Andrew Pessin

*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers in exchange for an honest review.*

I wasn’t feeling the beginning of this–it’s incredibly slow and suffers from a lot of info dumping. I wasn’t really sure what the point of the book was for a good 50 pages of it. Also, the main character seemed too bumbling and clueless for me. I understand why he works for the story to be revealed the way it does, but I just wasn’t feeling it. There’s also way too many suspicious characters who seem super shady for me to have really gotten into the mystery part of it. The way I saw it, it didn’t really matter who killed Descartes since they all seemed pretty guilty.

However, once the story properly got started, I enjoyed myself. There are a lot of twists and reveals that the reader can guess at once more information is given near the middle of the book, and that’s where a lot of the action picks up. The intrigue itself is quite good and there’s quite a twist at the end.

However, the part that shone for me and that I really enjoyed was Rene Descartes’s backstory. Once Pessin goes into the history of France and the area, the context of the time Descartes lived in, and his experience at school, I was hooked. More than anything, this book made me want to pick up biographies of Rene Descartes just to learn more about him. I was a little disappointed to get back to the proper storyline, but that interest in Rene Descartes helped get me to the end, which was quite good.

Overall, Pessin does a good job in connecting true historical events and weaving an interesting tale around Descartes and his murder. While the thriller aspects seemed a bit off to me, I did enjoy the overall story.

Also posted on Purple People Readers.… (plus d'informations)

Os livros genéricos têm o defeito de serem genéricos. A quem se dirigem? Quem será o tal leitor padrão que "precisa" deste livro? Em boa verdade, ninguém faz parte desse grande todo anónimo que pouco sabe acerca de certos assuntos. Nem eu, nem você, nem ninguém. Embora gostemos de pensar que sim, fazemo-lo apenas por preguiça; ou real incapacidade de realmente pensar o todo no tudo que o faz como tal. Às tantas, se calhar, fazemos mesmo parte desse grande todo imbecil que julgávamos tão distante de nós. Sim, é verdade que este livro é genérico, mas ninguém sabe quanto de si é genericamente comum.

Talvez, sabe-se lá, este livro tenha algo para si.

Porque a filosofia, afinal, é feita de banalidades, o efeito colateral de estar consciente.



Adenda: O livro está escrito num português correto, mas a tradução às vezes é mazinha. A culpa, creio, não é tanto do tradutor – faltou um revisor mais capaz.… (plus d'informations)

Interesting blending of history, mystery and intrigue. Pessin has taken the real life debate as to whether Descartes died in 1950 of natural causes and turned it into a mystery novel, tasking the young and inexperienced Jesuit Adrien Baillet with investigating the circumstances surrounding Descartes untimely demise. The fact that the Swedish court's Chancellor expects Baillet's report to confirm natural causes is only one of many hurdles Baillet faces. The story is really two stories in one... the book alternates between following Baillet investigation and portraying Descartes life. The Descartes chapters make for good historical
reading but I have to say I really enjoyed the fast-paced, twisty plot of suspects and events of the Baillet chapters. Filled with everything from swordplay to secret societies and political /religious intrigue, this is quite the packed historical fiction read. Granted, the author has taken some literary license in giving his characters some more contemporary turn of phrase and mannerisms, but I found these helped enhance my reading pleasure and gave the story some entertaining moments, lightening the dark, sinister atmosphere of shadowy figures, long nights and freezing cold of Pessin's Stockholm.

Overall, an entertaining mystery thriller and an informative glimpse into the life of René Descartes.… (plus d'informations)