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Summary: An impressively well-woven historical mystery..
Review: An Instance at the Fingerpost is a mystery of exceptional detail and depth, not to mention history. Set in the 1600s in merrie olde England, a man of the church is brutally murdered. A local girl, accused by some of being some sort of witch, is hanged for the crime. The reader knows immediately that she has been wrongly accused but must read the story to find out exactly how wrongly accused. The novelty of this mystery is that the tale is told by four different men with four completely different perspectives. Their own insecurities, lives, questionable pasts and characters greatly influence how they observe the events leading up to the crime and even those events that occur after the crime. We read first the impressions of an Italian merchant's son who is an amateur doctor and quite the renaissance man. His views shape how we ingest the following narratives by three other men involved. The tale is a very satisfying one since it is such a complex weave of the struggles between the monarchists and the republican, the church and the secular, and the enlightened and the ignorant of the time. A fascinating and captivating read - a great late nighter.
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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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