- Paperback: 400 pages
- Publisher: Hamish Hamilton Ltd (24 Feb 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0241143047
- ISBN-13: 978-0241143049
- Product Dimensions: 21.2 x 15.2 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,173,348 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
A twelth-century Sicilian cat burglar snatches a sack of artefacts from the king's geographer's library, and the tools and talismans of transmutation - and eternal life - are soon scattered all over the world. The bizarre and dangerous circumstances under which these alchemical objects change hands are testament to their value.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I was quite excited at the prospect of reading this book. The storyline appeared fascinating and I quickly read the first hundred pages. After this, some tedium set in, caused by the fact that every other chapter is set in the present, in a story that makes some sense, whereas the intervening chapters are all set somewhere in the past, between 1000 years ago and recent past, and it is not clear on reading them how much detail one has to absorb.
For instance, many of the intervening stories involve new characters, unconnected with anything else, and it is too easy to regard them as just displaying one facet of the history of the objects at the core of the story. So, you disregard the details of the names of their characters and then realize later that perhaps one (or several) of these characters are still in the present (or are they? or are they all the same character??). Then, the real reason for the strange goings on in the present turns out to be only marginally relevant to the history of the objects in the Geographer's Library after all.
The ending of this novel is far from satisfying, and I was confused about what had actually happened. If there is a consistent story behind this novel then it has not been told very well. Compare this novel with "Shadow of the Wind", where a confusion of present and past is masterfully resolved, to see the difference between a fair and a great novel.
For instance, many of the intervening stories involve new characters, unconnected with anything else, and it is too easy to regard them as just displaying one facet of the history of the objects at the core of the story. So, you disregard the details of the names of their characters and then realize later that perhaps one (or several) of these characters are still in the present (or are they? or are they all the same character??). Then, the real reason for the strange goings on in the present turns out to be only marginally relevant to the history of the objects in the Geographer's Library after all.
The ending of this novel is far from satisfying, and I was confused about what had actually happened. If there is a consistent story behind this novel then it has not been told very well. Compare this novel with "Shadow of the Wind", where a confusion of present and past is masterfully resolved, to see the difference between a fair and a great novel.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Jon Fasman's first novel promised so much during the first two thirds. It was erudite and gripping through its simple plot. Much along the same lines as that over-trumpeted `The Rule of Four' where that sailed off into intellectual posturizing this kept neat and tidy plot lines, smooth charcterisation and understandable curiosity throughout its pages. It was a pity it ended with a whimper rather than a bang.
There is a single plot here, set in present day America that takes frequent stops (fifteen in all) to delve back into the past to explain the events surrounding the theft of fifteen objects from the geographer al-Idrisi of the court of King Roger of Sicily in 1154 and their last known whereabouts. These anecdotes all provide the immediate thrill of mystery as the objects last known owners meet an untimely end. In the meantime, we follow laconic Paul Tomm, recent graduate of Wickenden University and investigative reporter for the sleepy publication `Lincoln Carrier' as his interest is piqued and encouraged by his editor, Art Rolen, to follow the mysterious murder of the non-salaried and gun-toting Baltic history professor, Jaan Puhapev. During his small town travels he meets and falls for Hannah Rowe and then ends up investigating the subsequent death of `Panda', Dr Sunathipala.
The problem with the novel is that it needs a sense of the threatening to make it good and it just doesn't happen. From the run in with Eddie the Albanian to his fight with Puhapev's `brother' you get a sense of `it'll be alright on the night' rather than a creeping sense of fear that should pervade our hero's reactions. It's all so muted and is the key to reader dissatisfaction. By the end we've sat down with Tom as he's told a fantastical tale that links alchemy with immortality, accepts it all and just walks off to carry on his life. Utterly anti-climatic.
I believe Fasman has talent as two-thirds of this novel promised but there needs to be a climatic ending, not a damp squib in order to make the reader want to return to his efforts. I'll read his next effort and hopefully the tale will capitalise on such a promising beginning.
There is a single plot here, set in present day America that takes frequent stops (fifteen in all) to delve back into the past to explain the events surrounding the theft of fifteen objects from the geographer al-Idrisi of the court of King Roger of Sicily in 1154 and their last known whereabouts. These anecdotes all provide the immediate thrill of mystery as the objects last known owners meet an untimely end. In the meantime, we follow laconic Paul Tomm, recent graduate of Wickenden University and investigative reporter for the sleepy publication `Lincoln Carrier' as his interest is piqued and encouraged by his editor, Art Rolen, to follow the mysterious murder of the non-salaried and gun-toting Baltic history professor, Jaan Puhapev. During his small town travels he meets and falls for Hannah Rowe and then ends up investigating the subsequent death of `Panda', Dr Sunathipala.
The problem with the novel is that it needs a sense of the threatening to make it good and it just doesn't happen. From the run in with Eddie the Albanian to his fight with Puhapev's `brother' you get a sense of `it'll be alright on the night' rather than a creeping sense of fear that should pervade our hero's reactions. It's all so muted and is the key to reader dissatisfaction. By the end we've sat down with Tom as he's told a fantastical tale that links alchemy with immortality, accepts it all and just walks off to carry on his life. Utterly anti-climatic.
I believe Fasman has talent as two-thirds of this novel promised but there needs to be a climatic ending, not a damp squib in order to make the reader want to return to his efforts. I'll read his next effort and hopefully the tale will capitalise on such a promising beginning.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Like some of the previous reviewers, I was a little disappointed by the ending of the book. But just a "little". I'm not sure how else Fasman would have ended it, though.
One thing this book is NOT is the DaVinci Code. I was one of the (seemingly) few readers who hated the "Code", and, in fact, quit reading after about 50 pages. While the subject matter was very interesting, the writing was so terrible, I couldn't imagine wasting amy more time on it.
This book, however, is very well written. It does NOT read like an upcoming "film script". The characters were well-drawn and the plot interesting. Unlike the reviewer who found the descriptions of the stolen items "boring", I found them quite interesting.
I just sort of wish Fasman would have tied them up a little better in the end. My only complaint.
I just ordered the book on CD; that's how much I liked this "4 and a half"!
One thing this book is NOT is the DaVinci Code. I was one of the (seemingly) few readers who hated the "Code", and, in fact, quit reading after about 50 pages. While the subject matter was very interesting, the writing was so terrible, I couldn't imagine wasting amy more time on it.
This book, however, is very well written. It does NOT read like an upcoming "film script". The characters were well-drawn and the plot interesting. Unlike the reviewer who found the descriptions of the stolen items "boring", I found them quite interesting.
I just sort of wish Fasman would have tied them up a little better in the end. My only complaint.
I just ordered the book on CD; that's how much I liked this "4 and a half"!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Disjointed
Like others, I found the present-day sections of this story readable. The main character is likeable and the mystery he's investigating is initially intriguing, but this fizzles... Read more
Published on 14 Oct 2009 by Reader 11
The Geographer's Library
As other people have reported, the book's cover and blurb made me believe I was in for an excellent read. Unfortunately it does not live up to expectations.
Published on 17 Sep 2009 by Harriet
The Geographer's Library by Jon Fasman
The storyline of a thriller, but very long winded & disjointed, views echoed by previous readers of the book ring I was on. Read more
Published on 24 Sep 2007 by Anglers Rest
Great inventiveness and imagination
I was overwhelmed with admiration for this writer and enjoyed every page. Paul Tomm is an unusual "hero", I found him very believable and human. Read more
Published on 24 Jun 2007 by D. Mccann
A curious and beguiling tale
'The Geographer's Library' is a novel with two threads. Every other chapter follows the story of Paul Tomm, a newspaper reporter in modern-day America investigating the mysterious... Read more
Published on 7 Jun 2007 by Veronica Marwood
Good, until you finish it.
The book would be excellent, but it doesn't feel finished. You are over half way through the book, and you look at the remaining pages and think "There must be another book to... Read more
Published on 10 Sep 2006 by S. Williams
What Thriller?
Having read so many good reviews about this book I have now read it and have come out rather disappointed. Read more
Published on 15 Aug 2006 by Salomon
Really quite disappointing.
The blurb dangles a tantalizing carrot offering an intellectual thriller with a gripping story line fluctuating between present day America and latter day Europe, USSR and the... Read more
Published on 9 Jun 2006 by Doward
Disappointing read.
I was utterly disappointed in this book. It sounded like a good read but did not meet expectations. I found the chapters about the artefacts interesting but could not make a link... Read more
Published on 28 Aug 2005
A much better Da Vinci code?
The genre of the intellectual thriller has received a big fillip in the last few years with the success of Dan Brown's Dan Vinci code. Read more
Published on 7 Jun 2005 by Dr. S. A. Dalton-brown
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