At first Baratte sees his work as a chance to clear the burden of history, a fitting task for a modern man of reason. But before long he begins to suspect that the destruction of the cemetery might be a prelude to his own fate and to the demise of the social order.
Baratte cannot foresee the dramas and calamities his task will trigger, or the incident that will transform his life. As unrest against the court of Louis XVI mounts, the engineer realizes that the future he had planned may no longer be the one he wants. His assignment becomes a year of relentless effort, a year of assault and sudden death. A year of friendship, too, and of desire and love.
What do you believe in? I zipped through this faster than I thought I would. The ending, kind of open I thought just fitted the tone of this novel perfectly.
Miller does an excellent job of bringing pre-revolution Paris to life. Jean-Baptiste Baratte is tasked with digging up and disposing of the bodies in a Parisian churchyard which is so full, the air around it is poisoned and the dead are bursting into the cellars of the surrounding houses. Along the way we meet many people including Baratte's friends, landlords, and lover. The book is crammed full of incident, metaphor and symbolism and bustles along like the overfull streets, the only duff note Miller does an excellent job of bringing pre-revolution Paris to life.
The book is crammed full of incident, metaphor and symbolism and bustles along like the overfull streets, the only duff note coming when one of Baratte's friends does something which seems so out of character it is as though Miller included it because he felt the book needed a kick at that point. But I don't mean to be unkind - I really enjoyed it, especially how the ending echoed the beginning.
Oct 11, Jane rated it liked it Shelves: france , reviewed , allegory. I certainly appreciated the exquisite writing; every word and image was chosen with care and perfection, like a necklace of perfect pearls, with each of the incidents and characters representing a pearl on that necklace.
I observed this through the whole novel, but by somewhere in Part III everything began to fall apart. It felt like the author had made his point and was just filling in events, to rush to a finish. The book ended in a mirror image of its beginning. The book made me uneasy and t I certainly appreciated the exquisite writing; every word and image was chosen with care and perfection, like a necklace of perfect pearls, with each of the incidents and characters representing a pearl on that necklace.
The book made me uneasy and the mood throughout was melancholy. I felt the story was an allegory, dripping with metaphors. It called to mind The Plague of Albert Camus with its use of allegory. The surface story concerns a young idealistic engineer tasked with digging up and moving contents of a cemetery and demolishing the nearby church--to "purify" the land. The novel traces his efforts and his own existential crisis. Through his experiences and dealings with the people he meets, he becomes a more realistic individual, forsaking his previous idealism.
Or, I thought it might mean man's human condition, sin or failings. Different ones were revealed in different symbols. Names were often symbolic, e. Color were symbols also: brown, representing the old ways; green, representing new ways. Flowers that began to sprout when the cemetery and church were cleared, to me, indicated optimism, in spite of bad times.
The use of the present tense to forward the story gave it immediacy and effectively rendered it more vivid. Recommended for readers of novels of ideas. There is a passage in Pure that sums up the sly, grim beauty and horror of this extraordinary novel. It is a rather intimate scene where our Great Engineer -- tasked with removing the stain of the les Innocents cemetery, which is blotting the landscape of a Paris neighbourhood -- is faced with the shortcomings of the human body itself: He gets his breeches down loses a button in his haste and lets the muck fly out of him, hears it slap the surface of the muck already in the hole.
A pause: the b There is a passage in Pure that sums up the sly, grim beauty and horror of this extraordinary novel. A pause: the body seems to be listening to itself; then another burst, almost burning him as it passes. He clings to the pole, his forehead against the planed wood, panting, waiting for the next convulsion. They will name squares after us, said Lecouer that morning in Valenciennes, the snow brushing the window.
The men who purified Paris! Setting a novel in pre-Revolutionary Paris is tricky, as it is a balancing act not to seem to be too didactic or moralising. Miller avoids such obvious pitfalls by looking into the cracks, the interstices: there are such wonderful setpieces as when the Great Engineer goes to buy a new suit to label himself as a man of the future, and the running gag when his non de plume is used as the name of a radical painting seditious slogans around Paris.
Surprisingly, amidst the dirt, death, bones, shit, stench and blood, this is a love story of aching tenderness though there is rape and brutality as well. It is a horror novel, too, with such a high quotient of existential dread one feels morally soiled reading this. It is a thriller, and a comedy of manners. That Miller manages to pack so much into what is a relatively slim novel, without it seeming contrived or inadequate, is masterful.
And then there is that truly jaw-dropping ending of such anguish and horror that the final image will stay with me for days I have just finished reading this. Nov 29, Aubrey rated it really liked it Shelves: reviewed , r-goodreads , 4-star , r I enjoy books like this one, ones that focus not on shoving obstacles and enemies into the path of the plot, but instead work to give the main character friendship, fortune, and even love despite their misfortunes.
There's just something satisfying in seeing characters work effectively with one another, together dealing with all that life throws at them.
In other words, I'm a fan of authors who don't make all their characters insufferable prats just because they can. It's easy to get weary of th I enjoy books like this one, ones that focus not on shoving obstacles and enemies into the path of the plot, but instead work to give the main character friendship, fortune, and even love despite their misfortunes. It's easy to get weary of the antagonism. Living close to a large cemetery myself, I have to appreciate how far we've come in dealing with our buried dead.
The idea of that pervasive malaise, in the air, in the food, in the people. It's disgustingly frightening on a base level, a feeling only matched by the thought of living near a radioactive zone. Definitely led to less drama. There wasn't any cringing at misplaced trust or outdated medicinal techniques, or even lover's spats. It was instead borderline peaceful, save for a few incidents view spoiler [; rape, attempted murder, suicide, arson, and all that jazz hide spoiler ].
Despite all these, the book went along at an enjoyably sedate pace, as it made up its lack of action with more than enough descriptive power. I'll take realistic imagery that I can fully immerse myself in over overly complex power plays any day. I really enjoyed this book. The author created a vulnerable protagonist who succeeds against the opposition and distractions. I found the relentless progress through careful and difficult work inspiring. The engineer grows through the pages and the quality of writing and detailed observation of his inner struggle endeared him to me.
Many of us scratch fearfully at closed doors. I was reminded of Camus, both in theme of freedom through action and love, and through the use of extended allegory. While I didn't find it breathtaking, it clearly shows how what will happen in was already in the works in , so it more than made me a happy reader. Jul 27, Patricia Bracewell rated it it was amazing Shelves: historical-fiction , literary. Surely one of the goals of a writer of historical fiction is to bring the past to life for the reader, to immerse him or her in the images, scents, tastes, beliefs and inhabitants of another time.
Miller does an excellent job of this. Whenever I picked up the book and started reading I was immediately pulled into 18th century Paris, particularly the streets around the Cemetery of Les Innocents and the decay emanating from rotting bodies buried there. There isn't much that is pretty in this book, Surely one of the goals of a writer of historical fiction is to bring the past to life for the reader, to immerse him or her in the images, scents, tastes, beliefs and inhabitants of another time.
There isn't much that is pretty in this book, which doesn't make it any less fascinating. This story is, in a way, a coming of age tale for the main character, the engineer Baratte.
He may be a grown man, well-educated and ambitious, but one gets the impression that every other character in the story is older -- if not in years, then in experience. On the very first page, describing the mirrored rooms of Versailles, Miller writes: "Living here, it must be impossible not to meet yourself a hundred times a day, every corridor a source of vanity and doubt. The writing is beautiful and the characters and setting vividly drawn.
Miller recreates a Paris on the eve of the Revolution -- corrupt, decaying, striving toward enlightenment; about to discover that, like the cleansing of a foul cemetery, the task will be enormous, grotesque and costly. May 17, JJ Marsh rated it really liked it. It won the Costa Novel Award. So I gave it a try.
And it is. It also beautifully written. He is to clear the cemetery of Les Innocents. The book is set in I recommend this to anyone who enjoys fabulous writing and an unpredictable story. May 13, Ron Charles rated it really liked it Shelves: historical-fiction. What do you expect? No zombies — just good old-fashioned corpses crammed into a Parisian cemetery for more than years. You think you have storage problems? One earlyth-century plague added 50, bodies in a few weeks.
Giant pits held more than 1, bodies apiece until the ground was so packed that older corpses were dug up and stored to make room for new ones. Nearby buildings collapsed under the pressure. By the midth century, the atmosphere grew toxic: Merchants complained that their wine quickly turned to vinegar and their meat rotted, pedestrians fainted and sickened.
But the Mother Church was making a fortune from burial fees. Into this pungent historical setting wafts Miller with a grave story about a man charged with emptying the cemetery and tearing down the church. For a young engineer from Normandy, this is a chance to make his name, but powerful forces — temporal and spiritual — are determined to resist him.
Use fire, use brimstone. Use whatever you need to get rid of it. Jean-Baptiste is an endearing fellow, serious and earnest, torn between his ambitions and his good nature. The early scenes of him stumbling around the city — trying to buy the right suit, trying to hold his liquor — are delightful. The ghoulish engineering challenge can wait while Jean-Baptiste settles into the odd little collection of people who populate this story.
That emphasis on character and place will determine who relishes this elegant novel and who finds its pace a little too sedate. But the scenes in the crowded market, the gated churchyard or the luxurious theater offer something close to time travel.
A calculation. An equation. Authority over others is an awkward mantle for a young man devoted to utopian ideals. Not everything about the past is worth abandoning. As his men begin digging and emptying graves more than 30 yards deep, the danger increases — from collapsing walls to poisonous gas. Graffiti in the city foretells a violent disinterment on the horizon.
The name les Innocents grows more and more ironic. How can anyone stay pure in such an atmosphere? I hope this handsome paperback edition from Europa helps increase his presence here. This smart reimagining of the groundwork just before France burst into flames is something to savor.
View 1 comment. Jul 04, Amy rated it it was amazing. Jean-Baptiste Baratte is a modern man, well-versed in Voltaire and ready to leave his peasant upbringing behind. Eager to display his engineering talents, he meets the minister at Versailles to receive his first significant appointment. But, all his plans of illustrious success are somewhat hampered by the assignment he receives, one that is couched in a veiled threat. His j Jean-Baptiste Baratte is a modern man, well-versed in Voltaire and ready to leave his peasant upbringing behind.
His job will be to demolish a dangerously aged Medieval church as well as removing the entire cemetery attached to it, on the Rue de Les Innocents. The minister explains, "It is poisoning the city. Left long enough, it may poison not just local shopkeepers but the king himself. The king and his ministers. Yes, my lord. It is to be removed. Church and cemetery.
The place is to be made sweet again. The task itself is monumental, given the crowded city and the few who wish to work on such a gory task. Baratte hesitates to begin, and as he settles in to his new job, he finds avoidance is his first impulse. What better time to buy a new suit and get drunk? Thus, the novel begins, with Baratte and Armand and several other characters dealing with the sentimental and awkward removal of a beloved church. Each character is fully developed, and fascinating in the way they interact.
Besides the intriguing plot, just seeing the ensemble of unlikely individuals become close-knit among grave circumstances makes the narrative surprisingly enjoyable. Virtually everyone changes in some way, and none more than Baratte. Are they, for example, less ambitious? And if so, what has replaced them? Nothing heroic, it seems. Nothing to brag of. A desire to start again, more honestly. To test each idea in the light of experience. Live bravely if possible.
Bravery will be necessary, he has no doubt of that. The courage to act. The courage to refuse. The story is unique and clever, and astonishingly fast-paced. However, I have to mention, in hopes of assisting others, that some reviews of the book most notably the New York Times seem to imply a supernatural element, of vampires and some sort of wolf-spirit. Two well-preserved bodies are inexplicably uncovered in the removal, but no indication or allusion is made to them of being vampires.
Mar 30, Kate Vane rated it liked it. I was enchanted by this book at the beginning. It is beautifully written and immediately creates a world that is both haunting and convincing. In pre-revolutionary France, a young engineer from the provinces, eager to impress, is given the task of clearing a cemetery in the centre of Paris.
The engineer has to g I was enchanted by this book at the beginning. The engineer has to gain the trust of the local people — whose lives are so infused with the stench of decay that even their breath smells of it — and persuade a group of workers to take on back-breaking work and face down superstition and fear. The set-up throws up fascinating questions. How will the unrest fomenting outside the cemetery affect those within?
What will happen to the engineer, forced into an impossible position between leading his workers and submitting to the will of his minister, comfortably ensconced in Versailles? How will the local people react to the destruction of their history? How will the conflict between those looking for progress and those in the grip of tradition play out?
After an enthralling start, the book drifts. The plot turns into soap opera. There are a series of dramatic, even sensational events, but they do little to enlighten us about the characters or the society they inhabit. But a well constructed plot would have engaged with the themes which are set up in the early part of the book. It would have answered some questions and left us asking more. As it is we just have a workmanlike account of some blokes digging up bones.
Readers also enjoyed. Literary Fiction. About Andrew Miller. Andrew Miller. Andrew Miller was born in Bristol in Books by Andrew Miller. When Dana Schwartz started writing about a 19th-century pandemic ravaging Edinburgh in her latest book, Anatomy: A Love Story, she had no idea Read more Trivia About Pure.
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