|
 
$9.50
Used Trade Paper
Ships in 1 to 3 days
More copies of this ISBNThis title in other editionseBook editionsThe Dream of Scipioby Iain Pears
Staff Pick
"This is a most unusual plotline — three men's lives are paralleled throughout history at times of great spiritual and political crisis and how each comes to terms with their significant roles that must be played out. So, we have the fall of the Roman Empire, the Black Death, and World War II all set against France as the backdrop. It is an intricate and beautifully thought through story."
"This is a most unusual plotline — three men's lives are paralleled throughout history at times of great spiritual and political crisis and how each comes to terms with their significant roles that must be played out. So, we have the fall of the Roman Empire, the Black Death, and World War II all set against France as the backdrop. It is an intricate and beautifully thought through story." Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:In The Dream of Scipio, "Pears's finest book yet" (The Boston Globe), the acclaimed author of An Instance of the Fingerpost intertwines three intellectual mysteries, three love stories—and three of the darkest moments in human history. United by a classical text called "The Dream of Scipio," three men struggle to find refuge for their hearts and minds from the madness that surrounds them...in the final days of the Roman Empire, in the grim years of the Black Death, and in the direst hours of World War II. Review:"Pears' elaborate narrative triptych is dazzling for its structure, its complexity, and the richness of thought that gives it texture. But, finally, it is the passion of the love stories, undercutting bloodless philosophy while embracing the messiness of life, that lets the novel soar." Bill Ott, Booklist (Starred Review) Review:"[Pears's] latest novel, The Dream of Scipio, is another category-buster, a work of such philosophical and cultural complexity that its greatest mystery is 'How can Pears know so much?' Pears's canvas has never been larger (Western culture), or his concerns more profound (What is civilization?). Summarizing this complicated story risks intimidating readers away, but — while it's good to be prepared for some work — this is another wildly entertaining novel....Each of these three story lines is so compelling that every break inspires a little regret that you have to leave one and a little thrill that you get to rejoin another....This is a novel for our time about all time. Those who ignore Iain Pears are doomed to repeat the past." Ron Charles, The Christian Science Monitor (read the entire CSM review) Review:"Pears has a nice sense of what it means to live in a time when things fall apart, and not only the center but even the peripheries will not hold. But the readers who flocked to An Instance of the Fingerpost might not find the pages turning so fast in this less mystery-driven outing." Publishers Weekly Review:"At times, Pears' weighty themes take precedence over plot and character development, and the narrative lacks dramatic tension. At these moments, this formidably intelligent novel resembles a ponderous treatise more than a fluid and convincing work of fiction." Susan Tekulve, Book Magazine Review:"[A]n enormously accomplished work that stands as a learned novel of ideas, a meditation on history and a moving love story, all rolled into one volume....The intellectual range of the novel is vast. Yet Scipio is far from a dry piece of academic discourse. At the heart of the novel lies a moving love story....This tandem of thought-provoking ideas and dramatic human situations makes The Dream of Scipio a worthy successor to Fingerpost." Mark Tarallo, BookPage Review:"The Dream of Scipio is complex, surprising and thought-provoking, a dream of a novel in more senses than one." The Wall Street Journal Review:"There are many beautiful passages, certainly, but the central aspects of the book would have been better treated in a study of real writers than in this oddly fictionalised form of scholarship....Pears seems to think that literary fiction is simply crime-writing without the plot. This ambitious novel is so busy chasing its tail that it forgets to go forwards." Jonathan Heawood, The Observer (London) Review:"Pears possesses that wildly rare quality displayed only by writers like A.S. Byatt in Possession or Umberto Eco in The Name of the Rose: the ability to be both extraordinarily erudite and thoroughly capable of writing a novel that the intellectually unwashed can enjoy....Pears makes you think and want to learn more. This is not escapist literature but educational in the very best sense of the word..." USA Today Synopsis:The bestselling author of An Instance of the Fingerpost intertwines three intellectual mysteries, three love stories — and three of the darkest moments in human history. Synopsis:The bestselling author of "An Instance of the Fingerpost" intertwines three intellectual mysteries, three love stories--and three of the darkest moments in human history: the final days of the Roman Empire, the grim years of the Black Death, and the direst hours of World War II. About the AuthorIain Pears was born in 1955. Educated at Wadham College, Oxford, he has worked as a journalist, an art historian, and a television consultant in England, France, Italy, and the United States. He is the author of seven highly praised detective novels, a book of art history, and countless articles on artistic, financial, and historical subjects, as well as the international bestseller An Instance of the Fingerpost He lives in Oxford, England. What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!Average customer rating based on 6 comments: 
View all 6 commentsProduct Details
Other books you might like
Related Subjects
Fiction and Poetry » Literature » A to Z
|
|||||||||
|
|
||||||||||
|
Follow us on...
|
||||||||||
Don't Miss
