In 1909, Sigmund Freud paid his only visit to the U.S. and returned to his native Vienna convinced that Americans were "savages." What happened during his stay here to make him feel this way? This is at the heart of "The Interpretation of Murder," the debut work of fiction by Jed Rubenfeld.
Shortly after Freud and real-life protege Carl Jung arrive in New York, two wealthy, beautiful women are brutally assaulted in similar acts of passion mixed with rage. One dies, and the other, a 17-year-old heiress named Nora Acton (probably based on Freud's famous patient Dora), survives but cannot remember the details of the attack. Under Freud's aegis, Stratham Younger, a handsome, young alienist (what early psychiatrists were called), tries to resuscitate Nora's memory. While Freud admittedly plays only a background role, he does get to express his ideas, especially his staunchly held beliefs about sexual repression and the Oedipal Complex. At the same time that Dr. Younger tries to break through Miss Acton's hysterical paralysis, a savvy junior police inspector and the local coroner try to track down the sadistic killer. Clues lead them into the rarifed drawing rooms and political circles of the superrich and powerful. | ||
Plot & Themes Tone of story - depressing/sad How difficult to spot villain? - Challenging Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 30% Murder of certain profession? Misc. Murder Plotlets - Big focus on autopsies Kind of investigator Any non-mystery subplot? descript. of violence and chases - 10 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Amnesia story? Yes Is Romance a MAJOR (25%+) part of story? Yes Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: Motive of antagonist - jealousy The antagonists are: - Drug kingpins How sensitive is this character? Setting United States Yes The US: - Northeast Water? Yes Water: - drowning City? Yes City: - New York - wealthy Misc setting - fancy mansion Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - very gorey references to deaths/dead bodies and torture Explicit sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - descript of kissing - touching of anatomy - actual description of sex - rape (yeech!) Unusual forms of death - asphyxiation Unusual form of death? Yes Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog |