Another difficulty for readers is the overwhelming detail of it all over seven hundred pages covers a lot of territory. Their writing is formal and educated and differs little from one to another. Though we apprehend the four different points of view provided, we know them only intellectually as individuals. The one caveat I have with the story is the lack of voice. At times these are difficult to follow in the novel, particularly since all loose ends are not tied up. What with Cromwell's rule newly overturned by the Restoration, this particular period in English history was ripe with plots and counterplots. We see how everyone jockeys for position and how much strategy is necessary before making the least move. This is all set in context of the political scene, which extends from the warden of the shire of Oxford clear to London and the closest advisors to the king. Philosophical discussions contrast mightily with brutal physical descriptions of experiments - this book is not for the squeamish! Burning scholarly discussions, a gradual unfolding of medical knowledge, the competition between older folkways, witchcraft and traditional religion are all part of this tumultuous cauldron of events. Since much of the action takes place in and around Oxford, it serves as a paradigm for the larger society. We are taken into all levels of society and learn about everything from exciting breakthroughs in scientific discoveries to the manners, morals and religious battles of the times.
Each account both unravels and deepens the mystery, while also providing an almost exhaustive account of daily life. Events surrounding the death of an Oxford don are presented through the writings of four people.
INTERVIEW: Iain Pears: 'It is the civilised who are truly barbaric': In his new novel, Iain Pears spends 2,000 years in Provence - and reveals the low cruelty of high culture.An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain PearsĪ n Instance of the Fingerpost gives lovers of historical fiction a bedazzling view of early Restoration England. EXCERPT: from The Portrait by Iain Pears EXCERPT: from Dream of Scipio (Penguin Putnam) EXCERPT: from An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears
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