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Loading... The Dream of Scipio (original 2002; edition 2003)by Iain Pears
Work detailsThe Dream of Scipio by Iain Pears (2002)
None. This book has taken almost a full year to get through about half of it. It's complex and thought-provoking - but somehow not all that compelling to get back to, (  ) MarshaKT | Mar 4, 2012 |  Another great look at history from three different perspectives. Always learn something from this author. (  ) ChrissyLou | Dec 28, 2011 | An intellectual, elegant, philosophical novel that nevertheless is deeply touching. It tells the stories of three men, each devoted to a particular idealized woman, at three different points in human history: near the end of the Roman Empire, in the Middle Ages, and during World War II. The thread that connects the three is the eponymous philosophical manuscript. ( ) Logophile | Nov 13, 2011 | This story of three significant periods in the history of Provence and the interconnected lives of three men living in each time – each linked by a philosophical treatise called “The Dream of Scipio” – would probably require multiple readings to understand the nuances and connections fully. But on first read, it was very engaging following the events in the life of a Roman elite and philosopher witnessing – and perhaps contributing to – the fall of Rome while writing “The Dream”; a poet caught up in the political machinations of the Catholic Church during the Black Plague; and a scholar studying botht he philosopher and the poet from his vantage point in history as the Nazis invade France. All three men are also linked by their loves for formidable and similar women, and the different ways they deal with their love affairs provide most of the suspense. This is a fascinating work of historical fiction with many interesting ideas and themes hidden beneath the surface; even if the author is not entirely successful in pulling together all the myriad pieces of his large tapestry, he does produce an enlightening tale. ( ) sturlington | Oct 28, 2011 | An amazing book. I bought this book seven years ago because I was arrested by the first sentence, and a period of invalidism recently caused me to take it down finally and read it. Human and heartbreaking, it follows three narratives in three distinct periods of history. The narratives braid throughout the book and demonstrate that there is nothing new under the sun, for the characters in each period share similar dilemmas and questions even though their pieces of civilization are very different from one another. Each story takes place during a time when that particular way of life is drastically changing, and the characters caught in the upheavals are called upon to make profound choices. What is civilization? Why should it be safeguarded, and by whom? In addition to being a wonderful historical novel (three, actually), I learned so much from this book. It led me to questions and internet chases that I'm certain I would not pursued had I not read it. It's a dense and chewy read, but very rewarding. Pears is an exceptional storyteller. ( ) mngm | Aug 18, 2011 |
 ... the plot is certainly dense, if not at times impenetrable. The real benefit and the satisfactions of the book lie not so much in its impressively complex design, but rather in its neat set-piece scenes. ... Civilisation is what The Dream of Scipio and Pears are really all about. Pears is undoubtedly a writer of peculiarly refined sensibilities, and the book is studded with aphorisms. In the end, though, it all boils down to this: "Do we use the barbarians to control barbarism? Can we exploit them so that they preserve civilised values rather than destroy them?" It's a good question. The Dream of Scipio is one answer.
Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 157322202X, Hardcover)Like his elegant debut, An Instance of the Fingerpost, Iain Pears's The Dream of Scipio is an inventive, gloriously detailed historical novel told from multiple viewpoints. But Pears has set himself an additional challenge by spreading his narrators over several centuries: there's the fifth century French nobleman and bishop, Manlius, a civilized man who has embraced the uncouth Christian faith in order to protect what he holds dear; an 11th-century scholar and troubadour named Olivier de Noyen, the famously ill-fated admirer of a married girl; and Julien Barneuve, an early 20th-century scholar of de Noyen who discovers, through him, a magnificent manuscript of Manlius's called "The Dream of Scipio." Though all three men come from the same small Provençal town, it is this manuscript, derived from the teachings of a wise woman, that links the three narrative threads of Pears's story. At the heart of The Dream of Scipio and, one suspects, at the heart of its author, is the conflict between a classical ideal of learning and the contemplation of beauty, and the noisy, uncivilized, democratizing impulses of the Christian era. A novel of ideas like its predecessor, The Dream of Scipio is neither chilly nor didactic and doesn't shy away from depicting the costs of its narrators' unpopular devotions. --Regina Marler(retrieved from Amazon Wed, 12 Jan 2011 14:16:28 -0500) Set in Provence at three critical moments of Western civilisation and follows the fortunes of three men. (summary from another edition) |
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