My Thoughts on the Novel, The Alienist…

This was the third time I have read this book, and I loved it every time.

The most prominent concept I want to discuss about The Alienist is its readability. Caleb Carr has done a fantastic job of making long, somewhat unwieldy sentences enjoyable and easy to ingest. How is it that I can read a book like this, with its attention to historical detail, and, especially, its narrative voice in the style of the time period, as well, and be absolutely engaged? At the same time, other novels—let’s say, a Henry James novel—drag and drag and drag for me?

Carr had a third novel as well as a prequel in the works before he died in 2024. If only one of his contemporaries would pick up the mantle and keep the series going. I’m positive that a skilled author can replicate the style and the spirit of Carr. Other writers have done so for deceased authors before

Narrative voice has much to do with my sustained interest in a novel. Anything written in the hardboiled detective style, I eat right up. The quirky, almost absurd narrative voice within the Tom Robbins novels, I also eat right up. Anything from the Brontë sisters? Not so much. I’d love to be able to explain it, but at this time, I cannot. Perhaps it’s simply a guy thing.

The other noteworthy aspect of this novel is the novelty of the investigation techniques used at the turn of the 20th Century; techniques we take for granted today. Like dactylography (fingerprinting), anthropometry (the use of height, weight, and body type to narrow down suspects), and psychological profiling.

The characters are well-written and dynamic, and with enough emotional punch that we, as readers, feel the losses as they do. This novel also works well as a historical novel; Carr was an NYC historian after all. And, of course, it totally works as a police procedural.

I recommend this novel to any fan of police procedurals, historical novels, and character-driven stories.