Post by faskew on May 1, 2018 9:29:35 GMT -5
Finally got my library copy. Enjoying it much more than I did the TV series. For one thing, I'm interested in the late 19th century and the many details the author lists of New York and the US keep me entertained, even if there were no murders. Of course, quite a bit had to be cut to fit into even a miniseries on TV, so all those juicy details are only available in the novel.
There's an old saying among authors of historical fiction that you must resist the urge to stuff every tiny bit of your research into fiction. It just slows down the plot and bores the non-history fans. And I can see that problem with The Alienist. Except, for me, I enjoy those very details more than the story (since I already saw that on TV) and I don't mind long diversions away from the plot to discuss some obscure piece of history. Although I'm not sure why this book sold so well to a general audience. I suppose the vivid descriptions of disease, decadence, prostitutes, corruption, etc., were enough to keep the general reader slogging through the boring history.
If I had a time machine, I would definitely stay away from any large city of those days. The abundance of filth and poverty is depressing to read about, let alone to see in person. And even the wealthy had to endure a level of foulness and yuck that most of us would find intolerable today. Not that small towns or rural areas were much better when it came to sanitation and disease, but they had less of it concentrated into such small areas.
But, hey, if you think you wouldn't mind fleas and bedbugs in your hotel room, raw sewage in the streets, crowds who didn't bathe more often than once a week, if that, and so on, you're welcome to use my time machine to visit the big cities. LOL
There's an old saying among authors of historical fiction that you must resist the urge to stuff every tiny bit of your research into fiction. It just slows down the plot and bores the non-history fans. And I can see that problem with The Alienist. Except, for me, I enjoy those very details more than the story (since I already saw that on TV) and I don't mind long diversions away from the plot to discuss some obscure piece of history. Although I'm not sure why this book sold so well to a general audience. I suppose the vivid descriptions of disease, decadence, prostitutes, corruption, etc., were enough to keep the general reader slogging through the boring history.
If I had a time machine, I would definitely stay away from any large city of those days. The abundance of filth and poverty is depressing to read about, let alone to see in person. And even the wealthy had to endure a level of foulness and yuck that most of us would find intolerable today. Not that small towns or rural areas were much better when it came to sanitation and disease, but they had less of it concentrated into such small areas.
But, hey, if you think you wouldn't mind fleas and bedbugs in your hotel room, raw sewage in the streets, crowds who didn't bathe more often than once a week, if that, and so on, you're welcome to use my time machine to visit the big cities. LOL