Lempriere's Dictionary

Akin to Pynchon, I think, Norfolk is definitely a master. I loved the conspiracy, grotesquery, and wicked wierdness that is this novel. Once read, it can never be forgotten. Ancient mythology forms a tapestry of clues for young Lemprière, who struggles to make sense of his mission from within a cabalistic underground society whose hermetic and dangerous agenda contrive to weave an ever more convoluted yet fascinating web around him. Exciting and wonderful, there are very few novels such as this.

When I was first presented with this book for a research project, I was not really interested. However, as soon as I started to read it, I could not put it down. The quick pace of the movements among John Lempriere, the goings-on of the East India Company, the French Revolution, The Siege of Rochelle, and many other events and perspectives keep you turning pages all night long. It is admittedly a slow read, but it is well worth it. Many of the events in the book were real, and John Lempriere really did exist and write the dictionary mentioned in the title. The book is one of the best I have ever read, and I would recommend it to anyone.

I would have rated this book only four stars, but it appears that my only real problems with the text - namely, the mocking loose strings and confused identities at the end - are the fault of callous American editors and not the author himself. The writing is strong, assured, and eloquent, particularly the descriptive passages. Mr. Norfolk is a stylist of remarkable virtuosity. His deft layering of perspectives, time frames and details combine like an impressionist's daubs of colour - I can only wish that one's glimpse of the completed canvas were not so imperfect at the end. I shall be looking for the English edition.

I had heard that the American edition had been edited, so I read the English edition. I then looked through a copy of the American edition, looking for differences. The differences aresignificant; even a casual inspection turns up major differences in the ending of the novel. The true identities of at least two major characters (and one minor character) are not revealed in the American edition. (Surprisingly, the Kirkus review quoted above seems to refer to the English edition.) Furthermore, the ending of the American edition is extremely compressed, giving it a noticeably different tone from the rest of the novel. I don't understand why the Americanpublishers would make such changes. If they wanted to make the novel shorter or more accessible, they could have cut some of the descriptive passages; instead, they chose to alter the ending, which serves only to weaken the novel. I also wonder why there is no indication that the American edition has been edited. I thought there was a requirement to note that an edition has been abridged or otherwise revised, but apparently there isn't. If you want to read this book as the author intended, read the English edition. It's worth your while.

I absolutlely loved the awesome inventiveness of this novel. And although it is tremendously complicated and difficult to read I found it very rewarding. The amazing thing that I found out only after I finished the book is that there really is a "Lempriere's dictionary"! I know absolutely nothing about the mythology that is so often referenced in the book and simply ignored it. I suspect that readers with a better classics background than mine would like it even more. Not recommended for those that need the pace of John Grisham or Tom Clancy to stay interested in a book.