The Book of Evidence

A hard book to review. The main character is about as unappealing as he could be, and his life drifts here and there with little meaning. A lot like Crime & Punishment or Camus if you like that sort of thing. Beautifully written -- one of the few books I read these days which I reread whole paragraphs just to savor the language. It takes a long time to get to the murder which turns out to be pointless and almost humorous in its utter stupidity. In the end I didn't find him very interesting, even as a psychological study. Why does he do anything? We never quite find out. I often like books with unappealing characters, which Freddie was, but ultimately also uninteresting (which accounts for the 4 star). I did enjoy it which is why it gets that many.The last lines of the book lead one to entertain the idea that this is all the wild hallucinations of a schizophrenic. I don't think so, but then all we know is what he says about himself. It is, for example, quite possible that his years in prison have affected the narrative in his mind -- not crazy maybe but warped. Maybe the pointlessness of his life in prison has led him to see his earlier life as more pointless than it was at the time. In that sense it might be read as a investigation of how we reconstruct our autobiographies.I do recommend it, but only if you understand what yu are getting yourself in for. Surely not everyone's cup of tea.

I've never been a fan of Jonathan Franzen because there s never a person in his books that I like enough to want to spend a lot of time with. Banville reflects that same problem in this book. He's obviously a fine master of his craft. Nonetheless Freddie Montgomery who is the only speaker in this novel.is a creature who has no redeeming or even semi-appealing traits. He doesn't care for anyone and it is impossible to care for him. He is arrogant, self-described with no interest in self evaluation. His values don't exist other than wanting what he wants at any given moment. His tale as he tells it, purportedly to the Judge, is surface only because he never looks deeper. He has used every body he encounters and feels little but contempt for those he has used -- mother, wife, child, old friends, people who have treated him kindly and those who have not. Why,he was asked, had he killed the woman? The truth is he didn't think about it at the time, but when pushed by the police interrogation for an answer , he determines that he must have done it because he could. His lack of insight into his own behavior is only multiplied when it comes to others. I feel like I need a shower after having spent two days in his company. And yet he is not even an interesting enough guy that I will remember him. He is simply someone I'm glad has finally shut up his continuous monologue so I need not think of him again.

For those of you who love language, like to roll around in it, feel it on your tongue and luxuriate in it, this is a novel for you. The story is darkly comic featuring a protagonist who murdered a woman because he could but it is his story that is so intriguing and the writing (which had me racing to the dictionary on more than one occasion), is spectacular.

I just finished The Book of Evidence, having read it in just 2 days. Prior to this, I devoured John Banville's Eclipse, The Sea, and Ancient Light. So far, my first Banville, Ancient Light, is my favorite. We get some of the same in each Banville novel. Seems that the author's first-person narrator usually visits old haunts, remembering the past, making new discoveries, and realizing the flaws in the memories. In some of this books, the narrator follows and observes strangers, studying, making a life for them, as an actor or writer might do.Dialogue is rare in Banville. Basically, the novels are not plot-driven. You'll already know most of the story contained in "The Book of Evidence" just by reading the back cover. Likewise for many of his novels. These are not page-turners in the sense that the reader is pulled forward to find what happens next. Rather, it's Banville's powers of description, his humor, and his humanity, that pull the reader forward. "Little happens", some will say, but actually, what happens are words, words, words - the best any book has to offer. Otherwise, you may as well just wait for the movie.It's Banville's control and mastery of the language that makes his books such a joy to read.

Freddie Montgomery is a man who likes to take chances, and when he discovers an acquaintance of his has a secret, he blackmails him into handing over a large amount of hush money. Freddie and his wife, Daphne, who are temporarily domiciled on a Mediterranean island, have a high old time spending the cash, but it is not until practically all of the money has been squandered that Freddie discovers it has been borrowed from a wily loan shark, who is expecting Freddie to pay him back, and quickly. Freddie leaves his wife (and their small son) and returns home to the family 'pile' in Ireland, only to discover that his widowed mother has sold all the family heirlooms, including the paintings, in order to keep her head above water. Furious that his mother has sold what Freddie considers his birthright, he storms out of the house to pay a visit to Helmut Behrens, an old friend of the family, who Freddie suspects has bought the Montgomery family's paintings for less than they were worth. When he spots a valuable Dutch master in the Behren's drawing room, Freddie concocts a hare-brained scheme to return and steal the painting - which surprisingly he manages to accomplish, but then something goes very wrong and Freddie finds himself on remand for murder (not a spoiler, we know right from the outset that Freddie is in prison facing a murder charge).First-person narrated by the very self-absorbed (and probably psychopathic) Freddie, John Banville's 1989 Booker Prize shortlisted 'The Book of Evidence' pulls the reader into Freddie's world, and what a very unsettling place Freddie's world is. But Freddie, we soon discover, is a rather unreliable narrator, so how much of his sorry tale can we believe? And is Freddie just a very selfish and self-absorbed character with very little empathy for anyone else, or does he have some kind of personality or psychotic disorder? And if so, should he be held wholly responsible for his crimes? Smoothly and beautifully written, with some marvellous descriptions of situation and setting, this was an involving and (despite the rather gruesome murder scene) an entertaining read, but once I had turned the last page I have to say that I was rather glad to leave Freddie behind me.4 Stars.

I agree with another reviewer: I didn't want this book to end - the same way I feel about every Banville book I read. Upon finishing it, I felt as though I'd woken from a dream, such was the strength of the imagery evoked by Banville's deliciously austere prose. These are sentences to be savoured and then reread with admiring (or perhaps envious) smiles.In short, Banville's a word-God, capable of taking you out of yourself and into another world - and yet there remain so few reviews of his books.Thanks to subject matter, this book should appeal to a far wider audience than some of his earlier work. Hopefully it will act as a wonderful introduction to Banville for potential fans. He deserves them.

Exciting but in fact not many twists and turns there; hard and dry -- it worn me down but eventually i ordered its sequel.

Based on a true story, this is a fascinating exploration of the mind of a murderer and his world. Irish writer John Banville is a brilliant stylist,and in this novel he combines coruscating prose with a vividly drawn characters and a plot that keeps drawing you in. There is also much dark humour. Highly recommended if you like both literary fiction and thrillers.

Incredible use of language-- as always with Banville