviews
Sales Rank: 1370
Media: Paperback
Pages: 533
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 1.4
ISBN: 0755331427
EAN: 9780755331420
ASIN: 0755331427
Publication Date: January 15, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: spine bent a little through reading
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
Experienced readers of crime and thrillers tend to stifle a yawn these days when they encounter a mountain of hype about a new book or author. But the fevered word of mouth that has been generated by Jed Rubenfeld's The Interpretation of Murder is, for once, justified. This is a remarkably ambitious book, taking on a powerful suspenseful narrative, assiduously researched historical detail and a brilliant evocation of time and character. It's not surprising that the book has already been sold in 20 different countries, and is already something of an international publishing phenomenon. The secret, of course, is in plotting, and few carry this off as adroitly as the author does here. But there is some wonderful historical detail here also, and a conjuring up of real-life characters that is very intelligently done.Despite the outward success of his visit to the USA, Sigmund Freud always spoke as if some trauma had befallen him there. He blamed the country for physical ailments that afflicted him long before his visit. Freud's biographers have been bemused by his reaction, wondering whether some terrible unknown event might have happened in America that could explain this. The Interpretation of Murder is strikingly written literary thriller constructed around Freud's American visit. An attractive young debutante is discovered bound, whipped and strangled in a luxurious New York apartment and another society beauty narrowly escapes the same fate. But nothing about the attacks--or the victims--is as it seems.
--Barry Forshaw
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| Customer Reviews: Read 176 more reviews...
 Confusing July 11, 2008
I chosen this book becasue I like history thrillers and quite honestly I have had high expectations. But I have been let down. Author had couple of different ideas and unfortunately for a reader he tried to put all of them in one book. Freud/ NY society/ detective story/ hamlet - those lines do not always go together, quite oddly stand out from each other instead of complementing each other and help to draw a background for the main story - and thats another question - which story author had in mind as a main one???
Overall, good read, but hasn't kept me wanting for more or wanting to stay up all night to finish it.
Two "Stories in One Book July 3, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
"Interpretation of Murder" is two stories in one. It is firstly a detective story set in New York. While New York at the turn of the century is lavishly described, the characters are one-dimensional - it's hard to care about them. The murderer is identified as the chief suspect quite early in the proceedings, meaning there is no element of surprise or suspense.
The second story looks at psycho-analysis and the relationship between Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. This is obviously based on extensive research and is more interesting than the detective story.
The two narratives don't necessarily complement each other. Freud is at best a detached commentator on the events in the detective story.
I can't see any reason to buy this book. There are much more gripping detective stories and although the description of psycho-analysis in the book is interesting, you could again do better with a standard biography of Freud of Jung.
Good story, poorly told June 19, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I cannot fault the originality of the storyline but the prose is in turns ponderous, mechanical and amateurish. It feels like the author is suffering from multiple personality disorder as he writes the story. I was almost ready to abandon the book two-thirds through and find something better to do with my time but I perservered until the end. Characterisation is too weak, the plot too labarynthine and the outcome requires too much explanation to hang all the events together. Try 'The Alienist' by Caleb Carr for a much better read in a similar vein.
Very clever but no soul June 10, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is not a bad book but came across as too calculating. I felt it must have had many minor rewrites to maintain the murder mystery in parallel with the clever psychology and detailed facts. Consequently I lost interest in these related threads and just wanted to get to the end of the mystery (which is far fetched and ultimately a disappointing rush). Sorry but...
 Ingenious, well-written, characterful crime fiction... June 9, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This really is a great book. Take no notice of the reviews that claim it is badly written. On the contrary, the writing is taut, carefully constructed, lucid, fast moving with profound and insightful dialogue. The characterisation is excellent. The book is populated by wonderful characters - the fiendishly evil, manipulative, duplicitous, ingenius, psychotic, corrupt, insane, perverted and then occasionally honest, true-hearted and even almost innocent. The context is extremely well researched, it brings to life a New York in the early part of twentieth century as Freud and Jung embark in 1909. The city is buzzing. You can almost smell the docks, the motor cars, mellee of migrant conversations, horse drawn carriages, a city in transformation, everything under construction, a time of infinite opportunity and irreversible social change. The old world social order is giving way to a monied meritocracy, but will morality survive in this new world order?
The book is very clever, extremely well conceived. The murder has a fiendish twist. The new science of psychoanalysis plays a key role in the interpretation of events as the psychologist Dr Younger and the police detective Littlemore combine their disciplines to uncover and expose an evil matrix of greed, violence and perversion.
If you like a good novel with powerful dialogue and deep characterisation that doubles up as an historical crime thriller you'll enjoy this one.
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