The Interpretation of Murder: A Novel

by Jed Rubenfeld

book data

1,414 ratings, 3.32 average rating, 339 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		11%
4		30%
3		39%
2		14%
1		3%

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published

September 7th 2006 by Henry Holt and Co. (first published 2006)

details

Hardcover, 384 pages

isbn

0805080988 (isbn13: 9780805080988)

description

It has been said that a mystery novel is "about something" and a literary tale is not. The Interpretation of Murder has legitimate claims t…more

[close] It has been said that a mystery novel is "about something" and a literary tale is not. The Interpretation of Murder has legitimate claims to both genres. It is most definitely about something, and also replete with allusions to and explications of Shakespeare, to the very beginnings of psychology, to the infighting between psychoanalytic giants--all written in a style that an author with literary aspirations might well envy.

In 1909, Drs. Freud and Jung visit Manhattan. They no sooner arrive when a young socialite is murdered, followed by another attempted murder, bearing the same characteristics. In the second case, the victim lives. She has lost her voice and cannot remember anything. The young doctor, Stratham Younger, who has invited Freud to speak at his University, soon involves Dr. Freud in the case. Freud, saying that Nora's case will require a time committment that he does not have, turns her over to Younger. The rudiments of Nora's case are based on Freud's famous Dora, complete with sexual perversions, convoluted twists and turns and downright lies.

That is just one of the myriad plot lines in the novel, all of which are intricate, interesting and plausible. All it takes for all of the incidents to be true is a great deal of bad will--and it is abundant here! There are politicians who are less than statesmen, city employees at work for themselves and not the city, doctors who will do anything to undermine Freud's theories, thereby saving the neurotics for themselves, and opportunists at every level of society, seeking psychological or material advantage. Carl Jung is portrayed by turns as secretive, mysterious, odd, and just plain nuts, while Freud remains a gentleman whose worst problem is his bladder.

Not the least interesting aspect of the book is all the turn-of-the-century New York lore: bridge building, great mansions, the Astor versus Vanderbilt dustup, immigrant involvement, fabulous entertaining, auto versus carriage. Despite the tangle of tales, debut author Jed Rubenfeld finishes it with writerly dexterity--and the reader is sorry to see it all end. --Valerie Ryan

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Sep 03, 2009

karen rated it:

(review of isbn 0312427050)

bookshelves: hamletian, littry-fiction, real-people-fake-stories, table

im pretty neutral about this book. it was a fine sortof historical mystery with all the requisite elements like red herrings and dubious intentions and misread signals and girls tied up and whipped, but... eh. and im torn, because it is a perennial table book, but i think i might have to regulate its inclusion from now on, because in my opinion, it is all right but no great shakes. maybe people who are really into freud would like it more than i. this is me being too early for class and writing ...more

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Mar 01, 2008

Laura rated it:

bookshelves: fiction, mysteries

Read in February, 2009

Sigmund Freud, along with his protege Carl Jung, arrives in New York for a series of lectures at Clark University in Massachusetts. A young woman is murdered, apparently by a serial killer. Another young woman, Nora Acton, is suffering from amnesia after another attack by the same criminal. Dr. Stratham Younger, a high society Freud acolyte, undertakes a psychoanalysis of Nora, in the hopes of unraveling the mystery.

I wanted to like The Interpretation of Murder. I really did. It had...more Sigmund Freud, along with his protege Carl Jung, arrives in New York for a series of lectures at Clark University in Massachusetts. A young woman is murdered, apparently by a serial killer. Another young woman, Nora Acton, is suffering from amnesia after another attack by the same criminal. Dr. Stratham Younger, a high society Freud acolyte, undertakes a psychoanalysis of Nora, in the hopes of unraveling the mystery.

I wanted to like The Interpretation of Murder. I really did. It had an intriguing premise: a murder mystery, set in 1909 New York City, with Freud, Jung, and Ferenczi as characters. (I realize this description is probably more or less congruent with some people's vision of Hell, but it's right up my alley.) But if there's anything worse than a mystery that isn't especially clever, it's a mystery that thinks it's clever when it isn't, and this mystery is nowhere near as clever as author Jed Rubenfeld thinks it is.

Rubenfeld has ambition, but unfortunately, doesn't have the writing chops to keep up with it. The reader forges ahead, puzzled, as Rubenfeld throws out approximately one zillion plot lines, none of which seems to have much to do with the other. Freud, Jung, and Ferenczi arrive and talk a lot about various psychoanalytic theories and analysands. Younger psychoanalyzes Nora (Hey! Doesn't Nora rhyme with "Dora"? My word, I think it does! What a coincidence) and talks a lot about his family life and his fascination with Hamlet, in more or less equal measure. We learn a lot about the history of turn of the century New York and the dynasties that ran it. Then a sinister series of anonymous letters threatens to ruin Freud's reputation. Harry Thaw, confined in an insane asylum in New Jersey after murdering architect Stanford White, receives mysterious visitors wearing signet rings. And so forth.

Unfortunately, Rubenfeld isn't a skillful enough novelist to craft these plot lines into something coherent, so the reader is given, well, a series of plot lines that eventually lurch to an end. (In fact, I'm still at a bit of a loss as to what Freud and Jung were doing there at all.) Add to this sorry mess a host of clunky dialog, points of view that shift clumsily (sometimes in the span of two paragraphs), and a lot of pedestrian writing, and you're left with nothing more than a run-of-the-mill mystery doing its best to masquerade as something far more sophisticated than it actually is.

I gave this novel two stars instead of one simply because the book's premise was enough to keep me turning the pages until the end (and also because Rubenfeld is obviously no fan of Jung, which makes him okay in my book).
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Aug 17, 2007

Coy rated it:

(review of isbn 0755331427)

Read in March, 2008

recommended to Coy by: Kenneth

When I sit down to what I hope will be a great meal, I look forward to the side dishes, but it's the main course that is central. Don't get me wrong, I love potatoes, but give me the steak! Interpretation of Murder is a side dish and not a potato side dish, more like peas or carrots or something.

Reading the author's notes at the end of the book gave me a better appreciation of the novel. I respect that it was well-researched, but to borrow from the same analogy, I like a little hi...more

Like this review? yes (4 people liked it)

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Dec 16, 2008

Aretha rated it:

(review of isbn 0755331427)

Read in November, 2007

Very disappointing...last time i listen to blimin' Richard and Judy!!!

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

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Jan 03, 2009

Anita rated it:

(review of isbn 0755331427)

Read in February, 2009

This novel is about a murder mystery of Elizabeth Riverford, a young socialite in the impressive Balmoral Hotel, Manhattan and the reputedly accurate recounting of a visit made by Dr Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung to New York in 1909 to speak at American Universities in an age when psychoanalysis is in it's infancy.

Although not directly involved in the murder, Dr Freud offers advice to the budding psychoanalyst, Dr Stratham Younger, as to how to treat one of the murderer's surviving vic...more This novel is about a murder mystery of Elizabeth Riverford, a young socialite in the impressive Balmoral Hotel, Manhattan and the reputedly accurate recounting of a visit made by Dr Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung to New York in 1909 to speak at American Universities in an age when psychoanalysis is in it's infancy.

Although not directly involved in the murder, Dr Freud offers advice to the budding psychoanalyst, Dr Stratham Younger, as to how to treat one of the murderer's surviving victims. The young lady, Nora Acton, has lost her voice and cannot remember the details of her attack, but her injuries are remarkably similar to the murder. Dr Younger finds himself becoming increasingly attracted to the lovely Nora, whose inner thoughts are darker than even Younger can sometimes cope with and involve sexual perversions, convoluted twists and turns and even lies.

The detective investigating the murder takes a leading role in the narrative too, which makes this story multi-dimensional and deals with both ends of society, including the union problems of sweatshop workers.

Mr Rubenfeld's account of what New York looked, smelled and felt like during the turn the the century when skyscrapers started to rise out of the busy streets was absolutely fascinating. Added to that the fact Dr Younger was also a nephew of Mamie Styvesant Fish and is invited to one of her socialite parties, gives us yet another dimension to this story which I found particularly compelling.
Added to the mix of characters are the wealthy industrialist who thinks he is completely beyond the law, together with the Mayor who is in his pocket, a well meaning but inadequate coroner and various city workers who are out for themselves and for whom the truth is a distant concept they have no aspiration for.

Carl Jung is portrayed as having serious personality order of his own which degenerates into downright insanity, but the amiable Dr Freud seems unaffected by his raw ambition and seems to want to protect the man. Freud himself also has a physiologically weak bladder, which I felt didn't add much to the story but I'm sure the author had a reason for it.

I found the descriptions of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge and the terrible conditions the workers lived, and died in fascinating. As well as the Caroline Astor/Mrs Vanderbilt feud, Gramercy Park and the houses of the wealthy it served, the onset of mechanical taxicabs in New York – green ones not yellow, was so atmospheric I could see it.
This story lots to offer to mystery lovers as well as devotees of old New York and the followers of Freud and Jung.

My only criticism of the story would be that the author pontificates at length on the meaning of Hamlet's 'To be or not to be' speech and his procrastination in killing his uncle and has complicated theories which I couldn't help feeling had no place in this story other than to pad out an already very long book – over 200,000 words.

I would heartily recommend it for all the reasons I stated earlier and felt my skimming through the 'Hamlet' parts didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book at all.
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Aug 31, 2007

Jill rated it:

bookshelves: book-club-picks

Read in September, 2007

recommends it for: Alienist lovers

First off, in my defense, I took such a long time to read this book for a reason. I only read at the gym. And lately, I have become rather, bouncy, while on the elliptical machine. When I'm bouncy, I can't read because I get seasick. So at first I'm doing ok on the machine, reading away, really into the book, and then suddenly, a bout of bounciness strikes, and I'm forced to close the book and put on my ipod. But tonight I persevered and pushed through said bounciness and kicked this book's ass!...more

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Oct 16, 2007

minnie rated it:

(review of isbn 0755331427)

bookshelves: fiction

Read in December, 2007

Is it possible to be totally gripped and bored rigid at the same time ? That’s how I was for most of this book, the writing style I found stilted at first but the murder plot kept me going. Ultimately this was a bit of a let down as the plot was so convoluted, all the loose ends were tied up ‘Columbo’ style at the end. The best character was detective Littlemore, he was the only one I had any feeling for, in fact Littlemore and Younger as a detective duo were great. This book is to Psyc...more

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Mar 11, 2009

Megan rated it:

(review of isbn 0755331427)

bookshelves: historical-fiction

Read in August, 2006

The premise of this historical first novel is that Sigmund Freud visited America in 1909 to deliver a famous series of lectures (all true). This was his only visit to America, and supposedly he did not form a favorable opinion of the country. The author imagines that while visiting, Freud and his party get involved in a murder investigation, using the still relatively young discipline of psychoanalysis to investigate the crime. Using actual historical figures in literature is a tricky business, ...more The premise of this historical first novel is that Sigmund Freud visited America in 1909 to deliver a famous series of lectures (all true). This was his only visit to America, and supposedly he did not form a favorable opinion of the country. The author imagines that while visiting, Freud and his party get involved in a murder investigation, using the still relatively young discipline of psychoanalysis to investigate the crime. Using actual historical figures in literature is a tricky business, especially when a great deal is known about them. The author wisely uses Freud sparingly, as an advisor to his protagonist, who is a young American psychoanalyst. As Freud's party (which includes his protege Carl Jung) arrives in New York, there is a sensational murder of a young socialist. Another woman was found alive, but with no memory of the attack. As the young psychologist begins to work with this woman, with the guidance of Freud, we get a glimpse of the working methods of early psychologists, including Freud's then very controversial ideas that all adult neuroses have their roots in inappropriate sexual feelings, i.e. his Oedipal Complex theory.

The books narration alternates between the first person narration of psychologist Stratham Younger, and the third person, which is a suppressions jarring technique. Suspects to the sadistic attacks pile up, most promisingly a viscous but wealthy business man who supposedly beats his wife and was obsessed with the victim. But there are far too many others, including even the mentally unbalanced Carl Jung who gets very strange treatment here. All of the suspects and misdirections that the author strews about are ultimately distracting. I was dodging red herrings like I was in the middle of a Seattle fish market! The period detail is good, especially in the authors description of the building of the Manhattan Bridge. There is also an interesting running sidebar about the psychology of Hamlet and the meaning of the "To be or not to be" soliloquy. Still, it could not make up for the lack of strong narration and the too convenient solution to the mystery. If a reader wants to read something like Carr's The Alienist, they would be better served by Anne Perry or Iain Pears, or better yet, re-reading The Alienist.(less)

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Feb 22, 2010

Anjali Managoli rated it:

(review of isbn 0755331427)

bookshelves: fiction, mystery, read-in-2010

Jed Rubenfield’s book borrows quite a few things from the famous non-fiction book The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud. To start with, the title is intentionally made to look like a spoof on the original book. The author and psychologist, Sigmund Freud is one of the characters in Rubenfield’s book. Several real characters like Carl Jung, Abraham Brill and George McClellan, Mayor of New York City appear in this fictional book.

To begin with, I liked the idea of creating a ...more Jed Rubenfield’s book borrows quite a few things from the famous non-fiction book The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud. To start with, the title is intentionally made to look like a spoof on the original book. The author and psychologist, Sigmund Freud is one of the characters in Rubenfield’s book. Several real characters like Carl Jung, Abraham Brill and George McClellan, Mayor of New York City appear in this fictional book.

To begin with, I liked the idea of creating a fictional story out of real-life incidents and characters. The author has a disclaimer that while some of his characters are real and some characters are fictional, the story itself is completely his imagination. Freud visited America only once in his lifetime and is said to have been disappointed with his visit. Rubenfield picked up this fact and weaved his story around it. Around the time when Freud visits America, a young woman is brutally murdered. The next day, another woman is almost murdered in the same way leading to speculations that a serial murderer is on the prowl. The second victim loses her voice and her memory of the incident and this results in engaging Sigmund Freud and our male protagonist Stratham Younger, both psycho-analysts to help the victim rediscover her voice and her memory so that she can identify her attacker. A detective and a coroner are assigned to resolve the case. While one thread about solving the case is going on, the book parallely talks about the protests and revolt against the rising fame of Freud and his teachings. Anti-Freud gang threatens Freud and his followers to abandon their visit and this adds to the mystery factor of the book. Rubenfield paints many characters in a way to make them as possible suspects and this piques the curiosity.

I could go on and on about the story since there are so many things going on about the book. The plot is brilliant. I liked the author’s idea of placing an imagined plot on real-life incidents and characters. The very fact that Freud is a character in the book increases the curiosity quotient of the book. The characters are pretty good. Younger, the main character, has enough layers to make him interesting. The detective, Jimmy Littlemore, adds some humor to the story and comes across as an intelligent and warm-hearted detective. The victim, the beautiful Nora Acton, is based on one of Freud’s patients.

The story moves pretty fast but gets complicated somewhere in the middle of the book when there are multiple threads running, all related in some way. It becomes tedious to remember the numerous names and their motives and their connection to the murder. The climax is good and fitting for a murder mystery novel. Many loose ends are left untied which thus because of which the book doesn’t give you a sense of satisfaction after reading it.

For anyone looking for a murder mystery, this is a must read. For anyone slightly interested in psychology, this book will whet your appetite slightly. If you are like me, pick up this book just because Sigmund Freud is in it.(less)

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Dec 16, 2009

Reith Jerevinan rated it:

(review of isbn 0755331427)

A beautiful black-haired Riverford girl was found dead in her apartment in Alabaster Wing. She was naked and tortured before killed. Her murderer was soon in the list of wanted people in New York City. But everything became spookier when another girl, an only daughter of Alabaster Wing’s owner’s best friend, was attacked and it suspected the same person. For that, the girl, Nora Acton, lost her voice and wasn’t able to talk as a witness in the tracing level. Dr. Stratham Younger was summon...more A beautiful black-haired Riverford girl was found dead in her apartment in Alabaster Wing. She was naked and tortured before killed. Her murderer was soon in the list of wanted people in New York City. But everything became spookier when another girl, an only daughter of Alabaster Wing’s owner’s best friend, was attacked and it suspected the same person. For that, the girl, Nora Acton, lost her voice and wasn’t able to talk as a witness in the tracing level. Dr. Stratham Younger was summoned to help Acton get her voice back and revitalized her mental health.

During this unsolved tragedy was still a huge mystery, the famous psychoanalysis father, Dr. Sigmund Freud, was in his visit to the States to get his honorary award in Clark University with his student, Carl Jung. Stratham Younger asked Freud’s help to analyze what exactly happen to Nora Acton. There, Freud encountered some dangerous incident without clear motives too.

Freud's upcoming book and also Shakespeare’s art became some of the puzzles in mystery that the detective Littlemore and the autopsy expert on Riverford’s murder got to finish, and vague analysis on Nora Acton’s personality made your vision as the reader to be more blurred about the ending. Meanwhile, Dr. Younger lost his objectivity as he fell in love with Nora Acton.

My Review: This is a book where you won’t get bored, no matter you’re seeing it too spooky of a murder. You will keep questioning about what actually happened. Each scenes you stepped in the book would only make you confused, so it would be harder for you to know the real killer. Many unexpected scenes that might astound you.

I love the feel of the 1901 era, the author brought up. The culture, the landscape, the places were described perfectly. Though it’s totally a fiction, Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung’s visit was real. The merge between the author’s pure fantasy and historical fact is just perfect and interesting. It totally can mess up your low history knowledge… and also can add up some little interesting fact on our history mind.(less)

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May 30, 2008

Lynn rated it:

(review of isbn 0755331427)

Read in May, 2008

recommends it for: Anyone interested in psychology

An artful construct, blending fact and fiction, as the novel is set against last-century New York, while the murders of the title are partly solved through the psychological ponderings of Freud, Jung, et al! The birth of psychological profiling in murder cases, perhaps.
The prose is at times slightly turgid in my view, despite the regular shifts of perspective relating to the protagonist, Younger, ie, from 1st to 3rd person, to keep the reader on their toes!

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Feb 21, 2010

Meghan Cooper rated it:

(review of isbn 0755331427)

Read in December, 2009

This book was difficult and slow to read. I liked the whole idea of the story, but I did't feel like I connected with any of the characters in the story. When the author started a new chapter and brought in a different character with it, I kept not even knowing who they were talking about. I had to go back and refresh my memory of who was who. To be honest the characters descriptions were really bad. The author did his best to add tension to the whole book but half the time this tension just wou...more

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Dec 05, 2007

Angela Knobel rated it:

This probably should get about 2 and a half stars. More than 2, because it did keep my interest. Less than three, because next to the Alienist it's a bit of a disappointment. The plot doesn't hang together like it does in the Alienist, the characters aren't as interesting, and it's too easy to figure out who did it. On the other hand, I did enjoy it, and it is worth the read.

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Jan 24, 2008

Ceci rated it:

(review of isbn 0755331427)

Read in January, 2008

recommended to Ceci by: it was a present from Captain GG & Johnny
recommends it for: all who love historical mysteries and great storytelling

This is one of the best books I've ever read, a really enchanting, complex, thrilling and intelligent novel which describes New York in 1909 in a most vivid detail... It's also one of the most cleverly plotted murder mysteries I've ever encountered. I love it! This is one of the wonderful pressie books from Cornwall. Thank you Captain GG and Johnny!!

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Apr 04, 2008

Sandrine rated it:

(review of isbn 0755331427)

Read in March, 2008

If you are curious about the world of psychotherapy and its orgins / the response it received from the world then pick up this book. Although it is not very factually correct it does give a wonderful representation of the era.

Also contains an interesting interpretation of Shakespeare's Hamlet.

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Jan 14, 2010

Jeannie Mancini rated it:

(review of isbn 0755331427)

Read in January, 2010

Psychological Killer Thriller

Dr. Stratham Younger, a young physician and budding new psychoanalyst waits on the New York shores as the steamship George Washington pulls into the Manhattan dock in 1909. Disembarking down the gangplank are famed psychiatrists Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud, arriving to the glittering Victorian city for a series of speeches they will be presenting to universities in Massachusetts.

The day after they arrive, murder and mayhem strike deadly as t...more Psychological Killer Thriller

Dr. Stratham Younger, a young physician and budding new psychoanalyst waits on the New York shores as the steamship George Washington pulls into the Manhattan dock in 1909. Disembarking down the gangplank are famed psychiatrists Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud, arriving to the glittering Victorian city for a series of speeches they will be presenting to universities in Massachusetts.

The day after they arrive, murder and mayhem strike deadly as two society girls are attacked. Both strangled with silk ties, whipped, and lacerated with knife cuts. One dead, the other rescued at the last minute but left severely traumatized unable to speak, not capable of informing the police who the perpetrator was, due to sudden post-traumatic amnesia. As Younger is called in to assist the mayor, coroner, and local police detectives as consulting physician, he enlists the assistance of Freud and Jung as they are certain their therapeutic skills of psychoanalysis can help the girl recall what happened and eventually reveal the murderer’s identity.

Surrounded with the engaging history of New York’s Gilded Age, and back grounded with famous members of Manhattan’s elite such as the Astors, Vanderbilts, Sir William Randolph Hearst, and Mayor George McClellan, The Interpretation of Murder has an intense diabolical and complex plot any reader will find hard to put down. Action, humor, romance, murderous chills and thrills, sexual tension, incest, political espionage, and an early introduction to the world of psychiatry which at the turn of the century was rather thought as quackery, this suspenseful debut has all it takes to keep the pages flying.

The county coroner is a hilarious Columbo like sleuth himself with his own ideas and methods of solving this heinous crime, and a rather green-around-the ears young detective tries his hand at the art of deduction as he chases around the streets of New York, sloshes through the rat filled wharves and alleyways, secretly slips into penthouse suites and crawls into Chinatown’s opium dens, all in the line of duty to successfully crack his first case. Freud and Jung are at each other’s throats literally analyzing each other’s motives instead of helping the case, and our young doctor Younger falls hopelessly in love with the beautiful surviving young woman despite everyone’s warning that she might be delusional and ready for Bedlam. As Rubenfeld deftly whisks you around town and pushes and pulls you hither and yon leaving your head spinning as to who the murderer could be, you will be left out of breath, on the edge of your seat, and briskly racing to the finish line as all the players act out a sensational game of cat and mouse from introduction to conclusion. I found the author’s writing very polished, his characters delightful, and the plot very inventive and accomplished. Two thumbs up for this shocking story heaped with scandal and mischief, this is a Victorian era mystery at it’s very best!
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Jun 09, 2008

Beth rated it:

(review of isbn 0755331427)

Read in June, 2008

I did enjoy this story. It reminded me of the book we read about Chicago. In the middle it got a little drawn out as to the possibilities of the murderer, but in the end the authornwraped it all up neatly.

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Jul 18, 2008

Sudhir rated it:

(review of isbn 0755331427)

The most witty composition I have read so far. A stunning story that keeps you on your toes till the very end. And if thats not enough, the end that changes the world upside down...

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Dec 09, 2009

Katherine rated it:

(review of isbn 0755331427)

Read in December, 2009

I was very curious about this book. I mean, a murder mystery involving Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung? Now that’s an interesting premise. Unfortunately, the book did not live up to its promise. It was cheesy and contrived and Rubenfeld’s attempt to recapture the writing style of the time was only sporadically effective.

For the most part it was just too much: too many characters, too many sub plots, too many plot twists and waaaaaay too much analysis of Hamlet. Yes, I said analysis...more

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Jun 12, 2009

Momo rated it:

(review of isbn 9791238308)

bookshelves: detective, psikologi, punya, suspense, thriller-mistery

Huaaaaa nemu juga ini buku di sini :D :D

sudah lama banget aku baca buku ini, ceritanya baguuuuusssss, di dalamnya ada Sigmund Freud dan Jung sebagai tokohnya :)

settingnya pas Freud dan Jung mengunjungi Amerika, lalu mereka dipertemukan oleh tokoh (lupa namanya), yang sednag menangani kasus pembunuhan...

pelakunya gak di sangka2 :D :D
cuma bacanya lamaaaaaa banget, kebanyakan istilah-istilah dan penjelasan2 Freud dan Jung, sampe butek otak aku :P :P

...more