Rating: 
Summary: Thematic spoiler ahead (slightly a plot spoiler)
Review: While asserting the value of religion in the face of science in "The Big Picture: what the religions of the world teach us about the nature of ultimate reality", Huston Smith, well-known scholar of comparative religion, decries the way the term "mystery" has been pressed into the service of the literary genre of "whodunnits". I suspect Smith has not come across Pears' "Instance".Unlike other reviewers, I thought the insertion of divine mystery back into secular mystery made this book a powerful read. (Although I admit the secular mystery had me hooked and kept me reading to see whether the falsely accused would be vindicated - a "who-really-dunnit".) I can see how those who continue past the first section primarily to discover "who dunnit" might find little reward after much tedium, and find the last hundred pages a bewildering "aberration". If however, you sit back and watch an investigation into the nature of "truth", you can immerse yourself in a turbulent time when competing worldviews arose in response to the dissolution of an old social order. Read "Instance" as a murder mystery if you like, or read its first narrative as roughly symbolic of empiricism, the second as symbolic of superstition, the third of reason and the fourth of mysticism and observe how each constructs its worldview. This foray into history also offers hope for the future. The union of spirituality and humanism could be just the ticket for today's disillusionment with socialism and capitalism. Pears' willingness to fingerpost the idea that the most clear-sighted are those who allow love to triumph over prejudice (in other words, Love points to Truth) satisfied this reader's desire for revealed mystery.
Rating: 
Summary: A great novel with an unsatisfactory conclusion
Review: This novel is a very long historical mystery.
We have four narratives, which describe the smae situation, giving different interpritations to facts and resulting in different conclusions, meaning each narrator points to the person who is, surely, the murderer. And then the next narrator comes and casts a new light on the situation.
All the voices are distinct, and there are some good surprises on the way, also the historic period is well-researched. This is not some pseudo-history... well, it is, but one of very high quality.
If it was a history novel - I'd give it full five stars and then some. But this is a mystery, and as such it has several serious problems.
In the beginning of the novel we learn that the first narrator decided to tell about the events he witnessed years ago. Then, he sent his recollections of the events to the next narrator, who told the story from his point of view, etc. There is NO reason for these recollections to appear in the first place, and the more we learn about our narrators, the less reason they have to describe these events. The third narrator questions the appearance of these accounts, but the book never answers why the characters decided to share this story, and why each of them sent his recollections to the next narrator and not to some other person.
Also, one of the main parts of any mystery is the answer to it. The answer here is, for my taste, unsatisfactory. While the mystery itself is solved, there is suddenly too much mysticism, which turns the novel into a light historic fantasy (I know it sounds too vaque, but saying more will be telling too much, and that's not good, when you are talking about 600+ pages book).
Honestly, I felt cheated. Thus the final score. Still, I'll buy other novels by the author. He CAN write a mystery novel. And I hope that he can come up with a mystery worth writing about.
Bottom line: a good recollection of an era, but an unsatisfactory mystery.
Rating:
Summary: So much more than a "murder mystery"
Review: One of the other customer reviewers of this book complained that the murder was solved summarily a hundred pages before the end and wondered if critics who call this a classic had skimmed the end to meet review deadlines. Such comments make me wonder if that reviewer did not, like so many of the characters in this book, miss the fingerposts.
For this book is not primarily a story about the solving of a murder. The murder itself serves more as plot device to bring the four narrators (and others) together in a certain time and place, allowing them to interact with each other and present their widely diverging views of events, actions, and consequences. Indeed, for three of the four narrators the murder is almost incidental to their narratives, only two of them are actually concerned (or even desirous) that justice be done, and none of them is especially sorrowful about the death of the murder victim. Rather, for each of them the murder is really only significant for the part it plays in their own narrative and what they believe it indicates in terms of their interpretation of events. The driving idea behind the novel is not the solution of a murder, but how different people can see the same facts, or parts thereof, and draw differing conclusions - particularly when those conclusions serve to reinforce preconceived notions; and the more some people believe in the rightness of their preconceptions, the more willing they become to pervert truth to suit their ends.
This extraordinary novel is really a masterpiece of crafting. The use of the first-person narrative allows each narrator to present a depiction of himself (and his motives) very different from the way others see him, which has the effect of causing the reader to rethink and re-examine opinions formed along the way. In particular, the chilling, almost unwitting portrayal by two of the narrators of their own destructive, delusive obsessions is worthy of Patricia Highsmith at her best. "An Instance of the Fingerpost" is by turns amusing, infuriating, puzzling, informative, and even heartbreaking. It also goes a long way toward evoking the uncertainty, chaos and duplicity of the era (so very different from today's era of open and transparent government).
I should say that although I enjoy a good, intriguing mystery, I'm not particularly a fan of the "mystery" genre; I'm more partial to books that provoke reflection on the human condition. This is one of a very few books I've bought based on the recommendation, and I can honestly state that I was totally unprepared for the level of quality I found in it. I can think of few works of fiction that have moved me quite as much as this one.
As some schools of thought insist that every critique must perforce call attention to shortcomings, I suppose I should include a few for form's sake. I could mention a couple of niggling instances of grammatical lapse by men purportedly of education, such as the use of the objective pronoun in a comparison (i.e. "older than me"); for some reason this error always grates on my nerves (although it seems to be almost a prerequisite for translators), but the occurrences were far too few to impact my overall opinion. The only real complaints I can muster are two: first, that this book deprived me of much sleep during the time I took to read it; and second, that it left me at a loss as to what to read next.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating
Review: An Instance of the Fingerpost tells of the same event from the point of view of four different people. Each person has his own obsessions and knows only part of the truth. As you read, you become fascinated by the characters and the story, the political and religious intrigue, and the beliefs of the times. And of course you want to understand the truth of the incident. It is one of few historical novels where the details ring completely true. A really great book!
Rating:
Summary: A handicraft of literary genius
Review: 'Foucault's Pendulum' by Umberto Eco 'The Eight' by Katherine Neville - both 10 times better than 'The Name of the Rose' 'An Instance of a Fingerpost' by Iain Pears - 20 times better! ... 'Fingerpost' is a handicraft of literary genius that does not only touch our entire glands and enzymes like no other book of science, but also shapes our thoughts and ideas of times past like no other parchment of history -- even from 17th century Oxford or Venice. ... Driving us with style and intellectual luxury, Pears revs up the competition with his sleek Jaguar of a book, leaving Eco's classy Ferraris and Neville's lovely Chevrolet eating dust. COMPLETE REVIEW: Fans of the detective murder mystery have always believed that 'The Name of the Rose' has been the best ever of the genre to have seen the light of publishing day, the tastiest to savor among their cups of tea. They have also thought that this novel is the yardstick that distinguishes it from the others, the measurement that puts it on top of the rest. But some even believe that Umberto Eco's other notable work, 'Foucault's Pendulum,' is 10 times better than its predecessor ever since it came out in 1988, together with Katherine Neville's equally noteworthy novel, 'The Eight' -- until Iain Pears came along with this fine masterpiece of a historical novel, 10 years later in 1998, this time 20 times better! You name it: intrigues and conspiracies, cabals and cabalas, Rosicrucians and the Royal Society, Sealed Knot and other Knights Templar-like groups, medicine and mathematics, chemistry and cryptography, engineering and embalming, piety and philosophy, politics and parliamentaries, monarchies and anti-monarchial mutinies. 'An Instance of a Fingerpost' is a handicraft of literary genius that does not only touch our entire glands and enzymes like no other book of science, but also shapes our thoughts and ideas of times past like no other parchment of history -- even from 17th century Oxford or Venice. 'Fingerpost is more than worthy to be placed on the pedestal of fine contemporary fiction, elevating the genre to the level of the highest and finest forms of art. Driving us with style and intellectual luxury, Pears revs up the competition with his sleek Jaguar of a book, leaving Eco's classy Ferraris and Neville's lovely Chevrolet eating dust. MITCH R. CONFESOR
Journalist
Davao City, Philippines
Rating:
Summary: Poetic Prose at its Best
Review: Sometimes, a work of art comes along that completely captivates all who experience it. This is one of those cases. One is transportation back to Medieval England with its rich language, customs, the prejudices and way of life. We are caught in the midst of superstition, religious mania, utter poverty and the beginning of the Renaissance. Without a doubt, this is one of the best historical novels ever written. The writing mesmerizes as it breathes across the page. The tale is told from the point of view of four individuals, each of whom is entertaining in their own way. The language is idiomatic and no false clues are given. The main characters, particularly the poor servant girl and the first narrator, attract our attention almost from the beginning. The ending is supremely successful as we sail away into the open sea to life in the New World. All in all, a brilliant job!
Rating:
Summary: Very unique historical mystery
Review: Told from four distinctly different perspectives, An Instance from the Fingerpost proved to be a very unique story. After the death of a prominent man in Oxford, a young servant girl is accused of murder. Each of the four stories revolves around the trial of the servant girl, and the events leading to the death of the doctor. Pears weaves a mystery with intriguing narrators: Marco da Cola, the Venetian doctor who appears in Oxford for no particular reason; Jack Prescott, the son of an accused traitor, who is trying to clear his family's name; John Wallis, a cryptographer and archivist; and Anthony Wood, a scholar historian. I particularly enjoyed the characters of da Cola and Sarah Blundy. How I wish we could have heard her side of the tale! A wonderful work that was a pleasure to hear (I had the audiobook). The reader performed particularly well, and I found myself immersed in the characters with the many accents that he used.
Rating: 
Summary: Great history, strange ending.
Review: The plot of AN INSTANCE OF THE FINGERPOST involves interesting history in an international setting, consistent with the "art history mysteries" of the same author, despite that it occurs some 300 years earlier, soon after the restoration of the British monarchy after Cromwell. The time period involves tumultuous change. The plot mixes Italian merchants, French science, the budding British university system, the search for religious freedom in the American colonies, and the first shy steps of experimental science at the beginning of the Renaissance. The novel's holistic reach into life in England in the late 17th century reaches even to the legal system and the clash of its outdated nature with social attitudes that become increasingly modern. The very unusual surroundings become familiar to the reader through a triple narration. The events are described by three different persons, each providing a very different perspective. Rather than interweaving the three voices, each description is a separate part of the book. Astonishingly, reading the same story for a second and then a third time is not at all boring. The narrators' backgrounds is sufficiently different to make each story interesting and unexpected. In such a fascinating setting, a boring novel would be hard to write. The mystery is indeed gripping as it unfolds. The ending, however, disappoints. Rather than a logical solution, the author invokes the mystical. This seems contradictory given that the body of the book appeals to reason.
Rating: 
Summary: YAWN
Review: This book was a snoozer!! The narrators drone on and on to a point of tedium one rarely gets to experience in life. But for those who didn't like the ending I think you are missing a major point. The last narrator THINKS the woman has supernatural powers, but that doesn't mean she does. His narrative is not intended to be any more accurate in an absolute sense than any of the others. So, his "take" on this character is just that: HIS TAKE. It's not the horrible unbelievable ending it's being played as by some since a man in the 1600s may very well have held such beliefs. Still, the book could lose a few pounds of wasted words and maybe with those wasted words missing it would have been decent. Otherwise, it's just an experience you could end up resenting as you throw good money after bad.
Rating:
Summary: Too many serious problems in execution
Review: This is a good story. That's for certain. But the execution is worse than bad. The first and last narratives were tolerable, but the middle two were nearly unbearable. The second narrator is quite frankly and obviously nuts. The third narrator is not far behind. The conclusions these two come to are so absurd that they simply harm the main purpose of the book which is ostensibly to show us that normal people can have very different views of reality. But since the two middle narrators are so far from normal and so ridiculous, the whole point of the book is seriously undermined. In other words, it simply lacks the requisite subtlety to bring the point home. In addition, these two center narratives especially had the same dull, grinding, annoying tone. Both those narratives went on way beyond the point of utter boredom, especially the second one where the fellow obsesses on personal and hence, uninteresting, detail ad nauseum. The use of the English language was also dreadful. The author misuses and overuses the reflexive pronouns, myself, himself etc, to a point of serious annoyance. For instance phrases like "you do not understand what happened between your father and myself" is WRONG (bad grammar), unlikely to have occured in the period the book is set in and appears over and over. He also loves to say I, myself (though sometimes the myself appears at the end of the sentence such as in "I have had this experience myself"). This use of myself is just annoying. That's the way people talk in modern casual conversation, but it is not the way they should write. So, to repeat the main problem with the book: the two main narrators are not believable and their conclusions and the way they think is so far out as to make the whole point of the book moot. The problem with the way they think has nothing to do with the times the book is set in, but with the characters themselves. I found myself saying, more than once, "no rational or normal person would conclude that based on what this character has just learned". People can view things very differently in a believable way, but this wan't believable. However, there are other serious problems. The characters lack depth and individuality and they are thus not engaging, difficult to relate to and just hard to like. The story is dry and lacks tension. The story is seemless and makes sense. In the end there is a certain satisfaction in seeing that, like so many books, the ends are not loose (if you can get to the end!!). The period detail is also good (except that the style of the narratives again is a problem here. They are way to modern in tone and language use.) The book could have been excellent, but ca. 300 page of 700 could be removed without losing a thing. The whole thing drags and basically ends up being a HUGE flop.
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