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Andrew Miller
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Book
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Publisher | Sceptre | ||
ISBN | 9781444724288 | ||
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Reviewer
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BFK Book Club
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Synopsis
A year of bones, of grave-dirt, relentless work. Of mummified corpses and chanting priests.
A year of rape, suicide, sudden death. Of friendship too. Of desire. Of love...
A year unlike any other he has lived.
Deep in the heart of Paris, its oldest cemetery is, by 1785, overflowing, tainting the very breath of those who live nearby. Into their midst comes Jean-Baptiste Baratte, a young, provincial engineer charged by the king with demolishing it.
At first Baratte sees this 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.
Review
It is the story of engineer, Jean Baptiste Barrat, charged to remove the corpses from the overflowing cemetery of Les Innocents, Paris, on the eve of the revolution. Most book club members enjoyed this book, particularly enjoying the richness of the prose despite the unpleasant subject matter. The putrifying atmosphere of the graveyard was so vividly portrayed it was too much for a couple of our readers, pervading the air, the food and even the breath of the citizens.
The portents of the revolution that was approaching was much enjoyed in the symbolism of the new brightly coloured silk suit which was bought by Barrat, but which he soon replaced by a more sober one, the death of the old elephant and the hard work to remove the animal's body. We were all quite curious to see where this church and cemetery had been, and discussed the catacombs in both Paris where the remains are now stored, and a similar one in Rome. We were struck by the contrast between today's obsession with workplace health & safety and the almost complete disregard for it seen in Pure. On the whole we agreed it was a very good read and well deserving of its prize.
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