Particularize Books Toward The Book of Evidence (Frames: The Freddie Montgomery Trilogy #1)
| Original Title: | The Book of Evidence |
| ISBN: | 0375725237 (ISBN13: 9780375725234) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | Frames: The Freddie Montgomery Trilogy #1 |
| Literary Awards: | Booker Prize Nominee (1989), Guinness Peat Aviation Book Award (1989), Premio Ennio Flaiano (1991) |
John Banville
Paperback | Pages: 220 pages Rating: 3.71 | 4006 Users | 392 Reviews
Ilustration As Books The Book of Evidence (Frames: The Freddie Montgomery Trilogy #1)
Irish novelist John Banville—known to readers of mystery fiction as Benjamin Black—had been writing novels for twenty years when, in 1989, The Book of Evidence was short-listed for the Booker. Every page of this elegant psychopathic monologue—a thief and murderer's intelligent and restrained account of his inane and violent crime—reveals Banville to be a master of his craft.
Protagonist Freddie Montgomery is—like Humbert Humbert—an unreliable narrator. He and Humbert are unreliable, however, not because they lie to us, but because their amorality and lack of feeling rob them of the capacity to connect their own actions with consequences, and therefore they are deprived of the ability to create a coherent emotional identity. Freddie, in fact, may commit his crimes—and write his "book of evidence" too—in a vain attempt to feel something—anything—and, through such feelings, to comprehend his ever elusive self. But—just like the monkey-artist in Nabokov's preface to Lolita—the first, the only, portrait he can fashion is a picture of the bars of his cage.
In addition to the unreliability of his narrator, Banville resembles Nabokov in the beauty of his prose. Though his style is less resplendent and concentrated, it is also more melodious and precise. The jeweled splendor of Nabokov is perhaps inimitable, but one could do worse than imitate Banville's flowing, pellucid style.
Declare Out Of Books The Book of Evidence (Frames: The Freddie Montgomery Trilogy #1)
| Title | : | The Book of Evidence (Frames: The Freddie Montgomery Trilogy #1) |
| Author | : | John Banville |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | First Vintage International Edition, June 2001 |
| Pages | : | Pages: 220 pages |
| Published | : | June 12th 2001 by Vintage Books (first published 1989) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Cultural. Ireland. European Literature. Irish Literature. Mystery. Literature. Novels. Literary Fiction |
Rating Out Of Books The Book of Evidence (Frames: The Freddie Montgomery Trilogy #1)
Ratings: 3.71 From 4006 Users | 392 ReviewsAppraise Out Of Books The Book of Evidence (Frames: The Freddie Montgomery Trilogy #1)
Just arrived from Australia through BM. A magnificent book!!
John Banville's Book of Evidence is a disturbing short novel about Freddie Montgomery, a man who has committed murder. This is his account of his life and what led him to kill.Needless to say, it is disturbing. Freddie rambles, filling his audience in on his life in bits and pieces, going back and forth in time without taking a break. There are no chapter divisions, so this novel would be best read in as close to one sitting as possible, just to appreciate the nature of Freddie's associations
4.5 stars. A beautifully written story about the prison testimony of Freddie Montgomery who killed a maid trying to stop him stealing a painting. Set in Ireland. Freddie writes about his mother, his wife and his friends/associates. A great character study. A book to reread.
Freddie Montgomery is unmistakably guilty - he stole and killed. The confession he writes, while in jail and awaiting trial, may be unreliable, but then, I dont think it is about reliability. You could see it as a confession of a psychopath, or as a story about a man whose life is missing some essential element. But it has depth, and self-reflection. It has something that gripped me, like no other story that I read recently. Not because Freddie is likable, because believe me - he is not, but
Never have I liked a book more in the first 10 pages that I hated more in the next 210 pages. The basic premise is that the main character (I hesitate to call him the protagonist) is in jail for killing someone and we find out over the course of the novel what happened. He is clearly a psychopath or sociopath or...something, I don't know, he's crazy.At first I was hoping this was going to be some sore of Hannibal Lecter/Professor Moriarty evil genius walks us through his crime situation. Not so
"I killed her because I could, I said, what more can I say?"I have found another favorite author. My Goodreads friend, Judith, highly recommended John Banville, and in particular his The Untouchable. I read good books very slowly so since I still work more than full time I began with a much shorter novel, one of Banville's earlier works, The Book of Evidence (1989), which made the short list for Booker Prize. It took me almost an entire week to read the 217 pages (a popular novel of this volume
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.