Define Regarding Books Compulsion
| Title | : | Compulsion |
| Author | : | Meyer Levin |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 480 pages |
| Published | : | April 14th 2015 by Fig Tree Books (first published June 1956) |
| Categories | : | Crime. True Crime. Fiction. Mystery. Historical. Historical Fiction |
Meyer Levin
Paperback | Pages: 480 pages Rating: 4.1 | 776 Users | 117 Reviews
Description Supposing Books Compulsion
Judd Steiner and Artie Straus have it all: wealth, intelligence, and the world at their feet as part of the elite, upper-crust Jewish community of 1920s Chicago. Artie is handsome, athletic, and popular, but he possesses a hidden, powerful sadistic streak and a desire to dominate. Judd is a weedy introvert, a genius who longs for a companion whom he can idolize and worship. Obsessed with Nietzsche’s idea of the superhuman, both boys decide to prove that they are above the laws of man by arbitrarily picking and murdering a Jewish boy in their neighborhood.This new edition of Meyer Levin's classic literary thriller Compulsion reintroduces the fictionalized case of Leopold and Loeb – once considered the "crime of the century" – to a new generation. This incisive psychological portrait of two young murderers seized the imagination of an era and is generally recognized as paving the way for the first non-fiction novel. Compulsion forces us to ask what drives some further into darkness, and some to seek redemption.
Heartbreaking as it is gripping, Compulsion is written with a tense and penetrating force that led the Los Angeles Times to call Levin, “the most significant Jewish writer of his times.”
Identify Books To Compulsion
| Original Title: | Compulsion |
| ISBN: | 1941493025 (ISBN13: 9781941493021) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Setting: | Chicago, Illinois,1925(United States) |
Rating Regarding Books Compulsion
Ratings: 4.1 From 776 Users | 117 ReviewsCriticize Regarding Books Compulsion
Two eighteen year-old boys, Judd Steiner and Artie Strauss, are both brilliant, having graduated from the University of Chicago already. They are the sons of millionaires and live a life of luxury as neighbors in a wealthy section of Chicago. Artie is one of the most popular boys on campus and has a reputation with the girls. Many see his relationship with Judd as one of pity for the small, weird boy who no one else likes.When the young son of another neighbor, also a millionaire, is foundI received a free copy of "Compulsion" as a Goodreads giveway, at the time I thought it sounded quite interesting. I had never heard of this book before although it was published in the 50's. As much as this book is dark and twisted, it is also compelling and fascinating. Extremely well written. This is one of those book which I literally could not put down, which is pretty rare these days. The only criticism I have would be the last 50 pages or so were slow, Other than that, I highly recommend
This novel is rigorous and striking.Rigorous because it is so well-detailed, written ten years before In Cold Blood, in a true journalistic style. Philosophical references, to Nietzsche and Freud, are omnipresent and incite the reader to put into perspective characters' thoughts and actions.What was particularly striking in this writing, and differs from Truman Capote's work, is that the author knew the criminals before their crime and see how he allowed himself to invent different protagonists'
A fictional retelling of the Leopold and Loeb murders, Compulsion is definitely an interesting look into the pov of the time when it was written. I have to admit, I was prepared for the homophobia, and was expecting the characters' relationship to be seen as a mental illness, and explained through quasi-Freudian ideas that don't work at all, but the misogyny was possibly even worse. The murderers unsurprisingly have a lot of issues with women, but unfortunately the women in the book seem there
Won this from Firstreads..I was really excited when I found out I won this one, as I've wanted to read it for quite a while. I think that fact may have contributed to my feeling quite let down at first. I couldn't get into it, took a really long time to get through the first 100 pages. After that it picked up, and met my expectations. Definitely recommended for anyone interested in the Leopold/Loeb case.
Compelling. I read this because I've been reading so much fictional crime that I thought I should follow some of that interest with a real crime. I have read Truman Capote's In Cold Blood a couple of times. I have also watched the movie a couple of times. Compulsion, which is the story of Leopold and Loeb's brutal killing of a 14 year old boy stuck with me just the same. Of course if you're at all familiar with, and go as far as to believe the Bible, you know that evil always existed. But in
This is sort of hard to rate because although it is a well-written book it is very unpleasant to read. It's interesting as a window into the social mores and pop psychology of the 1920s, but it is also very disturbing.
0 Comments