Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Harmony (1992), Edition: First Edition, Paperback, 422 pages
Description
"It is eighteenth century London and John Lempriere, a young scholar, is writing a dictionary of classical mythology in an attempt to exorcise the demons raised by his father's bizarre and violent death. While tending to his father's business affairs, Lempriere discovers a 150-year-old conspiracy that has kept his family from its share of the fabulously wealthy East India Company, Bust as John begins to untangle the years of mystery and deceit, people begin to die, in ways that mirror the very myths he is researching..."
Media reviews
"It's hard to deny the scope of Norfolk's intellect and his ability to marshall a huge wealth of material into one deftly crafted whole."
Early in Lempriere's Dictionary the hero's father searches for evidence of a phantom ship, and in so doing describes the defining moment of the antiquarian romance. "Somewhere in the morass of receipts, bills, bonds, affidavits and orders of acquisition which lay strewn about the room, there was a
"Myriad wonders and pleasures abound in Lempriere's Dictionary. Not too surprisingly, Zygia, the last entry in Lempriere's actual classical dictionary, provides just the right hint to the ending of Lawrence Norfolk's superbly entertaining novel."
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pattern. Somewhere within the pages of handwritten accounts, diaries, letters and notes ran a thread. But he could not find it. A single memorandum, a scrawl on a dog-eared endpaper might supply the link, the key to the pattern. It was here, buried here somewhere. Perhaps he had already seen it and missed its significance." Only the predestined hero, typically a studious sort, can find the thread, read correctly the signs and portents of these adult fairy tales."Myriad wonders and pleasures abound in Lempriere's Dictionary. Not too surprisingly, Zygia, the last entry in Lempriere's actual classical dictionary, provides just the right hint to the ending of Lawrence Norfolk's superbly entertaining novel."
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"While his scheme misfires, he is a writer of talent who may yet write a better novel."
"Wildly and wonderfully improbable, reveling in the countless allusions that feed its dark vision: a delight for classicists, historians, and any reader eager to be overwhelmed by a story. An exceptional achievement."
User reviews
LibraryThing member gbsallery
Rich, intricate, linguistically brilliant, but hard work. I would like to have been able to rate this book more highly, if only by way of acknowledgement of the difficulty of packing this much intricacy into a single novel. However, the technique of retelling the story from multiple overlapping
The ending was also rather disappointing; if I had known it was going to be a ghost story, I wouldn't have started reading.
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viewpoints seriously hampered the pace and readability; I say this as someone who loved the Baroque Cycle (Neal Stephenson), so it's not like it's the density itself which is offputting.The ending was also rather disappointing; if I had known it was going to be a ghost story, I wouldn't have started reading.
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LibraryThing member randalrh
Normally I wouldn't appreciate it when a historical novel goes all steampunk on me right in the middle, but this novel has enough else going for it that I don't mind, and Norfolk could probably make a case for narrative necessity once he'd had a couple of pints. This book has exquisite depth,
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breadth, and coherence, though Norfolk sometimes goes very far afield to bring some of the depth and breadth, and he doesn't always bring his references to bear. If you haven't read a few hundred other books first, in the genre and out of it, wait until you have before you read this one. Show Less
LibraryThing member TomChicago
One blurb for Lempriere's Dictionary called it "Pynchon meets Dickens", and that is pretty valid. A dizzying, but memorable array of characters...Some plot points were a little murky, but not so much that I became lost. Lots of twists and turns... Satisfying--a good long read.
LibraryThing member Larxol
Terrific book, but bring your vocabulary. Warm up on these: poquelays, houghes, saldame, vraiker, crapaud, ker, furmity, and so on.
LibraryThing member Clurb
Whilst I generally enjoyed the plot, reading this book was a real trudging effort. The style of writing is very reminiscent of Dickins and the immense descriptive detail Norfolk uses is really quite stunning, but at the same time incredibly annoying when you're as gripped by the plot as I was and
A long, slow, involved read, but one that entertains. Worth the effort. Just.
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have to wade through it all. A long, slow, involved read, but one that entertains. Worth the effort. Just.
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LibraryThing member P_S_Patrick
This is the first book that I have read from this author, and I was very impressed. The text is very heavy on detail, and the plot itself is even more intricate. The story is top class, plenty to get your head around, exciting, clever, and full of suspense and intrigue. The book has a real
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cinematic epicness to it, which Is not often come across, and is almost overwhelming, comparable to the Satanic Verses in this respect. It's definitley one for people who like something to get their teeth into, for people who enjoy reading, I would not recommend it to poeple with less patience, or with only a passing interest, as it a full on book in the style of the writing and the span of the events. My top book of the year so far. Show Less
LibraryThing member bodachliath
An extraordinary book in every sense - this one is a challenge both to read and to review. To start, how should we categorise it? It mixes so many genres - historical fiction, fantasy, classical allusions, grand conspiracy thriller, parody and even romance - a real postmodern mash-up.
I first heard
Some of the pivotal events are real enough, the story of the East India Company, the siege of La Rochelle and the build-up to the French revolution, but the conceit of Norfolk's story is so outrageous that it can only be seen as a sort of self-parody. The two books it reminded me most of, for very different reasons, were Gravity's Rainbow and The Count of Monte Cristo.
The hero (or at least the pivotal character) is John Lemprière, a young scholar from Jersey whose primary interest is studying Greek and Roman classics. His story is interleaved with a grand conspiracy - in Norfolk's version of history the East India Company is almost ruined when its first expedition in 1600 comes back with a cargo of pepper which is worthless in London because the Dutch have flooded the market, and its investors are rescued by a shadowy "cabbala" of traders from the Huguenot free port of La Rochelle who are unable to trade with the East directly. Most of the action takes place in the 1780s, when their descendants draw Lemprière into their intrigues by staging reenactments of scenes from the classics, the first of which involves the grisly murder of his father by fox-hounds. They also persuade him to start writing a dictionary of classical mythology (this is also something real, as are some of Lemprière's biographical details).
The plot gets more and more complex, and veers further into the realms of fantasy, but Norfolk clearly loves the classics and has a fine command of arcane language. For all that, much of the book is quite readable and the storytelling is compulsive.
I first heard
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of Norfolk several years ago when I read A.S. Byatt's book of literary criticism On Histories and Stories, in which she extolled him as one of the cleverest young writers around. This is probably the book she had most in mind, though The Pope's Rhinoceros is equally complex and ambitious.Some of the pivotal events are real enough, the story of the East India Company, the siege of La Rochelle and the build-up to the French revolution, but the conceit of Norfolk's story is so outrageous that it can only be seen as a sort of self-parody. The two books it reminded me most of, for very different reasons, were Gravity's Rainbow and The Count of Monte Cristo.
The hero (or at least the pivotal character) is John Lemprière, a young scholar from Jersey whose primary interest is studying Greek and Roman classics. His story is interleaved with a grand conspiracy - in Norfolk's version of history the East India Company is almost ruined when its first expedition in 1600 comes back with a cargo of pepper which is worthless in London because the Dutch have flooded the market, and its investors are rescued by a shadowy "cabbala" of traders from the Huguenot free port of La Rochelle who are unable to trade with the East directly. Most of the action takes place in the 1780s, when their descendants draw Lemprière into their intrigues by staging reenactments of scenes from the classics, the first of which involves the grisly murder of his father by fox-hounds. They also persuade him to start writing a dictionary of classical mythology (this is also something real, as are some of Lemprière's biographical details).
The plot gets more and more complex, and veers further into the realms of fantasy, but Norfolk clearly loves the classics and has a fine command of arcane language. For all that, much of the book is quite readable and the storytelling is compulsive.
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LibraryThing member ragwaine
Great characters and plot. Robots were too advanced for the time. Many floaty passages that made no sense. Dense.
LibraryThing member LegalMove
Incredibly original novel in which ancient Greek myths play out in England, starting from the opening scene in which the protagonist's father is ripped apart by a pack of dogs
LibraryThing member nealjking
A highly complex novel: the plot is very intricate, and you have to remember almost everything that ever happens. However, I enjoyed the book.
LibraryThing member thejohnsmith
Hard work but worth the effort - this story, at first glance, revolves around John Lempriere writing his dictionary but the plot is more to do with a Cabala of entrepreneurs, their involvement in the start-up of the East India company and their total failure as decent human beings. Part historical
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fiction, part steam-punk and part pure fantasy its a book worth reading but not for those who don't enjoy a challenge. Show Less
LibraryThing member dbsovereign
I had to slog my way through this, but found it well worth the effort. A bit of Fowles' _A Maggot_ and a bit of Pears' _An Instance of the Fingerpost_, and plus some great spurts of just dreamlike meandering. "Really dreamy."
LibraryThing member le.vert.galant
I closed the book after 200 pages. It was more than enough.
LibraryThing member shushokan
Nonsense and very long nonsense at that. Set in the 18th century between London and Paris, the book links the East India Company, the French Revolution and Lempriere's Classical Dictionary. However the author has developed a style which values words over meaning and erudition over storyline. Try
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throwing in to the mix the fact that some of the central characters are autonoma while others can fly. There are so many other books that your time would be better spent elsewhere. Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Somerset Maugham Award (1992)
Language
Original publication date
1991
Physical description
422 p.; 8.7 inches
ISBN
0517581841 / 9780517581841