It is a historical fact that in 1909 Sigmund Freud paid his only visit to the U.S., after which he labeled Americans as “savages.” In Jed Rubenfeld’s debut novel,
The Interpretation of Murder, Freud’s arrival in New York coincides with a rash of attacks against beautiful young socialites. Dr. Stratham Younger, a Freud devotee, is asked to help the second victim, Nora Acton, regain her memory. He turns to his teacher for help in treating his reluctant patient and, in turn, must aid his mentor by allaying the cloud of suspicion hovering around Freud.
The Interpretation of Murder is based around the real-life mystery surrounding Freud's visit to America in 1909. In an interview with
BookReporter.com, Rubenfeld says he was inspire to use, as the jumping off point for his novel, a basic question which has puzzled Freud's biographers for a long time: “Could something have happened to Freud during his week in Manhattan, something we still don't know about, some event that could account for his severe antipathy to America?” In his detailed author’s note, Rubenfeld carefully delineates the line between his fiction and historical fact.
Rubenfeld portrays a New York City well known to readers of Edith Wharton and Henry James’ work. Dr. Stratham Younger and many of the other characters inhabit the world of the beau monde, the Vanderbilts and the Astors. These glittering figures wander carelessly through the events portrayed with the same cold disdain portrayed so cleverly in The House of Mirth. By invoking the spectre of Wharton and James’ writing styles, Rubenfeld effortlessly exposes the hollowness filling the houses and settings his killer treads.
This world of excess is in sharp contrast with corruption found within the New York police department and government. In these early days of investigation, crime scene investigation is almost non-existent and the wealthy can easily circumvent procedure. What is particularly fascinating in
The Interpretation of Murder is the commentary he provides on American society in the early 1900s. The resistance to Freud’s theories is expounded upon at great length and the developing rift between Freud and Jung gradually exposed.
Many of the theories expressed are laughable viewed from a century later; others however, are extremely repugnant. Many Americans felt that Freud was promoting sexual license and believe his theories would lead to all sorts of social ills. At a dinner party attended by Freud, one of the guests suggested that, as a man of science, Freud should be concerned with the dangers of sexual emancipation such as the problems of overpopulation. His proposal is that every immigrant without means should be sterilized so that American society “are not required to bear the charge of their unfit offspring, who end up as beggars and thieves” although the guest is willing to “make an exception, of course, for those who can pass an intelligence test.”
Early in
The Interpretation of Murder, Dr. Younger explains one of his most exciting theories - man’s moments of revolutionary genius have all happened at the turn of a century, specifically in the first decade of a century. Rubenfeld has brought this dynamic period vividly to life and proposed a fascinating solution to the mystery of Freud’s visit to and the rise of psychoanalysis in America.
Read the review at
Curled Up with a Good Book.
ISBN10: 0805080988
ISBN13: 9780805080988
Hardcover
384 Pages
Publisher: Henry Holt
Publication Date: September 7, 2006
tags: books book reviews Jed Rubenfeld mystery
Europa Editions is one of my favourite small press publishers. The books they publish offer a window into worlds I don't normally view and they certainly cause me to think about new ideas.
Collecting together more than 200 color knitting patterns from the pages of Vogue® Knitting magazine, Color Knitting is the third volume in the Vogue® Knitting Stitchionary series. Calling these volumes the “ultimate stitch dictionary,” the editors of Vogue® Knitting magazine have selected a range of designs sure to challenge and inspire knitters of all skill levels. For each pattern, a large sample swatch is shown; some in quite unusual color combinations.
It is a historical fact that in 1909 Sigmund Freud paid his only visit to the U.S., after which he labeled Americans as “savages.” In Jed Rubenfeld’s debut novel, The Interpretation of Murder, Freud’s arrival in New York coincides with a rash of attacks against beautiful young socialites. Dr. Stratham Younger, a Freud devotee, is asked to help the second victim, Nora Acton, regain her memory. He turns to his teacher for help in treating his reluctant patient and, in turn, must aid his mentor by allaying the cloud of suspicion hovering around Freud.
When I first heard about The Intellectual Devotional: Revive Your Mind, Complete Your Education and Roam Confidently with the Cultured Class by David S. Kidder & Noah D. Oppenheim I have to admit to being skeptical. I relate the word "devotions" to its ecclesiastical meaning of "religious observance or worship, religious texts" and was having difficulty with the idea of daily lessons/readings of an intellectual nature. 
“…The Museum of Kitschy Stitches, a collection of the most groan-inspiring crimes against hand-crafted fashion ever to assault the senses.”
In The Museum of Kitschy Stitches (the book), McYarnpants has selected the best of the worst and added her own juicy descriptions to the devastating fashion choices. In her preface to the first chapter "Hoodwinked: Never Trust a Homemade Hat", McYarnpants advises: “Choose carefully, for in the turbulent waters of fashion, the fish stinks from the head down.”
This is perfect coffee table reading material, a great conversation starter and the perfect cautionary tale for when good knitters go bad. As Stitchy McYarnpants says: “Remember, only use your knitting powers for good.” An important lesson for us all!
Quintessential New England sweater patterns fill The Northampton Wools Knitting Book: the Shop Patterns by Linda A. Daniels. These thirty-four original patterns are customer favourites designed by Daniels during her two and a half decades of running Northampton Wools. Also included are several designs created for Charlize Theron to wear in the movie, The Cider House Rules.
If you're looking for something different for gifts, you should visit Selsi Sea Rocks. Celebrating everything salty, this unique sea salt bar offers truly flavourful gift ideas. Owner Andrea Brockie used to have an outdoor stall at the St. Lawrence Market but decided to move to a retail location to expand her range of products. 
Making his first appearance, my four-hour-old nephew - Matthew Timothy. Weighing in at 7 pounds, 14 oz. and 20 inches long, Matthew has brown hair with curls.
Booklist describes Stephanie Rowe’s paranormal romances as “blissfully bizarre” and this reviewer must concur. Not having read Date Me Baby, One More Time, I was unsure what to expect in the second volume of the Goblet of Eternal Youth Series, Must Love Dragons. The plot picks up at the end of Date Me Baby, One More Time and continues the development of the love affair between Theresa Nichols (dragon and interim Guardian of the Goblet) and Zeke Siccardi (ex-dragon-slayer turned PI).
Victoria Cartwright, unlike her friends Melody Seabright (The Kitchen Witch) and Kira Fitzgerald (My Favorite Witch), is convinced she doesn’t have a magical bone in her body despite her supposed magical heritage. Upon the death of her beloved grandmother, Vickie receives a key with a cryptic tag “Unlock the wardrobe with the magic inside you and meet your destiny.” According to family legend, her ancestor Lili Lockhart left the key to her female descendants a century previously and only the daughter who inherited her magical gifts will be able to open the wardrobe and complete her spell. When she opens the wardrobe and finds a carousel unicorn, Vickie is flabbergasted.
For many years Ada Moyles delighted quilters with her regular column “Views from the Attic” in Quilt World. Now her stories are available to delight a larger audience in her new book Crazy About Quilting: Confessions of an Average Quilter.
In Remainder, our narrator is a young Englishman traumatised by an accident which, while destroying his memory, has left him a very wealthy man. All he knows is something fell out of the sky and hit him, and someone very wealthy is willing to pay a lot of money to guarantee his silence about the event.
From CBC.ca:
