The Interpretation Of Murder (2006)

The Interpretation Of Murder

by Jed Rubenfeld

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Genre : Thriller, Psycho-analysis

Author : Jed Rubenfeld

Published in : 2006

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Overall : 8.5/10

Prose : 8.0/10

Characters : 9.5/10

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The Interpretation Of Murder has everything that I demand from a crime thriller. The narrative is very fluid and the description of New York at the turn of the century (1909) is simply riveting. For a debut novel, this is of a very high standard.

The author, who is the Robert R. Slaughter Professor of Law at Yale Law School, obviously has an eye for detail. He is able to describe the transformation of New York, and by some extension, America, with great accuracy, without over-powering the plot.

The book is centered around the famous Sigmund Freud's visit to America and the ramifications of the same on the psychoanalyst's life. Whilst a major part of the book deals with the story of Freud's American disciple Stratham Younger and their concentrated efforts to expose a sadistic killer on the loose, it also throws light on the dormant animosity between Carl Jung and Freud, which explodes towards the end of the book.

The characters are beautifully drawn out. Miss Nora Acton, the victim, and Younger, the doctor, who is assigned to help recover her memory after the gruesome attack on her life, have some incredible chemistry between them. Jimmy Littlemore, the outlaw detective of the NYPD, is the unsung hero. His devil-may-care attitude and caustic honesty is, at times, a refreshing change from the multi-layered meaning of things thrown at the readers by Freud's entourage. 

It goes without saying how well the author has sketched out Freud's persona; for anyone who knows anything about him or psycho-analysis, this novel will be a relishing experience.

Younger's apprehension of Freud's advocation of the Oedipus Complex and his desire to solve the brain-twister from Shakespeare's Hamlet - "To be, or not to be, that is the question:" without employing Freud's theory, adds an extra dimension to the book.

Despite the rumours floating around, this book is definitely not the best in its genre. I'll admit that. But, in case of pyscho-thrillers, only few can make the cut.

This is one of those.

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Jed Rubenfeld