Stone's Fall: A Novel

"Stone's Fall" is a sweeping masterpiece of mystery and atmosphere; a treasure of intrigue, and drama cast in an intricately-researched historical setting. This is the story of John Stone, a fictitious English industrialist of the late-19th to early 20th century. The novel starts briefly in 1953 at the funeral of Stone's elderly widow, Elizabeth, flashing back to 1909 where Stone has recently died, apparently from an accidental fall from his second story office. Elizabeth commissions a young reporter to try to identify Stone's "child" who, while left a small fortune in Stone's will, was never known to have existed. From the mystery of the missing child and the unusual circumstances surrounding Stone's death, author Ian Pears launches a rollicking epic of greed, lust, and politics colored by just a touch of the supernatural that spans over for decades in London, Paris, and Venice.The scope and complexity of the plot requires three separate "books," each focused on a specific character in a specific time and setting. Starting in the first with the reporter's attempts to identify an unknown child with virtually no clues to his or her identity - even the child's identity is not known - Pears establishes the key characters while cleverly planting subtle hints and situations which prove crucial in the ultimate unraveling of this convoluted tale. One of these characters, Henry Cord, a shadowy spy for the English, is the key subject of the second book, set two decades earlier, mostly in Paris. It is there that Stone meets the beautiful and enigmatic Elizabeth, eastern-European royalty holding court in Paris. From there, the third book takes the reader back to Venice in 1867, where a young John Stone plants the seeds for his future industrial empire, while dallying with the wife of another English ex-Pat in Venice. As the union is slowly and carefully peeled away, seemingly unconnected events and relationships start falling into place, leading to a shocking blockbuster of a finish - a brilliantly camouflaged and deliciously loathsome twist in the same league as Louis Bayard's celebrated "A Pale Blue Eye."Indeed, Iain Pears reads a lot like Bayard - authentic to the period, detailed almost to tedium on one hand, while on the other, the Pear's tangled web is the necessary evil in delivering a payoff so extraordinary. Some may find parallels to Dan Simmons' well-crafted period mysteries favored with bits of the occult; others will see Caleb Carr, but taken to new heights of sophistication. I'd never read Ian Pears before this, but his careful character development, discerning story lines, and intelligent rendering of historical settings with compelling drama will have me going back to his earlier works. Trust me that once started, you'll be inescapably hooked on the puzzle of John Stone's fateful fall.

Another challenging brain-teaser from the author of INSTANCE OF THE FINGERPOST which will keep you guessing until the end. We are introduced to the world of high finance as well as the beginning of complex relationships of the main characters through their narratives. What is somewhat confusing are the different time frames used: beginning with the funeral in 1953 with the funeral of Elizabeth in Paris, then going back to 1890, 1867 and last to 1909, just prior to Stone's death.Newly widowed, Elizabeth has requested Matthew Braddock to find the whereabouts of a child mentioned in her husband's will. John Stone has mysteriously fallen to his death from a window in his home; his will cannot be settled until the child is found. This is the premise on which everything will follow with unanticipated consequences for our characters.Braddock, whose narrative is influenced by his feelings for Elizabeth may well be the one character who I found some rapport with. He is a newspaper reporter who will be searching for the missing child and as a result will land in a life threatening situation as well. Another narrative featuring Henry Cort reveals that he had an earlier mutually beneficial relationship with Elizabeth. An amoral individual, he easily straddles both sides of the fence and has used his knowledge of banking combined with spying to uncover a plot to topple the Bank of England.The 1867 part dealing with Stone in Venice sets the stage for what will follow, giving us an impression of a restless young man on the brink of becoming an industrialist. While traveling on the continent he becomes enchanted with the sunlit and seductive ambience of Venice and decides to prolong his stay. It is here that Stone meets an odd assortment of characters: some who border on insanity as well as an inventor of a torpedo who is down on his luck and money. Stone will step in with his business acumen to gain the patent which will be his first major acquisition. Last, but not least, Arnsley Drennan, the odd man out of our group, is a disillusioned American expatriate having fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War. Drennan will make several key appearances as he winds his way in and out of the story.The mystery is not only the sudden and unexplained death of Stone, but also the multilayered persona of Elizabeth. Her actions are brought to light by the observations of others, but her innermost thoughts and the reasons for her behavior are not disclosed. Perhaps, this is what the author intended so we would have more of a puzzle to ponder.This is well worth reading, a bit difficult, but another example of impeccable writing.

Comecei a lê-lo com afinco e com enorme vontade de gostar - e de aprender alguma coisa.Mas o livro é um enorme tédio, o autor não sabe escrever, as relações entre as personagens (que são de cartão) são pseudodramáticas, a trama é pseudointensa - é tudo muito pseudo e, francamente, o que li (cerca de 1/3) foi uma enorme perda de tempo.Talvez seja um livro de mediano a reduzido interesse, mas como as expectativas eram muito elevadas, a classificação é mesmo a mais baixa possível.

The master is at it again. What appears to be a simple story of power and riches has so many turns and twists we can never be sure of who is on the right side. Another excellent mystery from a great story teller.

I don't often review books because I'm 'in the business' as it were and people in house glasses etc.But .....This novel is good, very good, superb in fact.Ian Pears is a brilliant storyteller and this book captivates and holds the reader.So much so that I stayed up reading this book when I should have been in the arms of Morpheus getting a bit of nocturnal oblivion, and not just the once either, it was that good.His plot lines weave through time and draw in characters that share your head for a while and his attention to historical detail embellishes the story without smothering it.This is really good stuff. I can but recommend it.But it should come with a 'health warning', because if you do 'get in' to this book it could easily lead to time slipping by as you 'just read another page', regardless of the hour.Of course you won't care, at least not until you look at the clock and realise just for just how long Ian Pears has been stealing your time.But worth it just the same

Nach einer kurzen Vorgeschichte von wenigen Seiten, die 1953 bei der Beerdigung der - wie wir später erfahren - weiblichen Hauptperson spielt, entfaltet sich die Handlung des Romans in drei Ich-Erzählungen, die durch die Zeit rückwärts gehen. Es beginnt 1909 mit der Erzählung eines zu diesem Zeitpunkt jungen Journalisten, der für die just verwitwete weibliche Hauptperson das Kind ihres Mannes finden soll, dem dieser in seinem Testament eine gewaltige Summe hinterlassen hat. Von der Existenz eines solchen Kindes wusste niemand etwas, und die Papiere, in denen etwas darüber stehen sollte, sind verschwunden. Dass ihr Gatte - ein immens reicher Wirtschaftsmagnat - unter etwas unklaren Umständen ums Leben gekommen ist, spielt zunächst nur eine Nebenrolle. Der Journalist macht sich an die Arbeit, entdeckt ein raffiniertes Wirtschaftskomplott und einen Attentatsplan und beendet seine Geschichte zwar zufriedenstellend. Aber Fragen bleiben.Es schließt sich die Erzählung eines Geheimdienstmannes an, über dessen Werdegang und seine Erlebnisse im Paris des Jahres 1890, als der Wirtschaftsmagnat und seine Gattin sich kennenlernten, und er - der Geheimdienstler - einen Finanzangriff auf die Bank von England entdeckte. Wieder lesen wir eine in sich runde Geschichte, bleiben aber über wichtige Punkte im Unklaren.Darum geht es weiter zurück, ins Venedig des Jahres 1867, wo der zu diesem Zeitpunkt noch junge Finanzmagnat seine Bestimmung findet. Dieser Teil ist, der Zeit entsprechend, etwas im Stil der Schauerromantik gehalten; es ereignen sich einige phantastische Gegebenheiten, die nicht erklärt werden. Hier laufen letztlich alle Fäden zusammen, und alle späteren Ereignisse, von denen wir zuvor erfahren haben, werden begreiflich - ganz zuletzt, durch eine Nachbemerkung, auch der Tod des Magnaten.Das alles ist also sehr raffiniert aufgebaut und erzählt. Jeder Ich-Erzähler kann wirklich nur so viel wissen, wie er preisgibt, so dass die Rätsel, welche die Spannung weiter aufrecht erhalten, nicht gekünstelt wirken. Die Stimmung der jeweiligen Zeit und Stadt wird wunderbar eingefangen. Faszinierend finde ich v.a., dass Pears kaum ein Jahr nach dem Beginn der großen Wirtschaftskrise ein Buch vorgelegt hat, das die Anfänge unserer modernen Finanzwirtschaft darstellt und daraus einen Krimi macht. Dieser historische Teil wirkt ebenso kompetent wie instruktiv. Man lernt wirklich etwas daraus.Soweit also: großes Lob. Das ist mein erster Pears gewesen, und weitere werden sicher folgen. Einen Stern Abzug gibt es trotzdem für die - für meinen Geschmack - übergroße Portion Melodrama. Die Art, wie die unerschütterliche Liebe zwischen den beiden Hauptpersonen von vorne bis hinten a) wirklich unerschütterlich bleibt und b) letztlich alles, alles erklärt, ist für meinen pragmatischen Sinn zu dick aufgetragen. Auch die Persönlichkeit der weiblichen Hauptperson bewegt sich allzu weit außerhalb des Wahrscheinlichen. Ich will nichts verraten, aber . . . nee. So einen Menschen kann es nicht geben. Und zwar braucht jeder Roman Zufallsfügungen (willing suspension of disbelief, und so), aber auch damit übertreibt Pears es m.E. ein wenig.Das alles mag einem anderen Leser gar nicht auffallen, aber mich hat es bei allem Lesevergnügen ein wenig gestört. Ansonsten aber: mehr davon!

I came to this novel having read Ian Pears' earlier book, 'An Instance of the Fingerpost' - and as a result I came to it with high expectations. In many ways I wasn't disappointed: this novel has many of the hallmarks of his earlier work. Both are mystery stories which also concern themselves with the greater mysteries of the human heart, and both allow the author to manipulate narrative viewpoints and timescales, in order to weave a complex and engrossing tale. Both are set in a thoroughly-realised historical past: 'Fingerpost' in 17th-century Oxford, 'Stone's Fall' in the more familiar environment of late-19th-century Europe. Both are beautifully written - I suspect Ian Pears couldn't write a bad sentence if he tried.And 'Stone's Fall' has all the makings of an excellent novel. Its opening - with a mysterious death, a grieving young widow, and a journalist sent to uncover a story he doesn't entirely understand - may sound like standard mystery fare but Pears has the skill to make it fresh. And he soon begins to draw the reader into less well-known territory, where the worlds of international banking and espionage meet.And yet if I were to recommend an Ian Pears novel, it wouldn't be this one. It would be 'An Instance of the Fingerpost'. Perhaps because I came to that novel without the weight of expectation, and was astonished at how good it was. Perhaps because, having read 'Fingerpost', I could guess where Pears might spring his narrative ambush, and this time I was ready for him. (The ending of 'Stone's Fall' wasn't as much of a surprise to this reader as it might have been.)Or perhaps it's something else, which I'm still struggling to pin down. When I reached the end of 'Stone's Fall', I was impressed. When I reached the end of 'Fingerpost', I found myself unexpectly in tears.'Stone's Fall' solves its central mystery; 'Fingerpost' does too, but leaves another mystery entirely in the hands of the reader, and was - for me at least - a better and more satisfying read because of it.