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Havoc, in Its Third Year
A penetrating and ambitious historical novel, "Havoc, in Its Third Year" is an ingenious, often deeply unnerving narrative of seventeenth-century England that speaks directly to the fanaticism and fears of today.The time is the early seventeenth century, as the quarrel between Royalists and Parliamentarians turns toward civil war, and that between Catholics and Protestants leads toward bloody religious tyranny; the place is a town in northern England, set in a grim landscape swept by crop failures, plague and rumors of war, in which rigid Puritans have taken over government and imposed their own rules.
At the center of the novel is John Brigge, the Coroner and a Governor of the town, though not by any means as convinced a zealot as his fellow governors have become. Married and deeply in love with Elizabeth, who is pregnant with their first child, he has a guilty secret to hide in his affection for Dorcas, his wife's ward -- a secret which, in the world of religious prejudice and extremism toward which England is moving, can be lethal.
Determined to obey the law, rather than prejudice and the need to make an example of an Irishwoman accused of murdering her own infant, Brigge draws upon himself the hostility and suspicion of the powerful men who have been his fellow governors and who now set out to destroy him in the name of morality.
Brigge is both sympathetic and deeply vulnerable. He genuinely loves Elizabeth and longs for their child to be born, but he is also deeply attracted to Dorcas; he is, however guardedly, of "the old faith" and does not hesitate to hide a priest; he favors the wretched vagrants who infest the roads, seeking shelter and a bite to eat, and employsone of them on his farm. He insists on finding out the truth about the Irishwoman's baby, despite the fact that everybody has already decided on her guilt. In short, without intending to do so, John Brigge offers himself up as a victim by refusing to cooperate with the political and religious masters of the town or to subordinate his own conscience to their demand for rigid obedience and piety. Even his own clerk Adam, whom he regards as a son, turns against him in the end in a struggle that will almost cost Brigge his life and that sends him out into a cold and dangerous world, having sacrificed everything he once held dear, stripped of his power and authority, but made heroic by his commitment to love, truth and human feelings.
"Havoc, in Its Third Year" is a novel of great power, drama and terror, at once a love story and a superb work of historical fiction. It confirms Ronan Bennett's reputation as a masterful creator.
At the center of the novel is John Brigge, the Coroner and a Governor of the town, though not by any means as convinced a zealot as his fellow governors have become. Married and deeply in love with Elizabeth, who is pregnant with their first child, he has a guilty secret to hide in his affection for Dorcas, his wife's ward -- a secret which, in the world of religious prejudice and extremism toward which England is moving, can be lethal.
Determined to obey the law, rather than prejudice and the need to make an example of an Irishwoman accused of murdering her own infant, Brigge draws upon himself the hostility and suspicion of the powerful men who have been his fellow governors and who now set out to destroy him in the name of morality.
Brigge is both sympathetic and deeply vulnerable. He genuinely loves Elizabeth and longs for their child to be born, but he is also deeply attracted to Dorcas; he is, however guardedly, of "the old faith" and does not hesitate to hide a priest; he favors the wretched vagrants who infest the roads, seeking shelter and a bite to eat, and employsone of them on his farm. He insists on finding out the truth about the Irishwoman's baby, despite the fact that everybody has already decided on her guilt. In short, without intending to do so, John Brigge offers himself up as a victim by refusing to cooperate with the political and religious masters of the town or to subordinate his own conscience to their demand for rigid obedience and piety. Even his own clerk Adam, whom he regards as a son, turns against him in the end in a struggle that will almost cost Brigge his life and that sends him out into a cold and dangerous world, having sacrificed everything he once held dear, stripped of his power and authority, but made heroic by his commitment to love, truth and human feelings.
"Havoc, in Its Third Year" is a novel of great power, drama and terror, at once a love story and a superb work of historical fiction. It confirms Ronan Bennett's reputation as a masterful creator.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published August 24, 2004
9 people are currently reading
443 people want to read
About the author
Ronan Bennett
17Ìýbooks47ÌýfollowersRonan Bennett is a novelist and screenwriter who was born and brought up in Northern Ireland and now lives in London. His third novel, The Catastrophist, was nominated for the Whibread award in 1998. Havoc, in Its Third Year (2004) was listed for the Booker prize. Havoc has been adapted into a motion picture to be released later in 2012. His latest novel is Zugzwang. His television drama Top Boy will be broadcast by Channel 4 in November 2011.
In addition to Havoc and Top Boy, Ronan has an excessive amount of work writing and creating for both television and the screen.
Long before Ronan ever thought of becoming a writer, he did a brief stint in prison for crimes perpetrated by the Irish Republican Army, crimes he was wrongly accused for.
In addition to Havoc and Top Boy, Ronan has an excessive amount of work writing and creating for both television and the screen.
Long before Ronan ever thought of becoming a writer, he did a brief stint in prison for crimes perpetrated by the Irish Republican Army, crimes he was wrongly accused for.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
October 9, 2009
it has happened again!!! well, two things have happened again. first,i started reading this book thinking it was about the plague. the cover looks plague-y right? well, its not. which is fine, but this is just the second time in as many months that i for some reason have a clear mental sense of what a book is about and as i am reading i have to wonder why my mind was lying to me. second: as i was already well into the book, i decided idly to read the back copy. (or flap copy, as i have the hardcover) and then - janet frame syndrome!! it tells the whole plot even to the extent that it says "in the end blah blah blah." good lord, why?? so, read the book, but dont read the jacket. unless you think it is about the plague, and want to know what it is really about. in detail.
January 3, 2013
Surely it has to be acknowledged that the far less than profound expectation of most fiction on the part of the everyday reader is that it will be in some way entertaining, which is what for some reason I had hoped for from this historical novel.
This book is well enough written using language that gives a strong sense of period whilst remaining easily understood. It is clearly quite well grounded in factual research and starts out as if it is to be an historical mystery or detective story. Then gradually it descends into a what is probably quite a realistic portrayal of the brutality of existence in intolerant and inadequately developed societies, both in the past and in the present.
So, a depressing set of outcomes. Not exactly escapism.
I am not sure I can fairly fault the book for that. I just did not enjoy it by the time I had reached the end and did not think it sufficiently profound to be regarded as on another level.
This book is well enough written using language that gives a strong sense of period whilst remaining easily understood. It is clearly quite well grounded in factual research and starts out as if it is to be an historical mystery or detective story. Then gradually it descends into a what is probably quite a realistic portrayal of the brutality of existence in intolerant and inadequately developed societies, both in the past and in the present.
So, a depressing set of outcomes. Not exactly escapism.
I am not sure I can fairly fault the book for that. I just did not enjoy it by the time I had reached the end and did not think it sufficiently profound to be regarded as on another level.
June 19, 2009
Havoc is a multi-layered parable set in England in the 1630s. A time shortly before a religious based civil war during which King Charles I was beheaded, a time of immense unrest. Catholics were outlawed and their priests when found were hung, drawn and quartered. Surviving Catholic laymen were barely tolerated, were suspected of conspiring with the pope to overturn society and were forced to attend Church of England services four times annually. Many persons were displaced and were roaming the countryside in groups that townspeople viewed as a threat.
The most significant layer pits puritanical town governors against Catholic John Brigge. As the story develops the governors take increased measures to enforce the law and ultimately give themselves the legal right to execute by hanging. They take these measures even though they can not understand why people continue to sin and break the law when the penalties are becoming increasingly harsh.
Brigge at the parable's beginning is a governor and coroner and is living with his pregnant wife Elizabeth on their small estate, Winters. It is several hours from the town across the moors. Brigge is a strong believer in the second commandment and believes that no matter how harshly laws are enforced all men will continue to sin.
A mystery, who killed a new born baby, is another level. And still another describes Brigge's love for his wife and adulterous sin.
In the end the town and the overly puritanical are destroyed. Brigge loses all, his beloved wife, his farm, his life but not his soul. God has spoken.
The most significant layer pits puritanical town governors against Catholic John Brigge. As the story develops the governors take increased measures to enforce the law and ultimately give themselves the legal right to execute by hanging. They take these measures even though they can not understand why people continue to sin and break the law when the penalties are becoming increasingly harsh.
Brigge at the parable's beginning is a governor and coroner and is living with his pregnant wife Elizabeth on their small estate, Winters. It is several hours from the town across the moors. Brigge is a strong believer in the second commandment and believes that no matter how harshly laws are enforced all men will continue to sin.
A mystery, who killed a new born baby, is another level. And still another describes Brigge's love for his wife and adulterous sin.
In the end the town and the overly puritanical are destroyed. Brigge loses all, his beloved wife, his farm, his life but not his soul. God has spoken.
August 1, 2018
There is so much that I admired about this novel, foremost the pitch-perfect 17th century perspective, the beautiful evocation of married love and its relentless pursuit of compassion. It is the story of Yorkshire coroner John Brigge, suspected papist and erstwhile governor of his town, set amidst the world’s descent into a chaos of Protestant extremism and violent scapegoating in the years before the English Civil War. The thread that holds the novel together is Brigge’s determination to find justice for a vagrant Irish woman who has been accused of the murder of her newborn child. As his friends turn against him and his attempts to withdraw from power are thwarted he clings to the search for the truth like a drowning man.
It’s a challenging book in a lot of ways though, and not easy to love. It feels long even though it’s short because of the creeping inevitability of what’s happening, and the dreamy parable pace of the plot frustrated me at times. It sounds like a crime novel with the infanticide plot but this works at a thematic rather than dramatic level. The analogy to our modern culture of blame, retribution and suspicion was heavy handed at times.
But none of that detracts from the loveliness of John’s perspective on life and his fundamental goodness, which shine through the book and left me with an ache in my chest.
It’s a challenging book in a lot of ways though, and not easy to love. It feels long even though it’s short because of the creeping inevitability of what’s happening, and the dreamy parable pace of the plot frustrated me at times. It sounds like a crime novel with the infanticide plot but this works at a thematic rather than dramatic level. The analogy to our modern culture of blame, retribution and suspicion was heavy handed at times.
But none of that detracts from the loveliness of John’s perspective on life and his fundamental goodness, which shine through the book and left me with an ache in my chest.
October 29, 2010
What I found most impressive about this book was that not only the dialogue, but also the descriptive, was written in period language. And not by throwing in archaic terms, which most historical fiction writers do, but by having an absolute grasp on the sentence structure of the 17th century. (Or at least what I understand of the 17th century)
The story focuses on a man who holds office in a town during a time of political unrest and religious upheaval. Our protagonist is a man struggling between standing up for justice and his desire to retire to a simple life; either choice could endanger his future.
I was kind of thrown by the last scene, which seemed to end on a different path than we'd been led down.
The story focuses on a man who holds office in a town during a time of political unrest and religious upheaval. Our protagonist is a man struggling between standing up for justice and his desire to retire to a simple life; either choice could endanger his future.
I was kind of thrown by the last scene, which seemed to end on a different path than we'd been led down.
November 16, 2018
Set in the seventeenth century as the civil war in England continues, coroner and governor John Brigge is becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the rise of fanatical Puritanism. Bennett’s historical detail is commendable, but the reasons this novel reads so compulsively for me are the cast of characters and the setting of the Yorkshire moors.
To write so convincingly about the rugged and wild beauty of the moors needs experience and appreciation of it, which Bennett clearly has. In this respect the writing reminds me of Benjamin Myers’s two novels, The Gallows Pole and These Darkening Days . In common with Myers also is that he is prepared to confront the brutality of the time, in that respect, the moors in winter echo the darkness of the detail.
I recommend this highly and am surprised I hadn’t come across it sooner, as it was published in 2004.
To write so convincingly about the rugged and wild beauty of the moors needs experience and appreciation of it, which Bennett clearly has. In this respect the writing reminds me of Benjamin Myers’s two novels, The Gallows Pole and These Darkening Days . In common with Myers also is that he is prepared to confront the brutality of the time, in that respect, the moors in winter echo the darkness of the detail.
I recommend this highly and am surprised I hadn’t come across it sooner, as it was published in 2004.
The black moor stretched before them, disappearing into a dark gray wash that might have been sky or sea or the ends of the earth. The snow continued to fall, but here it did not lie. The moor was vast, malevolent and borderless, and it claimed the water itself, for the freezing black pools into which, in time, dogs and lambs and even men and their horses would innocently stray, slide and drown.
January 1, 2018
This was disappointing. Historical fiction can be a heavy lift, especially when it is set in a time of such twisted and unfamiliar mindset as Puritanism. This succumbed to caricature, and did not really grapple with the Puritan outlook, other than blame-and-shame. It basically took a modern-minded protagonist, thrust him into the uncongenial setting, and he didn't much like it. We likely wouldn't either, but if you are expecting insight or understanding as to the trends of those times, you will not find it here.
September 26, 2018
Ratings (1 to 5)
Writing: 4
Plot: 4
Characters: 3
Emotional impact: 4
Overall rating: 3.75
Writing: 4
Plot: 4
Characters: 3
Emotional impact: 4
Overall rating: 3.75
January 12, 2013
In Brigge the coroner, Bennett has created an interesting and sympathetic character and the parts of the novel which deal with his domestic life are deftly handled. In particular, I found the passage in which he and his wife reaffirm their love at the crisis of their lives is profoundly moving.
However, his Puritan antagonists are one dimensional characters, whose motivations are never really explained, and too much of the narrative is taken up either with descriptions of the degradation and cruelties which they inflict on the poor (themselves all either improbably saintly or venal) or polemical debates about the merits of mercy and the law - neither of which advance the plot. Like some other reviewers, I found the ending weak; I was also unconvinced as to the accuracy of the historical detail (a major problem in a book supposedly located in a specific time and place).
Despite these criticisms, it's an entertaining enough read and Bennett certainly has a nice literary style (although he does sometimes tell when he should show). But you do leave it regretting that an interesting and skilfully plotted story about a sympathetic character ultimately became submerged by too much heavy handed moralising on the theme of the need for tolerance and humane government.i
However, his Puritan antagonists are one dimensional characters, whose motivations are never really explained, and too much of the narrative is taken up either with descriptions of the degradation and cruelties which they inflict on the poor (themselves all either improbably saintly or venal) or polemical debates about the merits of mercy and the law - neither of which advance the plot. Like some other reviewers, I found the ending weak; I was also unconvinced as to the accuracy of the historical detail (a major problem in a book supposedly located in a specific time and place).
Despite these criticisms, it's an entertaining enough read and Bennett certainly has a nice literary style (although he does sometimes tell when he should show). But you do leave it regretting that an interesting and skilfully plotted story about a sympathetic character ultimately became submerged by too much heavy handed moralising on the theme of the need for tolerance and humane government.i
August 13, 2009
Set in England in the early 1630s, but with lots of resonance for the present, as a small town's leaders seek to impose order in the face of perceptions of increasing disorder & immorality by increasingly harsh & far-reaching punishment. Our hero haltingly pleads for tolerance, reason, & mercy but is torn between the need to make such pleas in public, the risks of doing so, & the desire to simply retreat into the pleasures & small comforts of his family (his wife & son). The hero is a compelling, truly good (though flawed) character (as are some of those around him), the story is a real page-turner, there are some very touching scenes & keen insights into the human capacity for both mercy & terrible cruelty (no naive message of tolerance here), all combine to make this brief novel immensely rewarding.
April 17, 2013
Havoc, in Its Third Year is a historical detective story that very deftly balances the needs of a good crime novel with the mood of its setting. Bennett manages to craft a story that is full of questions, twists and turns, and moral imbiguity for both its protagonist and the characters who surround him. He has also crafted a voice for himself, specifically for this book, which perfectly fits the setting of seventeenth-century England. It may not be altogether realistic, but it is evocative and dramatic. Bennett also scores points by keeping the style simple, not at all wordy; and there is some sardonic humour too. Something like Medieval Noir. Not a classic but I enjoyed it a lot.
July 4, 2013
I picked this novel up years ago, but never got round to reading it. Now that I have, I wish I had read it sooner. Other than sleepy hollow, I've never read a crime novel set in 1600s England. Written, with interesting characters, self reflection, as well as development. What really makes this novel brilliant is its language. Instead of opting for writing in dated English, Bennett uses modern English, but colors it with biblical phrasing... especially that of the St. James Bible. Ending with a twist, this novel is a must read for any historical crime lover.
January 27, 2016
FAVOURITE QUOTE: "There is today too much pleading of sincerity... Let me have men who are doubtful, who struggle with their consciences, who sometimes are confused by right and wrong, whose perceptions fail, whose troubled minds lead them this way and that and even to dark places they should not go. I do not care for these certain men who insist that what they feel is the truth as though their sincerity alone were enough to excuse their fanatic hearts."
March 13, 2022
This was a pretty good novel. But who needs pretty good novels? Not me.
March 2, 2010
short novel of murder in the middel ages, lovely book, nice style, very sympathetic. nearly gave it 5!
April 26, 2019
Booker-nominee Ronan Bennett's historical tale, Havoc in its Third Year, is set in the north of England in the late 1630’s but is chillingly modern, and has been compared to Arthur Miller's The Crucible in its marriage of historical drama and contemporary significance.
Havoc In Its Third Year unfolds around a fearful and repressive Puritan government. It focuses on John Brigge, a coroner in the north of England and one of a collective of reforming governors of the town, three years into a regime that promised Christian justice and openness after the corrupt rule of the tyrannical Lord Savile. He is called to perform an inquisition into the death of a baby, reported to have been murdered at birth by its mother, an Irish vagrant named Katherine Shay. With the Puritan faction demanding her immediate execution, Brigge suspects their haste has little to do with justice, and they are hiding something far bigger and refuses to pronounce her guilty, earning the enmity of Richard Doliffe, one of the more fanatical Puritans among the governors.
This novel is rich in period detail; food, smells, discomforts, diseases and interiors are all carefully and evocatively painted. Yet elements of the story remain quietly but chillingly modern. When Brigge's servant, who has been won over by the fanatics, says: 'We live in bitter times and the world is divided in two: those who live inside the godly nation, and those outside. Inside is righteousness and strength. Outside is barbarism and terror,' he could be paraphrasing recent politicians such as George W Bush, Donald Trump , and it could even be comparable to the current situation in the UK with Brexit depending on which side of the fence you sit on that one. Brigge overhears working men complaining of 'the swarm of outsiders who came to settle in the town and had but to ask for doles but were given them, while those who were born here, and whose fathers were born here, were neglected and disparaged.�
This is very heavy going, but Bennett is a writer of deep political conviction, and it is more than just a a vehicle for ideas. Wrestling with universal themes without falling into didacticism, it remains an accomplished and ambitious work of fiction.
Havoc In Its Third Year unfolds around a fearful and repressive Puritan government. It focuses on John Brigge, a coroner in the north of England and one of a collective of reforming governors of the town, three years into a regime that promised Christian justice and openness after the corrupt rule of the tyrannical Lord Savile. He is called to perform an inquisition into the death of a baby, reported to have been murdered at birth by its mother, an Irish vagrant named Katherine Shay. With the Puritan faction demanding her immediate execution, Brigge suspects their haste has little to do with justice, and they are hiding something far bigger and refuses to pronounce her guilty, earning the enmity of Richard Doliffe, one of the more fanatical Puritans among the governors.
This novel is rich in period detail; food, smells, discomforts, diseases and interiors are all carefully and evocatively painted. Yet elements of the story remain quietly but chillingly modern. When Brigge's servant, who has been won over by the fanatics, says: 'We live in bitter times and the world is divided in two: those who live inside the godly nation, and those outside. Inside is righteousness and strength. Outside is barbarism and terror,' he could be paraphrasing recent politicians such as George W Bush, Donald Trump , and it could even be comparable to the current situation in the UK with Brexit depending on which side of the fence you sit on that one. Brigge overhears working men complaining of 'the swarm of outsiders who came to settle in the town and had but to ask for doles but were given them, while those who were born here, and whose fathers were born here, were neglected and disparaged.�
This is very heavy going, but Bennett is a writer of deep political conviction, and it is more than just a a vehicle for ideas. Wrestling with universal themes without falling into didacticism, it remains an accomplished and ambitious work of fiction.
May 19, 2023
Very beautiful prose, but I found this story uneven, as if the narrative veers in one direction, and then in another. There were also several points I did not understand.
The wife, Elizabeth, endures a very difficult childbirth, but she and her husband, John Briggs, seem to have an active sex life soon afterwards. Would not they have observed the 40 days rule, so common then? Or, have I got the chronology wrong, and 40 days have passed, without mention in the text. There is also no mention of Elizabeth being "churched".
Elizabeth then dies of "the purples", within a few weeks, as far as I can guess. That disease was a 17th century term for any illness which led to discolouration of the flesh. So it could have been a post-birth infection, or small pox, or some other illness.
The central character John Briggs, is idealistic and at odds with the values of the fanaticism, poverty and repression of society during the civil war. The book vividly describes the fluctuations of opinion, and the menacing crowds whipped up by violent rhetoric. However, John Briggs himself seems to have little in common with the people around him and I don't know how he ever got appointed as coroner, unless that is another symptom of the chaos of the civil war.
The final section of the novel is a dream sequence, and it is difficult to say when John Briggs dies. Is he in a delirium, or badly wounded, or just entering a different state of mind? Hard to say. After the fire in the prison, he becomes part of the apocalyptic landscape, and wanders off, knowing that he has little time to live.
The wife, Elizabeth, endures a very difficult childbirth, but she and her husband, John Briggs, seem to have an active sex life soon afterwards. Would not they have observed the 40 days rule, so common then? Or, have I got the chronology wrong, and 40 days have passed, without mention in the text. There is also no mention of Elizabeth being "churched".
Elizabeth then dies of "the purples", within a few weeks, as far as I can guess. That disease was a 17th century term for any illness which led to discolouration of the flesh. So it could have been a post-birth infection, or small pox, or some other illness.
The central character John Briggs, is idealistic and at odds with the values of the fanaticism, poverty and repression of society during the civil war. The book vividly describes the fluctuations of opinion, and the menacing crowds whipped up by violent rhetoric. However, John Briggs himself seems to have little in common with the people around him and I don't know how he ever got appointed as coroner, unless that is another symptom of the chaos of the civil war.
The final section of the novel is a dream sequence, and it is difficult to say when John Briggs dies. Is he in a delirium, or badly wounded, or just entering a different state of mind? Hard to say. After the fire in the prison, he becomes part of the apocalyptic landscape, and wanders off, knowing that he has little time to live.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 4, 2019
This novel teetered a bit on the edge of historical fiction and allegory. Perhaps that was intentional. Bennett is a skilled writer and does an admirable job of depicting the tensions and fissure lines in English society in the early 17th century that eventually erupted in the English Civil War and resulted in the ascendancy of Cromwell, whose legacy is bitterly remembered throughout Ireland by Catholics especially. Bennett's protagonist, John Brigge, is a closet Catholic who has himself ascended to a position of authority and struggles mightily throughout this book to maintain his integrity and commitment to his family and faith amidst horrific economic and political conditions. The grim self-righteousness and blood-lust of his adversaries (some of whom are former comrades) is well-drawn and is still depressingly familiar, as are the hypocrisies which are put on full display. Brigge does at times seem like something of an anachronism, not quite a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, but certainly a man possessed of sensibilities not common to others around him, and the Catholic-as-moral-hero motif is a bit overdrawn as are some of the visions and saintly resonances that echo throughout, but all in all I found this to be a pretty engaging tale of a rather woeful epoch.
September 24, 2020
A convincing take on uncertain times, starting in the 1630's according the description on the back of the book but nowhere in the book are there any dates, this is an ear of would-be civil war and unrest as seen from below and often expressed through language coloured by religion. There is inevitably a religious theme running through the book where the puritan zeal to judge and condemn sin is contrasted with a quieter understanding of the limits that human nature puts upon aspirations to live virtuously. Part of the plot is about the appeal of two different local leaders, where both when given power sequentially tend to see more power to them as being the best solution, whatever the problem. Only those they want power over dimly recognise in that narrative as they with varying degrees of quiet resist. In this respect the book reminded me of 'Animal Farm', in that book Mr Jones is thrown over by Napoleon the pig, and Napoleon as leader turned into a copy of Mr Jones. In 'Havoc in it's Third Year' the names of the local leaders are different but the logic is the same, add to that, like 'Animal Farm' an enclosed setting, small local mysteries, the augers of the weather, a detective story plot carried out by a coroner, and the focus on the life of one household as microcosm of the greater whole and you have rich stew of ideas indeed.
August 8, 2020
I like everything Ronan Bennett writes. Set in the 17th century, Havoc in its Third Year could easily be adapted to conservative societies in 2020. The Lord Savile and Challoner factions during the latter days of the reformation could be the Democrats and the Republicans, or the ANC and EFF. More of the same, rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. It's also a page-turner of a murder-mystery.
September 4, 2022
It has been some time since I have read a captivating work of fiction. Ronan Bennett’s style of writing instantly pulled me into the story. I typically struggle to enjoy books where I harbor some disgust for the leading character, but it was appropriate for the telling of this story and the growth he displays. I love when the random choice at a bookstore gives me the return of a good read with a timeless message. I look forward to reading more of Ronan’s books.
May 20, 2022
An amazing discovery! Got the book from an exchange box at Warwick U and stored it for a while on my office shelf. When I started reading it, I did not expect entering a complex tale about fanaticism, history, and human nature. If anything, the criminal inquiry is sort of superfluous.... Dark and pessimistic, almost in the same spirit as the Instance at the Fingerpost by Ian Pears.
March 3, 2025
No clear plot but interesting premises. Characters appear one dimensional at times and it takes you a second to realise that the key characters often go by 3 names. The story doesn't seem to begin nor end however the end is predictable. It is disappointing because there are some good ideas here but they lack development. 1.5 stars
September 27, 2020
Excellent research, characters, internal structure, symbolism, descriptions ,
and echoes with our current time where fanaticism and fears mete out punishment, and the right/wrong, black/white, god/devil divide blinds people to mercy and forgiveness.
and echoes with our current time where fanaticism and fears mete out punishment, and the right/wrong, black/white, god/devil divide blinds people to mercy and forgiveness.
November 19, 2020
This ruled. Real Man for All Seasons vibes with people talking in speeches at each other about morality, ethics, etc, except instead of Henry Vee-aye-aye-aye's sex life it's about how protestantism is inherently bad (true).
March 13, 2020
My thoughts have returned again and again to the characters and themes in Bennett's novel. This is not an easy read, but definitely a rewarding one.
April 22, 2020
Reading this during the Covid lockdown was perhaps the wrong choice. The historical setting seemed very prescient.
Want to read
February 22, 2021I’ve been really looking forward to this one, but the type is just so small! Making a note to try again another day...
August 15, 2021
Resonates today with the fanaticism that is as large a pandemic as coronavirus.
July 27, 2022
Sorry cant finish this
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