Pure by Andrew Miller

I am not normally one to read a book purely because of the hype that is surrounding it but I couldn’t resist buying a copy (well my lovely girlfriend bought it for me) of the Costa Prize winning Pure by Andrew Miller.

What can I say about this book? Miller’s prose is beautiful throughout, deceptively simple yet creating a eerie, foreboding atmosphere which never lets up.  The story itself follows a young, naïve engineer from Normandy (which, for the other characters, might as well be on the moon) who is given the mammoth task of clearing Les Innocents cemetery in Les Halles in Paris in 1785.. The grave yard is for me a character in itself and one that Miller uses to demonstrate the tensions of the period. It is huge and overflowing with corpses, buried on top of each other like, a mass grave polluting the city with its foul smell. Indeed, Les Innocents is overflowing, spilling its contents into surrounding cellars bursting at the seams with the dead of Paris.

This is the task that Jean Baptist faces in the opening chapters, which for me, were the best in the book. The richness of the characters we are introduced to in this opening section is fantastic. They are so well rounded and believable, showing a cross section of Paris in this period. Having recently read Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables it was wonderful to find myself back in this period so lovingly invoked by Miller.

As Jean Baptist slowly claws back the ground from the dead we get glimpses of the markets and streets that surround Les Innocents. Having read some interviews with Andrew Miller I know that the historical research that go into his novels is meticulous.  The contrast he creates between the aristocracy, hiding away in their palaces and the peasants living so close to the grave yard is striking. It is no coincidence that this book is set just a year before the French Revolution, and all the signs are here to be seen, like a creeping shadow slowly falling over Paris and France.

This is a beautiful book, fully deserving of the hype that surrounds it. The world which Miller has created has a darkly brooding atmosphere that draws you in. It is perfectly paced and as such I read it in almost one sitting. Look out for this one on the Booker long list later in the year. 

Welcome to Nabokov's Monocle.

Hello and thank you for coming to Nabokov's Monocle. For a start I don't think the genius that was Vladimir Nabokov wore a monocle. I just liked the idea of it. But anyway...... I am something of a bookworm and I have of late been reading at something of a prestigious rate. I am a book seller by trade and as such the pile of books that surrounds me is growing steadily larger. My intention with this blog is to share my humble musings on the many books that I read with whoever wants to read them . I will be trying to review as many new and unpublished books as possible but I will also share with you some of the more random things from my bookcase. If anyone would like me review anything please get in touch with me on twitter or drop me an email.  Happy reading guys.