An Instance of the Fingerpost

Rating:
Summary: Not your ordinary whodunnit
Review: The setting of this intriguing historical novel is Oxford in the year 1663. Barely five years have elapsed since the death of Oliver Cromwell, King Charles II returned to Whitehall only three years ago and thus the town is still awash with talk about the peculiarities of the Protectorate but also bristling with an atmosphere of the religious intolerance that was to become a characteristic of the years leading up to the events of 1688/89. At the same time, however, Oxford is witnessing the beginnings of a scientific revolution, prompting intellectual giants like Robert Boyle, John Locke or Christopher Wren to extend their research to areas hitherto unexplored.

It is against this background of political, religious and scientific change that the town is shaken up by the murder of Robert Grove, a physician and respected member of the local community. Although a young woman named Sarah Blundy is arrested and charged with the murder, it soon turns out to be difficult to establish her guilt beyond any doubt. In order to shed a light on this complex murder case, four witnesses describe the events surrounding Dr Grove's death in four different accounts of which, however, only one contains the truth. The witnesses being a Venice merchant, a son of a supposed traitor to the Royalist cause, a mathematician with political clout and an antiquary, the reader is presented with four equally fascinating versions of the sequence of events and incidentally with four different historical perspectives of the period, too.

"An Instance of the Fingerpost" is a book that is easy to read in spite of the wealth of historical details it contains. You don't have to be knowledgeable about 17th century-British history in order to enjoy this book, but it is actually much more fun to read if you are, as the story is palpably alive with the period's mood and most of the characters featured are non-fictitious. In any case, the structure of the whodunnit and its baffling solution will appeal to everybody, regardless of history knowledge. Anybody interested to read a crime story above the ordinary will definitely not be disappointed by this book.

Rating:
Summary: Something rich and strange
Review: The time was 1663. The place, England. The monarchy had been restored only three years before, and Charles II's crown rested uneasy on his head, in a country still divided by the effects of the civil war of Cromwell's time, and the bitter division between Protestant and Catholic.

And in Oxford, at the time the home of the likes of John Locke, Richard Lower, and Robert Boyle (all of whom play a part in the story), a gentle Oxford Don was murdered, and his sometime servant was accused of the crime, confessed to it, and was hanged.

Now, at some unspecified time in the future, four people who were involved in the affair have set down their versions of the story. This multiple-narrator mystery has (not unjustifiably) been compared with Umberto Eco's novel _In The Name of the Rose_, and it has elements in common with the film _Roshomon_ as well. But you may well see it as more like the Dickens novel Dickens never got around to. Those familiar with the works of the contemporary novelist Peter Ackroyd may also discern some parallels.

Most of the characters, down to the apothocary who makes an appearance in the first segement, actually existed (there's a list of them in the back). But the story is Pears's own, and it gets increasingly complicated as each chronicler, the fictional da Cola and Prestcott, followed by the real John Wallis and Anthony Wood, supply their own take on the sad events of the hanging of Sarah Blundy (fictional) and offer their opinions on why she did confess to the crime she clearly did not commit. Each of the narrators is not quite what he seems to be, and each one adds more facts to the tale until at the end, the entire events are apparently revealed.

While a knowledge of English history is helpful, it isn't necessary for the enjoyment of the tale. More important is to read carefully. The novel may be long, but nothing is wasted.

Rating:
Summary: Culture in transition
Review: I was particularly impressed by setting for this book. 1663 England was at the beginning of the scientific renaissance and a time of great political and religious turmoil. The author exploits this environment very skillfully to present a very plausible overview of the age. I was driven to consult a variety of historical references while reading this rather formidable book, all of which confirmed (and expanded on) the historical aspects. My only complaint is that I wish there were an index since it was necessary to go back to confirm some small point several times. This must have been a very hard book to write because there are so many little details that have to kept straight. Neither my wife nor I ever found an inconsistency. This alone sets the author apart.

Rating:
Summary: 4 and 1/2 Stars, but you will need your thinking cap.
Review: I will not weigh down my review with a recap of the story or characters. What I will say is that this is a clever mystery on many levels, and forces you think. If you do not like reading a book written as literature, then don't read this book. If you can stand, or understand stylishly writing such as this, and enjoy a book that will task you skills at following a plotline, then do read this book.

Rating:
Summary: Good, not great
Review: "An Instance of The Fingerpost" is one of those books that starts out wonderfully, then gets caught up in its own cleverness and thus becomes only sporadically interesting. Pears spends the most time and effort on the first narrator, the Venetian doctor Cola, but the other three narrators do not seem nearly as well-rounded as Cola, and that is to the book's detriment. Still, not a bad weekend read and a nice change of pace for the historical mystery enthusiast.

Rating:
Summary: Slow read but worth it.
Review: I really liked this novel which I picked up not knowing anything about it. I also liked The Alienist (although not Angel of Death) so the historical fiction aspect pleased me. It also satisfies the Anglo-phile in me. I will admit that it took a while to read but that the breakdown into four narrative voices and the Roshamon treatment worked well. Given that there were such differing versions of the events, I wondered how it would be resolved to my satisfaction - but it was with a surprise added in there to boot.

Rating:
Summary: This didn't work for me ...
Review: I am no stranger to historical fiction or mystery fiction, and I know this is controversial opinion, but this book just didn't do it for me. The different narrative voices sounded all the same to me. I found the pace ponderous, the style heavy and self-important, the welding of historical fact and fiction too deliberate, and the plot incredible.

Rating:
Summary: Slow starter grips you through its suprising end.
Review: I would rate this book quite highly. It starts a bit slowly and requires some effort to sort through the characters in the early part - but it grabs you and keeps you reading through a series of unexpected twists and turns, and a suprising and very clever (French Lieutenant's Woman?)ending. Like real life, the characters have many facets all of which are revealed eventually, although not simplistically.

Rating:
Summary: Seven Hundred Pages Weren't Enough
Review: I'm not a mystery devotee, nor do I have the patience (or available personal time) to read very many 700 page novels. About every 3 or 4 years though, I find an exception and this (like Umberto Eco's best work) was one of the strongest. At the end of this very cleverly drawn book, I was longing for more, including more information beyond the dramatis personae entries on the main and secondary characters. Before reading Pears, I had some general familiarity with the unfortunate period of the Commonwealth and the fresh air of the Restoration, but his work put some very real flesh and blood to both periods. As such, I've been reading little else since I finished Fingerpost. For me, this ability to awaken, or even create, a new subject of intellectual curiosity is one of the rarest, and therefore most valuable, talents an author can hone. Pears does this masterfully through his movement from one narrator to the next, each of whom reveals truths about his predecessors which they concealed or ignored. I would recommend this to any thinking reader, perhaps with the caveat that some patience may be needed initially, as Pears doesn't insult the reader's intelligence by uncovering the plot catch (or catches) right away. I guarantee that such patience will be rewarded many times over.

Rating:
Summary: Rich in history
Review: This book is just so much richer and more comprehensive than anything that I have read recently that it is difficult for me to compare it to anything. There is a mystery (or should I say mysteries) that winds throughout the book, but it is much more than a simple whodunnit. The world of seventeenth century England is vividly portrayed both in setting and in the thought of each of the narrators.

The story is divided into four separate narratives of the same basic story, with each building, changing and illuminating the previous accounts. It might seem that four accounts of the same storyline would get boring, but the author pulls it off wonderfully. I was hooked from start to finish. The characters are believable and engaging, and the plot is intricate, with lots of twists and turns.

An Instance of the Fingerpost cannot be described accurately by the overused phrase, "page-turner", but it is certainly an enjoyable reading experience.