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The Infinities
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Review
`There is no end of irony and sophistication and brilliance, and no end of a sense that an infinity of different egos lie out there beyond our grasp . . . The Infinities, one of Banville's most ambitious books, is recognisably both a summa of his earlier interests and a departure . . . [It] presents myths aplenty and layers of literary allusion . . . The descriptions of [Rex, the elderly black Labrador] are full of doggy vividness.'
--London Review of Books
'Superb writing scattered through out the book.'
--Sunday Times
'The plot is fairly abstruse, but it's Banville's luminous prose that matters.' --Guardian
'Set, ambitiously and frivolously, within a parallel universe . . . Banville's descriptive talents and narrative confidence get things moving.' --Sunday Telegraph
'Written with fierce, mischievous intelligence.' --Metro
'In my humble opinion, this novel is a hoot. It is filthy, bawdy and rollicking . . .And as for the acerbic reviews and the accusations of pretentiousness and pomposity? Well, I did my professional best to identify an oppressively overwrought passage, but instead found the writing to be only gorgeous. There's hardly a boring sentence and it's as close to poetry as most prose writers get . . . Barking mad. I loved it.'
--Belfast Telegraph
'All of Banville's hallmarks are here - writing of great exactitude, a fluid narrative, a sly and arch humour . . . those who like their literature intellectual and knowing will enjoy it'
--Sunday Business Post
--London Review of Books
'Superb writing scattered through out the book.'
--Sunday Times
'The plot is fairly abstruse, but it's Banville's luminous prose that matters.' --Guardian
'Set, ambitiously and frivolously, within a parallel universe . . . Banville's descriptive talents and narrative confidence get things moving.' --Sunday Telegraph
'Written with fierce, mischievous intelligence.' --Metro
'In my humble opinion, this novel is a hoot. It is filthy, bawdy and rollicking . . .And as for the acerbic reviews and the accusations of pretentiousness and pomposity? Well, I did my professional best to identify an oppressively overwrought passage, but instead found the writing to be only gorgeous. There's hardly a boring sentence and it's as close to poetry as most prose writers get . . . Barking mad. I loved it.'
--Belfast Telegraph
'All of Banville's hallmarks are here - writing of great exactitude, a fluid narrative, a sly and arch humour . . . those who like their literature intellectual and knowing will enjoy it'
--Sunday Business Post
Review
'The turning of an omniscient, omnipotent narrator into a god has...been fulfilled so well.'
--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
I have read almost all of John Banville's work, going back to Kepler in 1990, so I thought I knew him as a novelist, but this is a very strange new book indeed. Narrated by the god Hermes, "The Infinities" concerns a house in Ireland where the mathematician Adam Godley lies dying. So far so good - a family with tensions and dramas, much like those in The Sea, with that weird divine twist on the story-telling.
But almost nothing in this book is as it seems. This is not our own universe - it is one where hydrogen fusion powers everything, where Goethe is a footnote in history, and where Wallace, not Darwin, is the discoverer of the theory of evolution. The gods continually intervene in the action, which is sometimes frustrating: just as you begin to get into the narrative, Hermes buts in yet again, leaving me sometimes wanting to yell at him 'shut up'. Then the dying man himself begins contributing to the narrative from his coma, and then the reader is left to doubt whether the 'gods' are actually a figment of his fraying imagination. It is utterly disconcerting and doesn't make for a comfortable read.
This is a highly experimental narrative and I can imagine many readers getting halfway through and just giving up in disgust! The ending is also extremely strange... and yet all the way through the writing is of such a quality - beautiful passages of description, moments of great insight into human nature, and I can imagine vividly the characters I've just spent two days reading about. Not one for the tube though. A really, really odd book.
But almost nothing in this book is as it seems. This is not our own universe - it is one where hydrogen fusion powers everything, where Goethe is a footnote in history, and where Wallace, not Darwin, is the discoverer of the theory of evolution. The gods continually intervene in the action, which is sometimes frustrating: just as you begin to get into the narrative, Hermes buts in yet again, leaving me sometimes wanting to yell at him 'shut up'. Then the dying man himself begins contributing to the narrative from his coma, and then the reader is left to doubt whether the 'gods' are actually a figment of his fraying imagination. It is utterly disconcerting and doesn't make for a comfortable read.
This is a highly experimental narrative and I can imagine many readers getting halfway through and just giving up in disgust! The ending is also extremely strange... and yet all the way through the writing is of such a quality - beautiful passages of description, moments of great insight into human nature, and I can imagine vividly the characters I've just spent two days reading about. Not one for the tube though. A really, really odd book.
21 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Infinities is a satirical, philosophical and very clever book. It was well worth the time to read, but I can't help thinking it's missing something. And I suspect that it will strongly divide opinion - you may read it and think it is a masterpiece, but you may well read it and be left cold.
Let me try to explain.
Firstly, the book has several passages which deal with some of the deepest human and metaphysical questions: what is it to be alive or dead? What is love? What is the nature of reality?
With a philosophy background I hugely enjoyed these bits - for example early on in the book one of the main characters asks "How can he be a self and others others since the others too are selves, to themselves?" Good stuff.
Secondly, one of the narrators is the mythical god Hermes. In my opinion Banville executes this narration perfectly, and the passages where Hermes describes humanity from the perspective of a mischievous and ever-so-slightly envious deity are just brilliant. The author brings remarkable insight into the plight of us mere mortals, and it is a delight to read.
For me, these two aspects of the book are enough to make it well worth the read. And I would imagine that some readers will fall in love with the descriptive passages in the book - giving it five stars and calling it a masterpiece.
Yet while it's a collection of impressive insights and clever literary devices, somehow the sum seems less than the parts. It didn't help that the characters failed to excite me much. This is why I couldn't give it five stars, much as I think the book probably deserves them.
I haven't read The Sea, or indeed any other of Banville's work, but I have heard similar criticisms of his previous Booker-prize winning effort. If you read The Sea and couldn't see what all the fuss was about, consider giving this book a miss. However, if you were one of the many readers who loved The Sea, or if the idea of a disconsolate deity messing about with the nature of the universe has whet your appetite, then I'd recommend you give The Infinities a try. You might just love it.
Let me try to explain.
Firstly, the book has several passages which deal with some of the deepest human and metaphysical questions: what is it to be alive or dead? What is love? What is the nature of reality?
With a philosophy background I hugely enjoyed these bits - for example early on in the book one of the main characters asks "How can he be a self and others others since the others too are selves, to themselves?" Good stuff.
Secondly, one of the narrators is the mythical god Hermes. In my opinion Banville executes this narration perfectly, and the passages where Hermes describes humanity from the perspective of a mischievous and ever-so-slightly envious deity are just brilliant. The author brings remarkable insight into the plight of us mere mortals, and it is a delight to read.
For me, these two aspects of the book are enough to make it well worth the read. And I would imagine that some readers will fall in love with the descriptive passages in the book - giving it five stars and calling it a masterpiece.
Yet while it's a collection of impressive insights and clever literary devices, somehow the sum seems less than the parts. It didn't help that the characters failed to excite me much. This is why I couldn't give it five stars, much as I think the book probably deserves them.
I haven't read The Sea, or indeed any other of Banville's work, but I have heard similar criticisms of his previous Booker-prize winning effort. If you read The Sea and couldn't see what all the fuss was about, consider giving this book a miss. However, if you were one of the many readers who loved The Sea, or if the idea of a disconsolate deity messing about with the nature of the universe has whet your appetite, then I'd recommend you give The Infinities a try. You might just love it.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
You lucky human to have this book yet to read! It's a treat, a mature author confidently, proudly and exceedingly elegantly offers us this small perfect gem of a book. Suffused with love and curiosity, wisdom and humour, it's one I'll have to own ( obtained my copy from the library). I can think of no adverse comments to make at all, unless it be that I needed the dictionary very often, and that some words weren't even in it! Lovely words though which I'll hope to remember. Bon voyage.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Banville trumps SF and fellow authors
Readers educated in Greek and Physics II will love this novel. It is both a history of the universe and a detailed account of the deathbed of Adam Godley (AG), attended by his... Read more
Published 3 months ago by P. A. Doornbos
A Midsummer Night's Dream
This is my first novel by John Banville and I suspect it is unlike anything else he has written and unlikely to be considered one of his best works. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Kiwifunlad
Very boring with an irritating conceit, but beautifully written
I had read The Sea previously, which drew me in quite quickly and kept my attention, and which I rate highly. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Gołębnik
"Birth and death are sources, it seems, out of which mortal ones...
John Banville, in his first "literary" novel since his Booker Prize-winning novel The Sea, presents a most unusual novel which takes place in Arden, a large family home somewhere... Read more
Published on 6 April 2010 by Mary Whipple
An interesting meditation on death, but rather tedious
John Banville frustrates me like no other author. On the one hand, he's one of the greatest wordsmiths at work in our language, in particular using alliteration to stunning effect,... Read more
Published on 22 Mar 2010 by Phil
A parallel pastoral world
This novel has a very Shakespearean comedy feel at it start. Hermes is the narrator rather than Ariel; Zeus and Pan are in the house. The action takes place in one day. Read more
Published on 17 Mar 2010 by purpleheart
The Father.
The novel is set in an old mansion in the country side. Mr. Adam, the old man, compared with Zeus the primordial lover, is dying and wishes to spend his last days in the mansion... Read more
Published on 15 Mar 2010 by Jan Dierckx
A bit too languid for me ...
I've liked previous John Banville books and was looking forward to reading this one. However, I found it very difficult to engage with this book. Read more
Published on 1 Mar 2010 by Stephen Doyle
Bawdy and inventive: a touch of Shakespeare
The distinct aroma that this book wafted up my nose was one of a Shakespearean comedy. It never takes itself too seriously, involves a lot of bawdy humour, several "set-pieces" and... Read more
Published on 5 Feb 2010 by Ian Shine
Well written, slow read.
This is well written, it's pretty and wonderful along with all the other positive words a well educated person may think to come up with to describe this book. Read more
Published on 17 Jan 2010 by Jay
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