The Biblio Blogazine

The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld (2006)
Fiction, 464 pages
Picador USA, Trade paperback (2007)

Read for the To Be Read Challenge and the 888 Challenge

Preface of the book according to the back cover:

In the summer of 1909, Sigmund Freud arrived by steamship in New York Harbor or a short visit to America. Though he would live another thirty years, he would never return to this country. Little is known about the week he spent in Manhattan, and Freud’s biographers have long speculated as to why, in his later years, he referred to Americans as “savages” and “criminals.”

Author’s quote regarding writing a historical novel of this kind:

The main thing is that readers of historical novels nowadays aren’t content merely to be entertained by a good, inventive story. They want to be educated too. In a way that’s a strange combination, and it creates a tricky task for the author, who has to simultaneously write fact and fiction. On the one hand, the facts can’t get in the way of the fiction; on the other, the fiction can’t lie about the facts. My solution as in part to write an Author’s Note, explaining the main lines of division between reality and imagination…

Of course there is much more to this than what I have provided above, regarding the premise of the book and his thoughts on this genre. However, none of it was enough to keep me interested in this novel. Now, I do agree with his sentiment that readers wish to have a good story that interweaves facts in away that also educates. But I do not feel he accomplished this goal – or at least did it so seamlessly that I felt compelled to finish the book. I have to ask myself, if he had done it in such a way, would that lengthy Author’s Note at the end of the book been necessary to “explain the main lines of division between reality and imagination”?

You know, I think I prefer to be entertained in a way that if I really wanted to discover where reality and imagination parted ways, I would Google my way around the ‘net, or better yet hit my local library in order to better inform myself about the actual facts surrounding the setting and theme of the novel. But that is just me. Perhaps it’s that a lot of people don’t have the time to go traipsing around, wasting time in such a manner. They want it all laid out in front of them. That’s fine. I’m just not that person.

After reading a book like Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, I have a comparison to what I feel a historical novel should be – or do, to entertain and educate. Rubenfeld is not a bad writer. And the research done to ensure accuracy was phenomenal. His book simply did not provide the kind of story-telling I like when weaving fact and fiction together.

My main issue was with the plot and sub-plots. Also, there were shifting points of view during the book that was handled well, but not quite well enough. Other issues I had involved thinking that Freud would be the one handling the case and solving the mystery. He was not. Which would have been fine if the author had created and developed the narrator into someone I was interested in and who, in turn, kept me interested in the story. Neither occurred.

The tone and language used was also a problem for me. The author explained why he used the tone he did in an interview in the back of the book, but it was of no matter to me. I didn’t care for it. If he had used the word erudite or derivatives thereof when describing Freud one more time, I…I…digress. (He probably only used it two or three times, but there were other words like “repair” – no not that kind of repair – that he would use more than once and I don’t know why, it got to me.)

I did skip to the end of the book just to see how it all turns out. Wow. I had to re-read it several times. I guess if I had read the whole thing it would have made more sense, or at least I hope it would. But I’m not. I have several other books I’ve read or started since then, and I am enjoying them so much I really cannot see picking this one back up and literally forcing myself to finish it. I simply can’t.

For this reason this novel will be the first to receive a 1 Star rating. *Sigh* I knew this would happen someday, but it kind of saddens me that I actually had to give this rating. But as readers, we have these options, and we have our opinions. Thank you for listening to mine.

Until the next review…Happy Reading!

A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley (1991)
Fiction, 384 pages
First Anchor Books Edition (2003)
A division of Random House, Inc.
1992 Pulitzer Prize Winner

Read for: The Pulitzer Project and the 888 Challenge

A successful Iowa farmer decides to divide his farm between his three daughters. When the youngest objects, she is cut out of his will. This sets off a chain of events that brings dark truths to light and explodes long-suppressed emotions. An ambitious reimagining of Shakespeare’ s King Lear cast upon a typical American community in the late twentieth century, A Thousand Acres takes on themes of truth, justice, love, and pride, and reveals the beautiful yet treacherous topography of humanity. – Copy from back flap

Jane Smiley writes a contemporary novel with many similarities to Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of King Lear. Not only will the plot details be familiar, but also the major themes as well as the main characters. What makes this story contemporary, is that it is told through the eyes of Ginny (Goneril). Considering the strong patriarchal theme of the play, this retelling from a female point of view offers to challenge those familiar with Shakespeare’s tragedy. It is almost as if you are getting to hear the other side of the story; one that would seemingly change the dynamics completely.

However, when reading this book, I became aware that when it comes to power, manipulation, generational conflict, obsession, and madness, gender really is not the determining factor nor are the ramifications significantly different than if this were as male dominated as the play.

Conflict in any style, by any means, has its own ‘life’. It feeds upon hate, and thrives by the inability of those involved to forgive. As noted by Ginny:

We’ve always known families…that live together for years without speaking, for whom a historic dispute over land or money burns so hot that it engulfs every other subject, every other point of relationship or affection.

An aging father’s decision sets into motion a series of events that ultimately cost lives and destroys relationships. This is the similarity the novel has with the play. What differs is how it is told, and who dies, although I would mention that there are different types of death; spiritual and physical. Thus the correlation between the two becomes even more apparent.

I must admit I did not read every page of this book. However, I have never really gotten through all of King Lear either. The subject matter is dark, depressing, and at times frustrating. Smiley does well in updating and expounding upon Shakespeare’s tragedy. This was not an easy book to read, and I could not do it in one sitting as I have with others. In addition, I am guilty of ‘flipping’ through and speed-reading many passages.

Although deserving of a Pulitzer, I am only going to give it a 3 Star rating as I did put it down and often. But I always returned and did my best to muddle through. Any difficulty I had in dealing with the subject matter was my own, and in no way reflects upon Smiley’s skill as an author.