  the alienist I don't remember how it started, but about a week ago, I became obsessed with reading Caleb Carr's 1994 mystery novel urlLink "The Alienist. " When the novel was first published, I recall a flurry of critical acclaim surrounding the fictional tale of a serial killer in 1896 New York City, but I wasn't interested, simply because period fiction wasn't really my cup of tea. Times have changed. I've recently become more and more intrigued by American History and "The Alienist" combines a hair-raising murder mystery with frightening period accuracy. One of the more interesting aspects of the novel is the fact that a genuine historical figure plays a substantial role: Theodore Roosevelt, who was New York City's police commissioner at the time. My recent interest in Roosevelt - particularly after seeing the History Channel's wonderful "TR: An American Lion" - has given me even more incentive to check out the book.
I asked my roommate Frank, who is a voracious reader, and a particularly avid fan of history and period fiction, if he'd read the book, and he told me that he did, and loved it. I asked him if he happened to own the book so that I could possibly borrow it. He answered in what may be considered by people who don't know Frank to be a peculiar response: "I think I might.
" You see, Frank owns piles and piles of books. To the point where he loses track of what titles he actually owns. He invited me to plow through the collection. I checked out the hardcover selections, easily available for browsing in the bookcases of his bedroom. No luck. So the next afternoon, I embarked on the Herculean task of attacking the enclosed bookcase-cum-china cabinet that contains dozens and dozens of paperbacks, several rows deep. This took at least an hour (although some of that was due to the fact that I was enjoyably browsing -- I felt like I discovered the hidden nook of a used bookstore).
But in the end, the search proved fruitless. Frank apparently doesn't own the book - unless he lent it to someone years ago and it was forgotten. So I broke down and spent five bucks at Borders to pick up a paperback copy. I've been reading it little by little the last couple of nights before going to sleep, and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. Maybe not enough to plow through someone's bookshelves for an hour, but certainly more than worth five bucks. 
