THE ALIENIST

by Caleb Carr

MINI REVIEW

In the March 2020 L & L Review, I mentioned that my husband Rufus and I had decided to read a novel together out loud to add a different dimension to our quarantine lives.  As promised, I’d like to share my feelings about the experience.   

As our first book, we decided to read The Alienist by Caleb Carr, a whodunit set in New York City at the end of the 19th century when both psychological analyses of criminals and forensics were in their infancy.  The book is almost 500 pages long and we read two chapters per evening (during our cocktail hour), each of us reading one chapter.  In total it took almost three weeks to complete the book.  But I can unequivocally state that it was a wonderful, entertaining, totally positive experience.  Not only could we enjoy the time we were actually reading together, but we found ourselves at odd times during the day bringing up characters, discussing plot points and exchanging thoughts about who actually “done it.”

After finishing The Alienist, we decided to try a collection of short stories.  We’re now making our way through a Bantam Classics edition of 50 Great Short Stories.  Although reading short stories feels very different from reading a novel, the experience is equally pleasant.  We read aloud two short stories per evening, each reading one.  Some of them we’ve loved – “The Saint” by V.S. Pritchett and “The Shot” by Alexander Poushkin. Others we’ve found torturous -- Henry James’ “Brooksmith” and Rudyard Kipling’s “The Courting of Dinah Shadd.” But we love talking about them together after finishing them and trying to figure out why they appealed or did not.

My message to you, L & L readers, is it’s the experience of reading out loud together  that is so enjoyable. Try it and let me know what you think!  (Liz)