So far, I have read three novels by Tim Parks, Europa, Destiny and most recently, Shear, and mainly been disappointed. The novels seem muddled, with apparently an interesting premise, interesting setting and some interesting ideas, but it just does not come out. For instance, Tim Parks's Italy isn't Italy. There is so little attention for the surroundings that, although there are indications that the novels are either set in Italy or "a Mediterranean country" there is no feel for Italy. Unfortunately, the same happens with the characters in the book. The same lack of attention to describe the characters, so that we do not get to know them. The action in the novels is violent, but unfocussed. Overall, my experience reading Parks so far has been that the books are boring, and after reading it isn't clear what they were about, and by the end of the book one does not really care to find out any more.

Shear then occurs when ‘pressure is applied in at least two different and not diametrically opposite directions.’

In the novel Shear the main character is apparently subjected to various strains of stress. Peter Nicholson is sent to a quarry to investigate and write a report. A worker has been killed. The conflicting interests are the postponement of work pending the investigation and the quest to uncover the truth about what happened to the worker, who was hit by a piece of rock. While his employer originally wanted him to investigate, they later tell him to drop the case, while the owners of the quarry are uncooperative throughout: stress mounted as the widow of the worker appears on the scene and keeps spurring Peter on with the investigation. The discovery of the piece of bloodied rock that killed the worker and closer examination of its structure, reveal that much more trouble is hidden behind the accident. The three conflicting interests drive Nicholson to despair.

But even on page 178, Nicholson says: "I don't understand why I was sent here. I was told to find something at all costs. Now it seems everybody knew there was nothing to find. Even the Australians."

This is after Nicholson has uncovered the suspicious rock, and the widow has been killed. Nicholson's ideas about the death are muddled. He claims to have seen her in the morning; she is said to have committed suicide the night before; the next day, he suggests the quarry workers have killed her by pushing her onto the saws.

Beside the battle of conflicting interests at work, Peter Nicholson's attention is also torn between three women. Unfortunately, none of these women are described very clearly, and their relations with Nicholson remain sketchy.

The setting of the novel is in a quarry, and a lot of technical vocabulary to describe the machinery, work operations, etc is used, as well as geological terminology. This creates an image of harshness, hard, cold and mechanical. A source of additional stress is the racket caused by cutting the slabs of granite. There is a strong contrast between the quiet of the sound-proof quarters and the overwhelming din on the work floor.

It is possible that the author wants the reader to be in Nicholson's head only, and make the reader blind to nuances, hence the lack of characterization and description, other than that of the quarry, which is described in great detail. However, it makes the novel less interesting to read.

The muddled structure in worsened by the fact that all action in the novel takes place in just five days. Is all this pressure meant to put strain on the reader?

On the blurb the novel is presented as a mystery. The mystery part of the killed worker is obvious enough, but the mystery is more about what is going on in Nicholson's mind. Perhaps the label psychological thriller would be more applicable.

The end of the novel is puzzling. How does Nicholson know what he is apparently looking for, and then why does he fail to know it is a bomb that will kill him, detonating as he grabs it. Why must he find it before the saw finished cutting the slab? Is his death an accident, murder or suicide? ( )