SURRENDER, NEW YORK By Caleb Carr

surrender-ny
Ever feel like flinging a book across the room? I had that sensation a few times while reading Caleb Carr’s new novel, Surrender, New York. A couple of State University of New York (SUNY) professors (like me) investigate a series of deaths of “throwaway” children. A “throwaway” child is a child whose parents have moved away and abandoned them. Carr’s narrator, criminal psychologist Trajan Jones, formerly of the New York City Police Department, now lives in a upstate town. Dr. Jones has a sidekick named Mike Li. Together, they teach online courses for SUNY and help the local police when they’re stumped.

Carr loves excess in Surrender, New York. Dr. Jones has a pet. No, not a dog or cat or fish. It’s a cheetah! Dr. Jones has an office. No, it does not look like a Dilbert cubical, it’s a World War II German airplane! The plot is compelling, but the over-the-top aspects of this book really mount up over its 600+ pages! If your tolerance level for annoying excesses is high, then I’d recommend Surrender, New York. If not, skip it. GRADE: C+

22 thoughts on “SURRENDER, NEW YORK By Caleb Carr

  1. Deb

    I had it on my tbr list but, based on your review, I’m crossing it off the list (one down, 743 to go). Sounds like one of those attempts by a serious writer to write genre fiction (cf., John Banville) while condescending to and failing to understand the conventions of that genre. And a cheetah…yeah, that’s a book throwin’.

    Reply
    1. Deb

      In my comment above, I should have put my reference to Carr being a “serious writer” in quotes. I believe most writers in all genres are perfectly serious and I didn’t mean to imply otherwise.

      Reply
    2. george Post author

      Deb, the cheetah, the “office” that’s a German World War II plane, and a dozen other excesses in SURRENDER, NEW YORK really blurred the compelling plot.

      Reply
  2. maggie mason

    a book that large would have to be an audio book for me, sometime when I make a trip, like going to LA or Orange County.

    I remember liking the alienist, but haven’t read any others by him

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Maggie, the puzzling thing about SURRENDER, NEW YORK is the plot held my attention despite all the additional nonsense about the characters. It’s rare that I don’t start to mentally fidget when I’m reading a 600-page book.

      Reply
      1. Wolf Böhrendt

        George, times have changed a lot!

        Rather OT:

        I still remember the times when paperbacks were not over a certain numbers of pages – so Science Fiction novels in the USA had to be short – or sometimes cut into two parts …

        In the 60s it was even worse in Germany – translation into German tend to be longer, because our words are longer usually, so many translations of Fbritish and US SF works were shortened to fit into the “allowed” no of pages – sometimes they just left out/cut off half of the last chapter explaining everything so after reading you’d be thinking: That was it?

        I vividly remember that from The Space Merchants which left me feeling strange – until I bought and read the original!

      2. george Post author

        Wolf, publishers played fast and loose with various editions of SF novels. Many times the ACE Books version–especially in the Doubles series–were abridged.

  3. Jeff Meyerson

    I’ve been waiting since New Orleans for you to finish this and let me know: was there ever a payoff with the cheetah or was it just a stupid prop? Did it save him by ripping the bad guy’s throat out? Otherwise, it’s a cheat (sorry, couldn’t resist).

    Good to be home.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Jeff, glad you’re home safe and sound! Yes, the cheetah has a slight role at the end, but not enough to justify the pages and pages of Dr. Jones feeding his pet raw meat with antibiotics in it.

      Reply
  4. Rick Ollerman

    I couldn’t stand THE ALIENIST to the point where I know I’d never read another thing by Carr. I absolutely love John Irving, though, and will read everything from CIDER HOUSE RULES on.

    Reply

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