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Summary: Enthralling meditation on the nature of truth
Review: Pears' outstandig historical mystery novel has drawn countless comparisons to Eco's The Name of the Rose, but An Instance of the Fingerpost is a unique and solid work that deserves to stand on its own. The story is told through the memoirs of four different principal characters as they recall the events surrounding the murder of an Oxford University Don. Pears weaves seamlessly back and forth through the same events four times, managing to make each narrative fresh and interesting despite the fact that the reader already knows (most) all the events that will transpire.
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Summary: A literary gem
Review: A truly magnificent work, although I would hesitate to draw comparison's to Eco's NAME OF THE ROSE, as it is does not have the comparable level of philosphical erudition.The single best novel that I have ever read. Although there is a caveat: The size of the novel is monstrous, as it probably should be, but trumping the size of work is the the fact that it is divided into four parts, telling the same story through different eyes. The novel really is much longer than it's size indicates, because the reader gains the most from the book when comparing the different points-of-view of the same event. The semiotics of the four characters are fascinating. If you enjoy reading, and are willing to give the time to this novel that it deserves, it is a truly magnificent work.
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Summary: Highly entertaining, and a masterful intellectual enigma.
Review: Although this excellent book revolves around a murder, that murder and indeed the entire maelstrom of shifting politics and social change during the Restoration, is subordinate to the book's four narrators--a foreigner, a fanatic, a paranoid, and a lover--who relate the same events very differently. As a result, this book is most about the relativity of human perception. The picture, viewed as a whole, is a cubist description, where each portrait looks strikingly different; the failings of each character's vision are obvious. However, in a cubist painting the viewer often can envision the subject in reality. Here, even after turning the last page, we still have a fuzzy view of what actually transpired. Perhaps we are meant to see the story as a cubist retelling of the crucifixion, as Pilate, Barabbas, Caiaphas, and Mary Magdalene might have told it. If so, it is sublimely done so that the realization gradually and unexpectedly dawns upon the reader. The title, taken from Sir Francis Bacon, suggests that at certain times, "understanding stands suspended" and in that moment of clarity (somewhat like Wordsworth's "spots of time," I think), the answer will become apparent as if a fingerpost were pointing at the way. The final narrative is also titled An Instance of the Fingerpost, perhaps implying that we are to see truth and clarity in this version. But the biggest mystery of this book is that we have actually have no reason to credit the final narrative more than the previous three and so the story remains an enigma, its truth still uncertain. If you read this book for sheer entertainment, you will find that in spades, but it is also intellectually masterful. Enjoy!
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Summary: Simply the best book read in years
Review: This book, indeed, is hard to put down. Read it in the train, and you'll be disappointed to arrive at destination, cannot help but read it while walking home. Eco's "the name of the rose" is not in control of itself, too much "intellectualization". Pearse does show this self-control, making "an instance of the fingerpost" a I-want-more-I-want-more kind of whodunnit. To conclude: READ THIS BOOK!
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Summary: I couldn't put this book down!
Review: I absolutely loved this book. It was the first Pears book I've read. Since finishing it, I have tried a few of his others, but none seem to have the same gripping style as An Instance of the Fingerpost. I read Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco, and enjoyed it...although not as much of this book.
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Summary: Four Voices, and an excellent book
Review: Plots and subplots, complex characters, tend to make a novel dense and dull. If you add to that not one, but four narrators, each one with each one personal voice, adding to the story new lines and enrichening the text, well, you will not go more than 10 pages. But this is not the case. Thought as an historic thriller, Pears will take you into an intelectual feast that will defy your senses. The mistery is mind boggling, intriguing, and does not loose rythm. This is a boolk that will be used to benchmark. Please: read it
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Summary: One of the best books I've read
Review: Perhaps I'm quirky, but the appeal of this book, which was exceptionally well written, is the style. (I'm a fan of Dracula for the same reason). I could end one narrator's tale, then choose to go on or take a break, and not lose a beat either way. I enjoyed the perspectives, revealing how easily the motives and actions of a character could be interpreted in a myriad of ways. I loved the Dramatis Personae at the end, making it easier for me keep track of the characters' roles in history. Exquisite!
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Summary: When is a flaw not a flaw?
Review: I won't spend any time on description of the story or the many positive things about this book, as other reviewers have covered this. I'd like to respond to the criticism some have made about the structure of the book,i.e., that the use of the four narrators, and the number of new characters and subplots each introduces is a flaw in the book. Despite having shared some of the frustration that can be caused by Pears' structure, I disagree with the criticism. The frustration comes not, I think, from any flaw in Pears execution, but in our own flaws as readers. We are used to reading one narrator, here we have four. We are used to treating our narrators as omnipotent repositories of truth (even if we know this is never the case in real life); here, each successive narrator undermines the tale told by those that preceded him. In those books/movies which adopt Pears style of portraying different viewpoints of an event, we are used to each character focusing primarily on the same events; here, the murder of Dr. Grove is only a portion of each narrator's tale, and has a different place of importance in each story. All this takes getting used to, and it is difficult to abruptly switch to a new narrator and a new story, but if one pushes through that initial frustration, one is well rewarded. This is a strikingly unique, always well written, informative and just plain fun novel.
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Summary: A fascinating read.
Review: I'm suprised that some reviewers found this book boring -- I tore through it in about 4 days. I'll admit that the first 100 pages are somewhat pedestrian as the first (and most balanced) of the 4 narrators sets the stage for the wilder musings of the latter 3 narrators. I immediately thought of the Japanese film 'Roshomon' when I read this book as four different narrators describe the same events from different perspectives. One is coy, one is mad, one is evil, and the last is weak and tragic. Together, they piece together a story of betrayal, deceit, sacrifice, and cruelty. Students of religion will not only enjoy the Catholic / Church of England wranglings, but also the descriptions of the Messianic sects that were appearing at that time (one can recognize elements of 20th century renewal movements in the description of these sects). I found this book in the 'Mystery' section of the bookstore. If you're looking for hard-boiled detective fiction, this isn't it. If you're looking for an erudite and intriguing story, I recommend this book.
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Summary: A journey back to the 17th century
Review: This long, yet fascinating story begins with the story of Italian merchant Marco da Cola, arriving in Oxford in 1663 some days before the murder of doctor Grove, a fellow of the New College at the University of Oxford. Da Cola makes acquintances and experiences which suffice to convince him that the murder was commited by a poor young girl named Sarah Blundy, the doctors housemaid, apparently as an act of vengeance after being fired by the doctor. Having reached this conclusion, Da Cola ends his story by yet again insisting that he has done his best to render a truthful accord of the mystery. Another narrator then enters the stage - Jack Prestcott, son of an exiled nobleman accused for treason towards his country. Prestcott claims that Da Cola knowingly misled his audience, and what is more, Prestcott possesses knowledge Da Cola did not have, and presents a quite different account of the matter. A total of four narrators must come forward before the complex intrigue is comprehensible to the reader, the mystery is solved and doctor Grove's murderer revealed. It is like a giant jigsaw puzzle, in which every little bit of information eventually fits in. The idea is superb, the plot impressively constructed, the execution could have been better. The story occasionally moves a little slowly, and there is a vast number of main and supporting characters; they are easily confused, and some of them appears to have no other function than being another name. Thus the suspense which is a natural part of the intrigue is weakened. Also, the description of the political events (post-Cromwell) is extremely detailed. The details, of course, displays the mastery, but a keen interest in and some basic knowledge of the history of England is recommended before beginning to read this book (luckily, I possess both). The story would have benefited from some editing. What I found most satisfying with "An Instance of the Fingerpost" is its strength as a historical novel. Pears obviously possesses a thorough knowledge of the philosophical as well as cultural, social and political state of 17th century England, and insight and understanding of the period. Especially the medical and philosophical discussions are interesting - the book offers an extraordinary view into the way of thinking of the learned men back then. The reader enters the minds of men probably brighter than most of us, whose excellent intellect nevertheless leads them to wrong conclusions (or what a modern audience would regard as wrong conclusions), such as that women are naturally inferior to men and that the structure of society - the masses being ruled by the priviledged few - is a divine order. But there is also something to learn from the characters of the book; the structure of the story makes one think independently and reach one's own conclusions. The main issue is the nature of truth, and the reader is introduced to different views upon what truth is like, and how it can be reached - through reasoning, through experience, through divine enlightenment? The story flows with ideas and theories and speculations about the future from 17th century academic points of view; I enjoyed these immensely. "An Instance of the Fingerpost" is enormous, the reading of it is like a long journey: it is detailed and complicated, but once finished, it will leave you enriched, with a sense of satisfaction and amazement.
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