Rating: 
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.
Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant Scholarship, Weak Execution
Review: This is a novel with an interesting or even perhaps a unique concept. It is a story, or a sequence of events, told by four separate narrators. Each of the narrators brings his own set of perceptions and misperceptions to the mix, as well as his own sense of what of importance should be related. The story takes place in Oxford, England, in the 1660's. A king has just been restored to the throne after several years of Cromwell, and the country is still bitterly divided. Pears has clearly done his homework. Not only does he have an understanding of the history of this era, he also has a thorough understanding in the way of men's thinking in general during these times. To varying degrees, all of their thoughts and actions were guided by what they perceived was the will of God; even their debates and discussions with one another were heavily influenced by their religious upbringing. Indeed, their efforts to improve their understanding in the sciences and other technical areas was impeded by it. And this brings about the first problem. These men are so backward in their thinking- to be sure reflective of the times-that it becomes very tedious to wade through their obviously outdated musings. The first narrator, for example, a physician, debates endlessly with other physicians the medical procedures of the day, such as applying dog feces to a swollen eye or bleeding somebody to get their bad blood out. Yes, it is important that we get an idea of the kind of the backward thinking that went on then, but do we really need to read page after page of it? And the other narrators, with their dopey ideas of religion and philosophy and the place of women in the world are just as lengthy, and just as tedious. The second problem is in the nature of the novel's concept itself. With four narrators, you not only get four different views of events, but also, by necessity, four self-centered views entirely. Thus, with each narrator, we not only get a slew of additional characters, we also get a whole new set of plots, counterplots, and subplots. To further complicate matters, none of these fellows are entirely reliable, so keeping track of all of this, and then trying to determine what of this we should retain and what of this we can safely discard, is extremely difficult. Mr. Pears should be highly commended for both his elegant and articulate writing style, and his magnificent scholarship. And he does, finally, put everything together with the last narrator. But, sadly, instead of breathlessly turning pages to find the answers to the vast number of perplexing questions posed, I instead found myself simply glad that the darn thing was coming to an end.
Rating: 
Summary: An Instance of Utter Tedium
Review: I have to preface my review by telling you that of the numerous books I have read, and the few that I have elected not to finish due to their inability to sustain the promise that I first saw in them, this book is the only one that I truly resent. After having my interest piqued by the numerous favorable comparisons of this novel to one of my favorites (Eco's The Name of the Rose), I brought it home from the bookstore eager to dive right into it. After slogging through the first hundred or so pages I found myself lacking the resolve to continue, but felt obliged to carry on to see if it would measure up to my expectations in the end. After a further hundred pages, I finally had to put it down having come to the decision that going on would be a waste of time. Just to see if others had come to the same conclusion as I had, I got on my computer and started reading the reviews on Amazon. This made me reconsider my decision and attempt to get through it and read this wonderful ending that people were raving about. Returning to the book, I managed to grind my way through fifty more pages before resorting to skimming to make sure I wasn't missing anything. I can honestly tell you I was missing nothing. The ending was not only incredible, it was a complete disappointment, as was the book as a whole. Mr. Pears' characters are flat and his four narrators never achieve any kind of individuation that makes their recitations distinguishable from the others. the plotting of the book is plodding, never generating the interest that must be there to sustain the reader of a novel of this size. Although he inserts many historical facts to interest the reader, he never successfully integrates any of these tidbits into the story. I personally found myself at several points in the book saying to myself, "There he goes again, trying to show how much research he's done". In the end there is one phrase that sums up my opinion of this book, don't waste your time or your money.
Rating: 
Summary: Tough, but Rewarding
Review: Warning: This is not a pick it up and finish it in a day kind of book. No matter how many historical mysteries you read you will not be able to get through this book in a day, or even several days. That being said, it is one of the most rewarding mysteries you are likely to read. Pears's incredibly detailed depiction of Oxford in the late seventeenth century bristles with life, lust, and treachery. First through the eyes of a wandering Italian Marco da Cola, and then through the eyes of other major figures like John Wallis and Anthony Wood, we are introduced to the strange events surrounding an even stranger person: Sarah Blundy. The history of science and medicine is very accurate and very well-treated (not always the same thing!), especially in the sections on Wallis and Wood. The pace of the book does pick up the deeper we get into the twisting paths of Oxford life and legend, but I don't think that makes the first two accounts any less riveting. Instead, it brings home how different people see the same events, and makes us evaluate more critically every "fact" we think we know. This would be a great book to take on a one-week vacation, since it will probably get you through the whole thing without having to take 6 books with you. If you like historical mysteries or historical fiction, or even the history of medicine, I highly recommend this book to you. PS. The ending knocks you off your feet. Totally unexpected!
Rating:
Summary: Keep At It
Review: As I read though the first part of the book, I was intrigued, then as I continued I realized that this book demands an active reader. Three quarters of the way through, I was frustrated at its slow pace, but too far into the book to put it down. When I finished, I was rewarded and encourage others to keep going NO MATTER HOW LONG IT TAKES!
Rating:
Summary: Dry And Boring
Review: How dry and boring can one book be? This book could have been less than half its size and still been too long. How many times can we hear the same story repeated over and over? Four times is four too many! I'll admit that the original idea was a good one, but Pears just wasn't able to carry it off. By the time I finished I was not only relieved, I wished all the characters would just drop dead and ESPECIALLY Sarah Blundy. When Pears finally did reveal the "truth" about this dubious woman, my only thought was "Oh, come on! What a cop out! Finally, I have to agree with those reviewers who said The Name of the Rose is NOTHING AT ALL like An Instance of the Fingerpost. Rose is literature, while Fingerpost is pulp fiction!
Rating:
Summary: *yawn*
Review: Wow, was this ever a boring read. I'm very surprised by all the praise this book has received. I hardly recognise the book I read with what is being described here. The characters were flat and the story just didn't move along.
Rating:
Summary: A Challenge To Get Through, But Ultimately Rewarding
Review: Let's start with the obligatory comparison to The Name of the Rose. Because of its lyricism and depth, The Name of the Rose is a better book than An Instance of the Fingerpost. Yet, while it doesn't reach the level of The Name of the Rose, An Instance of the Fingerpost is good enough to stand on its own. Much of the reason behind this success can be attributed to the book's elaborate plotting. I enjoyed comparing the different descriptions given by the narrators of the same scenes. I also enjoyed looking up the little clues after they had blossomed into major plot points. Such effects could not be possible without a plot that is comprehensively planned and executed. Pears also does a good job in giving each narrator a distinct voice. Da Cola comes across as slightly pompous; Prescott as obsessed; Wallis as paranoid; and Wood as humble. These tones give the reader a clear indication of each narrator's personality and perspective. Even the characters that aren't narrating the story have a strong sense of personality, which enhances the story's believability. While the book has a great plot and strong characters, it does have lapses in the flow of the story. I frequently wondered why Pears was spending so much time focusing on a particular story point. Sometimes, the importance of this detail was revealed. Other times, it wasn't (like the excruciating detail given to the first blood transfusion experiment). While this may have been a case of Pears placing "red herrings", it simply bogged the story down. Getting through An Instance of the Fingerpost requires patience and dedication. However, if the reader perseveres, they will be ultimately rewarded with a very good story
Rating:
Summary: A classic
Review: Almost as brilliant as Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury, the novel succeeds in weaving a intriguing set of events but observed by four different characters. The intricate historical details set against the backdrop of a murder mystery offer a credible account of Resotration England, Renaissance Italy and the rest of Europe. I can safely argue that this is one of the best books the appeared in recent years despite claims that it is inferior to Eco's The Name of Rose.
Rating: 
Summary: Flatter Than a Pancake
Review: When I bought this book I looked forward to many hours of reading pleasure. What I got instead were many hours of sheer boredom. The idea is excellent: four people, each believing they possess the key to a mystery, set down a narrative. Each of the first three narrators has a piece of the puzzle within his grasp, but fails to form the correct conclusion because his vision is clouded with megalomaniacal self-grandeur. While the use of four narratives to tell the story is a wonderful idea, Pears' narrators each use the same flat tone; there is nothing distinctive that sets one narrator apart from another. If this weren't enough, the story itself lacks tension. It is a dull recitation and that's all. By the time I come to Wood's narrative, arguably the most important since it is the last, I was in the mood to do little more than skim. The resolution of the story was a terrible letdown and the ultimate fate of Sarah Blundy was so fantastic it was nothing short of utterly ridiculous beyond all belief. Even the true identity of the mysterious Marco da Cola and his real reason for traveling to England were more than a stretch in credulity and that's putting it nicely. Peras' eye for period detail seems good, but there is simply too much of it and little of it is woven into the actual fabric of the story, as it should have been. This book is definitely not in the same league as Umberto Eco's gorgeous Name of the Rose, a truly five-star read. There are so many good atmospheric mysteries out there, e.g., The Quincunx, The Unburied, don't waste your valuable time with this one.
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