Rating: 
Summary: Boring, turgid, prolix.
Review: I've tried to read this book. Lord knows I've tried. No one can accuse me of not giving it the old college try. I wanted to like it. I really did. But I don't! I have read up to page 424, and I just cannot go on! The characters are unappealing. The language is convoluted. The story is uninteresting--and I loved The Name of the Rose, by the way. But this book has been like an albatross hanging round my neck! I've been reading it for months and haven't begun anything else because I just wanted to finish the thing. But I can't. I dread picking it up. And as I read it, I can't help but wonder why I'm wasting my time. I fail to understand why this book has garnered such great reviews. So I am giving the albatross his freedom, and at the same time freeing myself from the chains of this book. To those who finished it, I salute you. To those who tried and failed, I just want to say you're not alone! I understand! Do not feel ashamed. In my own considered opinion, this book is highly overrated.
Rating: 
Summary: A Blockbuster Read. Dont Miss It.
Review: Charles is on the throne, and Cromwell is dead. It is about 1660 and, in Oxford, a stuffy prelate and don has been murdered. A young woman is hanged as a result, but is she guilty? This 700 page blockbuster examines the crime from the viewpoints of 4 different men. It combines,in great detail, life at that time and place, and the philosphy of " what is truth?" A truly remarkable piece of literature.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutey Brilliant! Must-read for mystery fans!!
Review: Ok, it's not as good a read as Umberto Eco's "Name of the Rose", but pretty darn close to it. The complex plot is constructed with fiendish ingenuity, and the characters are drawn with the patience and care of a medieval Bible duplicator. I woke up at 3 in the morning on two occasions to read some more of this book, which is absolutely impossible to put down yet once finished it leaves you with a deep satisfaction of having read a rare and great work of literature.
Rating:
Summary: a fascinating an absorbing historical mystery
Review: I usually dont like historical mysteries but this blew me away. the idea of having four narrators was a great techniche to provide a thinking mans whodunnit. chracters great and the history intresting, but dont read the sections out of order please!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Terribly overrated -- a thoroughly dark and depressing work
Review: When this book came out it was widely compared to Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose. Unlike Eco's masterful work, this book lacks a single appealing character until you reach the final section. I can't remember reading something so dark, depressing, and perverted in years.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not great
Review: I compare this book to two others:The Name of the Rose, which I loved for the mystery and the intellect of it, and The Sound and the Fury, for the use of the narrative style. The biggest fault is that the narratives all share almost the same literary style, sort of like one guy wrote it all. It would have been much more fun if the sections were plausibly written by the different characters. Aside from having seen all the destruction of beautiful architecture in England by Oliver and his cronies, I know nothing of the Restoration era, and this was a good way to learn. I am disappointed by the lead-in review here in Amazon. I was totally surprised by the ending and it would have been less fun if I'd read that first. Lastly, I agree with the reviewer that said it could easily lose a hundred pages.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Historical Fiction
Review: An Instance of the Fingerpost is one of the finest works of fiction I've ever read. Be advised that this book firmly belongs to the historical, as opposed to the mystery genre. Some background knowledge of civil-war era England is necessary to fully enjoy and appreciate the plot. I recommend Edward Rutherfurd's "London" (a great history/fiction in its own right) as an excellent source to learn more about the society and politics of medieval England.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating
Review: This book, much more accesible than the Name of the Rose, is a fascinating look at a time so distant, it seems more alien than any society presented in Science Fiction. Pears weaves an intriguing story that is at turns sad, repellent, revelatory and funny. Although it would benefit from losing about a hundred pages (the second and third narrators seem to go over much the same material without a great enough difference to make them consistently interesting). If you enjoy this book, check out the even more accomplished novel, The Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis.
Rating:
Summary: Don't read the sections out of order
Review: I am reviewing this only to help outweigh the few negative reviews. This is a terrific book for anyone interested in murder mysteries, theology, medicine, and restoration England. A couple of the negative reviews are, I think, due to reading the four narratives out of order, which I agree would diminish ones enjoyment of the whole. My advice is read the book -- but resist the temptation to jump ahead.
Rating:
Summary: Boring, boring, boring...
Review: From reading all of the other Amazon reviews, I know that I am the minority here; however, I found the book to be tiresome and a chore to read. The first and last sections are interesting but the two middle sections crawled. Not what I was expecting.
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