An Instance of the Fingerpost

by Iain Pears

Book Overview

A national bestseller and one of the New York Public Library's Books to Remember, An Instance of the Fingerpost is a thrilling historical mystery from Iain Pears.

"It is 1663, and England is wracked with intrigue and civil strife. When an Oxford don is murdered, it seems at first that the incident can have nothing to do with great matters of church and state....Yet, little is as it seems in this gripping novel, which dramatizes the ways...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1573227951
• ISBN13: 9781573227957
• Release Date: April 2000
• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Length: 704 Pages
• Weight: 1.67 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Brilliant!

A dark and yet illuminating journey into the late Cromwellian and early Restoration periods. A time that was rife with royalist plots, tense relations with the Spanish Netherlands and France, differing theologies and philosophies. The author has given us a cast of historical characters alive at the time lending authenticity to the period. It is through the skillful intermingling of these historical personages with the fictitious ones that we get glimpses of intellectual life in Oxford and London. Against this backdrop there is the investigation of the murder of an Oxford don, Dr. Grove. His former servant, Sarah Blundy, is accused of the murder, confesses to the crime and is sentenced to be hanged. She is an enigmatic character, a true outlier known for her spiritual healing and outspoken honesty. Sarah has also been employed as a servant by Anthony Wood, an Oxford archivist; they will share an all consuming love affair resulting in his repeated attempts to save her from execution. The core of the story is to be found in the four narratives of da Cola, Prescott, John Wallis and Anthony Wood. Each version is seen through the prism of their particular world view with varying shades of the truth. This is a brilliant work - one to be read slowly for all of the nuances. There is one caveat; there are some disturbing parts, but this did not lessen my appreciation for this lengthy and incredible read.

Thematic spoiler ahead (slightly a plot spoiler)

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 illustrative of empiricism, the second as illustrative 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.

Seven Hundred Pages Weren't Enough

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.

Tough, but Rewarding

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!

Twists of fate make for a genuinely literary mystery novel

This is a long (680 pgs in my paperback edition--bought from A.c, by the way) historical novel set in reformation England-mostly Oxford. The story comprises four distinct memoirs-seemingly written in about 1680-that recall events during 1663. The characters are mostly historical figures-actually two of the narrators are fictitous, two are genuine, while secondary characters include Robert Boyle, James Locke, and other lesser know figures of the restoration. Pears' historical knowledge seems formidable and the reader can look forward to learning much about this era. Most impressive to me was the great authenticity of the narrative voices and the almost flawless resolution of an intricate story line. This is a mystery, much in the tradition of "The Name of the Rose," but with a deep bow to "Roshamon." For the story to work, each of the narrators has to come across as a genuine character of the 17th century. Pears accomplishes this by skillfully blending the style and syntax of the era with contemporaneous prejudices and ignorance. Every once in a while you can hear the style relapse to modern-speak for a bit, but Pears gets so much right that it's hard to quibble. The characters profess belief in magic and archaic medical theory with casual conviction. They are mired in-to modern ears-an appallingly oppressive attitude toward women and "common" people. At the same time, these are the leading scientists and philosophers of their time; hearing them you get the strong sense that their society is beginning to break free and move toward genuine science and egalitarian politics. It is a remarkable achievement for a novel-all the more so because it is also a gripping thriller. What the memoirs are trying to explain are the events surrounding the death by poisoning of an Oxford don, Robert Grove and the subsequent execution of a young serving woman, Sarah Blundy, who is convicted of the murder. The first narrator identifies himself as Marco da Cola, a Venetian student of medicine who gets stuck in Oxford due to complications with his family's business. Although da Cola becomes convinced of Sarah's guilt, the reader develops great sympathy for her. Pears draws Sarah as a combination of a Christian mystic and a proto-feminist. This works for the plot and to make her an appealing character. But the combination of religious fervor and sexual freedom she proclaims is one note that does seem a bit too modern-perhaps one grows to love her because of this very whiff of modernity. Each narrator that follows retells the story with differing interpretations of the facts and with addition of separate layers of motivation. Be warned that the next two narrators espouse attitudes that are very hard to stomach-despite their great self-satisfaction. Contradictions and complexities accumulate until the mystery seems utterly insoluble. Then at the end, by some alchemy of literary skill, Pears manages to explain ever

Some words of advice on reading this incredible novel

In addition to echoing the words of praise written by other reviewers, I implore you to heed a few words of advice:1. DO NOT read too many reviews here! There are big spoilers below that will ruin your own experience of this novel. Once you're convinced to read this book, skip the rest of these reviews and come back when you're done!2. Read a summary of the historical background of this period in English history and be ready to refer to it often. An encyclopedia would be handy for background on some of the historical figures.3. Don't be in a rush. You'll be reading this for the first time only once; savor the details as you go.4. I agree with an earlier reviewer: take notes. The book is simply too long and complex to keep everything straight in your head. Familiar names reappear in the story, events resurface, and a few notes about the characters and plot will help jog your memory. In this respect the novel reminds me greatly of Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. You'll miss a lot if you just plow through at top speed.Does all this sound like a lot to ask? It may be for some readers. But some of the best things in life require a little effort.