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The Dream of Scipio

The Dream of Scipio

Author(s): Iain Pears

Location(s): Provence

Genre(s): Fiction, Mystery

Era(s): Various

Location

Content

Set in Provence at three crucial moments of Western civilisation (the final collapse of the Roman Empire in the fifth century, the Black Death in the 14th century, and the Second World War in the 20th), Pears presents the lives of three men. Manlius Hippomanes is an aristocrat, obsessively concerned with the preservation of Roman civilisation: Olivier de Noyen is a poet: and Julian Barneuve is an intellectual who makes the mistake of joining the corrupt Vichy government. Pears weaves his dazzling and discursive narrative through the troubled lives of each man, the common thread being the classical text which is the book’s title– a work of challenging philosophical inquiry. The other common denominator is the love each man has for a remarkable woman.

It is difficult to know where to begin in praising the achievement of this rigorous but infinitely beguiling book. The novel of ideas has been moribund for quite some time, but Pears breathes rude life into the genre with an epic that echoes the achievements of Robert Graves and André Gide. The balance between the key questions of existence and the passionate, life-affirming solidity that the author grants to his characters is impeccable, and all three protagonists are forcefully characterised.

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Book Reviews

Lead Review

There are three intertwined stories here, set in Provence in three seperate time periods and the author has the gift to effortlessly recreate the flavour of a particular place in time. – Lou Bertram...

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