- Hardcover: 320 pages
- Publisher: Fourth Estate; 1st edition (6 Aug 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1841156582
- ISBN-13: 978-1841156583
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 13.6 x 3.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,130,238 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
Instances of the Number 3
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More About the Author
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Salley Vickers' novel Instances of the Number Three is set in London and Shropshire. It describes the relationship between a dead man, his wife and his mistresses and is illuminated by philosophical ponderings on Hamlet and his ghost, and the poetry of Dante, Gerald Manley Hopkins and John Donne. Peter Hansome is the dead husband who walks through the pages of the novel, appearing to his wife Bridget in "his old tweed jacket and cords. He was, in fact, exactly, but without the disfiguring cuts and bruises of the accident, as she had seen him last--in his coffin. "To come to terms with his life and death, literature-loving Bridget makes friends with his mistress, Francis, an ex-artists' model: "She ... had a capacity for stillness and the kind of body which reflects planes of light." But as the omniscient narrator says:
This is not an account of feminine jealousy, or even revenge, instead its a story of negotiation and discovery as the characters orbit each other like little planets.Vickers' prose style is witty, literary and decorous, her musing on the instances of the number three take in purgatory, heaven and hell; the eternal lovers triangle and the trinity (memorably described as the "different flavours of a Neapolitan ice"). The book is a controlled meditation on personal identity, passion and art, where emotions are analysed and reconciled. Sally Vickers' trick is to keep you interested in the hearts and lives of the characters as her novel of ideas gently unfurls.
This is a fine successor to Vickers' hugely successful debut novel, Miss Garnett's Angel, a subtle story of an older woman's emotional epiphany set in contemporary Venice. --Eithne Farry
Review
‘Salley Vickers is a remarkable optimist. She shows that happiness can be found even after it seems to have died.’ David Sexton, Evening Standard
‘Gentleness of perception and sharpness of intellect … sustains you long after the last page.’ Bel Mooney, The Times
‘Admirable. Salley Vickers has a way with persuasive characters and crisp narrative.’ Penelope Lively, Independent
‘Vickers writes sympathetically about the bereaved women as they remake their lives.’ Margaret Walter, Sunday Times
‘Studded with observations and asides that stop you in your tracks.’ Julie Wheelwright, Scotland on Sunday
‘The reader glides through it effortlessly. The plot is simple, yet has an amazing amount of narrative power. Vickers’ second novel confirms that she will have a long and outstanding career.’ Martyn Goff, The Times
‘Lovely. Distinctive grace.’ Murrough O’Brien, Daily Telegraph
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'm in sympathy with the customer who got clobbered taking his wife to Venice after reading Salley Vickers's brilliant, and seminal, 'Miss Garnet's Angel'. I, too, was caught by the 'haunted angel' quality of her observation and prose and my partner and I spent a blissful and informative few days in Venice following in the footsteps of Miss Garnet and her Archangel.
I picked this one up with some trepidation, but if anything I like it better than the first. Salley Vickers is very good on men, and male psychology. Unlike many female authors, she appears to like and understand men, while at the same time illustrating that she perceives their many foibles and weaknesses, though always with sympathy and wit. Peter, the dead husband, is especially well observed. And I like her matter-of-fact tone with the 'supernatural'. It makes you believe another level of reality is with us all the time(which I guess is her aim?)
By the way, does anyone know what she looks like? She seems to fight shy of photographs on her books, and her excellent website is also very sparing of any autobigraphical detail (she's clearly not a vain author) but an image of an ironically smiling keen-eyed apparition, rather like Athene, or one of those other clever Greek goddesses, is beginning to haunt my imagination.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Salley Vickers has produced another superb book. The characterisations are subtle and indirect, with a natural complexity and untidiness. Although the book addresses Hamlet the tone is more that of a mild Elizabethan commedy. Like a good meander it contains many hidden corners and references for the perceptive reader. Not as genteel as it may seem from a casual perusal!
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I promised to take my wife to Venice ten years ago but Spain got in the way. Sally Vickers's Miss Garnet Angel however made me pay out many Euros on an immediate Venice visit that was as equisite as her book. This prompted me to try 'Instances of Number Three and I was not dissapointed in in the least. The author has a knack of audacious surprise that made one think.
A very clever and fascinating read.
A very clever and fascinating read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A Beautiful Examination of Mourning
A deft and very moving examination of how the unexpected death of a middle-aged man, Peter, affects both his wife, Bridget and his mistress, Frances. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Kate Hopkins
instances of the number 3
I have just discovered Salley Vickers and I am working my way through her novels. Her background as a psychologist shows in her understanding of human frailties and I love the... Read more
Published 7 months ago by maykidd
Disappointed
Had really enjoyed Miss Garnet's Angel and Mr Golightly's Holiday so was looking forward to this but found it didn't really go anywhere. Wouldn't bother to re read.
Published 7 months ago by KAW
number 3
Another very poignant story of women on a journey to find themselves. I enjoyed reading it as it is beautifully written but,this time I had difficulty believing in the characters,... Read more
Published on 31 Mar 2010 by Harro
I almost gave up....
I almost gave up on this novel, but it was raining outside and I kept hoping that something might happen - it did not. Read more
Published on 31 Aug 2009 by J. Miller
What is truth? And how well do we know those we love?
This is the third book by Vickers that I have read; the others being WHERE THREE ROADS MEET and THE OTHER SIDE OF YOU. Read more
Published on 15 Mar 2008 by Brida
meandering
I like a book with pace and I'm afraid this book didn't do it for me. I didn't believe in the characters, I couldn't work out where the story was going and even at the end it... Read more
Published on 12 May 2007 by OliviaMJ
Instances of disappointment
Having read, and thoroughly enjoyed, Miss Garnet's Angel and Mr Golightly's Holiday I was delighted when this book appeared in my birthday presents. Read more
Published on 30 Jun 2006 by D. J. Cubiss
Audacious, original and discerning.
I like all Salley Vickers' books and this is no exception. Except that I feel it has been a little underrated among her several marvellous novels. Read more
Published on 18 Feb 2006 by Rowan Baker
The Quote's the thing
Or to risk sounding like the Emperor Joseph in the face of Mozart's genius, "too many quotes!". Read more
Published on 6 Oct 2001 by kevin Patrick Mahoney
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