Set in the mid-18th century, at the dawn of the Enlightenment, and roving through England, Europe and Russia, this story presents James Dyer, a man whose absence of compassion is physical - he can't feel pain.
Ingenious Pain
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Amazon Review
At the heart of Andrew Miller's first novel, Ingenious Pain lies the question "What does the world need most--a good, ordinary man, or one who is outstanding, albeit with a heart of ice?" The outstanding man in question is James Dyer, an English freak of nature who, since his birth during the 18th-century Age of Enlightenment, has been impervious to physical pain. Not only does he feel no pain, but he also recovers from all injuries in record time. By turns a foil for a quack doctor at county fairs and an object of study by a wealthy collector of human oddities, the protagonist, James Dyer, eventually becomes a surgeon. As such he gains exposure to a panoply of 18th-century philosophical thought, medical practice, historic events and larger-than-life rogues and heroes, both fictional and real.
As a surgeon, James Dyer excels, and his inability to feel--whether physical pain himself or empathy for others--seems only to enhance his skill with a knife. James slices and dices and cures without a scintilla of compassion while his reputation grows, until at last he arrives in Russia and the mystery of his unusual quality is resolved. Miller navigates his complicated story and exotic locales with unswerving confidence, bolstered no doubt by thorough research. James Dyer is not a character who invites love, but his adventures make for intelligent, deeply pleasurable reading. --Alex Freeman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
'A wild adventure through 18th-century England and Russia, medicine, madness, landscape and weather, rendered in prose of consummate beauty.' -- Independent Books of the Year 'Dazzling ... Miller tackles notions of mortality and humanity to brilliant effect ... truly wonderful' -- Evening Standard 'Astoundingly good ... it shines like a beacon among the grey dross of much contemporary fiction' -- The Times 'A really remarkable first novel, original, powerfully written ... Miller's narrative is gripping and his imagination extraordinary.' -- Sunday Telegraph 'A timeless and thought-provoking fable about human nature ... It is something very rare in modern fiction, a true work of art.' -- Spectator 'Strange, unsettling, sad, beautiful, and profound' -- Literary Review
--This text refers to an alternate
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First Sentence
On a hot, cloud-hemmed afternoon in August, three men cross a stable yard near the village of Cow in Devon. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
On a hot, cloud-hemmed afternoon in August, three men cross a stable yard near the village of Cow in Devon. Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I loved this book. Every detail was fresh with insight into the human condition. Suffering (both physical and mental), love, ambition, death - all were addressed with freshness, warmth and compassion. Even now, eight months after reading the book, I feel as if I have a film of the book's events running through my thoughts. Every detail had meaning. Every plot turn was the natural result of the character's personalities, flaws and desires. Nothing felt contrived. Amazing.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
This book was an absolute page turner for me. A friend reflects back over the strange life of a man from early age to adult surgeon. The man in question, after several adventures becomes one of the most sought after surgeons in the whole of europe, only one thing...he cannot feel any emotions or physical pain. And this of course creates problems. Towards the end of the book there is a great climax of events and then ends as it began. (Nice closure!) Set circa 17-18th century ? (sorry dates were never my forte) when a good bleeding was a cure for what ails you and much experimentation was going on . The scenes are graphic, incredibly beautiful, sometimes mystical.
31 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This first time author so skilled and so committed to his subject that he has been able to reject all the conventions of novel writing and still get his surprising book published--receiving rave reviews on two continents in the process!
Miller sets the book in the eighteenth century and begins with a graphic autopsy of the main character. Here he recreates the philosophical and scientific attitudes of the period, attitudes which are alien to our own, and which he will explore as a subtext throughout the book. He summarizes the life of the main character--which he spends the rest of the book recounting--in the first chapter, eliminating any climactic excitement he might have created. His main character is a man with the inability to feel pain, someone with whom the reader cannot possibly identify, and his adventures are weirdly melodramatic, so unusual the reader's interest lies primarily in their curiosity.
Yet the book "works," and very often thrills. Somehow he does manage to make the reader care about James Dyer and his fate, and he does create excitement in a plot which skips from small town England to the court of Russia. Miller's masterful and controlled use of description is a primary factor in his ability to further the action of this unusual story and bring the characters and the period alive. This reader was awestruck by Miller's creative daring--and by his success. Mary Whipple
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful book
Wonderfully imaginative and moving. The characters are completely believable - with all their human failings and foibles. Read more
Published 2 days ago by AnnaC
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting & Ingenious
I ready Mr Miller's "Pure"a few months ago and really enjoyed it despite the novel being a tough read. So I decided to have a go at Ingenious Pain and was well rewarded. Read more
Published 19 days ago by nickyb
5.0 out of 5 stars
An emotional journey
I have read other books by Andrew Miller and thought they were brilliant, so decided to leap into his first work. Better late then never. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Bev Rogers
4.0 out of 5 stars
A gift
Haven't read this as it was a Christmas present but it was well received by the recipient and he said it is a good read
Published 4 months ago by john d
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ingenious Pain
After reading "Pure" and enjoying it so much, I was really keen to try another book by this author. But having got hold of a copy of this debut novel, weirdly, something stopped me... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Rachel Cude
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Reflective Read!
This first novel by Andrew Miller is remarkably engaging in its evocation of an historical era and of the individuals emerging in the developing narrative. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Martin
2.0 out of 5 stars
shameless rip off of Perfume
There is only one answer to this book - it is a reworked Perfume by Suskind. It hangs precariously on one concept, and there is no plot. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Josey Wales
5.0 out of 5 stars
Intriguing theme
After reading 'Pure' by Andrew Miller I decided to read more of his books and found the theme of 'Ingenious Pain' intriguing. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Amy Page
3.0 out of 5 stars
If you liked Perfume ...
... you will love this. Beautifully written, it's an engrossing tale. The ending jarred a little with me though
Published on 25 May 2010 by liveenl
4.0 out of 5 stars
Why isn't this novel better known?
This is a book that I'm puzzled isn't more well-known. It seems to have garnered good reviews when it first came out in the late nineties, but I'd never heard of it before. Read more
Published on 17 Feb 2010 by L. R. Richardson
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