“A spellbinding thriller” says the synopsis, mmm well I can’t be that generous. It features Sigmund Freud and the search for a diabolical killer in turn of the century New York. Sigmund Freud, along with his protégé 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 psychoanalysis of Nora, in the hopes of unravelling the mystery.
I sort of enjoyed it but didn’t really understand it! The author says something traumatic happened to Freud during his visit and afterwards he referred to Americans as savages and blames them for his lifelong ailments, many of which he had before his trip! I’m not sure what Freud and Jung were doing there at all, I think the author was showing off his knowledge of psychoanalysis theories but I found it boring. Younger talks a lot about his family life and his fascination with Hamlet, which was also boring. I didn’t understand the relevance of the letters threatening to ruin Freud’s reputation. I liked the way it was written and the history of turn of the century New York and the dynasties that ran it was interesting. I wouldn't say go out and buy it though.
I am not doing a lot of reading at the moment, apart from craft and cookery books. I am hoping that as we go into December I will be able to sit and relax with a good book until the onslaught of visitors begin.
ReplyDeleteHello mama, I belong to a book club so we have a book each month, also I'm trying to work through all my own books that have just accumulated! I too have other interests, it's difficult to fit it all in!
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