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Title: Pure

Author: Andrew Miller

Narrator: Jonathan Aris

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-29-12

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

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.

Members Reviews:

Slow build unease and beautiful language

The true story at the centre of the book - the removal of thousands of bodies/bones from central Paris - is really amazing; but it plays an almost secondary role in this book as the main emphasis is on the characters and the atmosphere. These are compelling, as is the use of language by A Miller: sometimes clipped and spare, at others almost florid and often very beautiful. I wasn't as engaged by the book as I had hoped, possibly because I didn't really like any of the characters very much. However, it is well worthy of 4 stars. There is a sense of anxiety, bordering on menace at times, that builds gradually, not surprising given the subject matter. Very well narrated.

A great glimpse of pre-revolutionary France

I really enjoyed this book. The whole atmosphere was very true to the period. It was well-written and despite continually filling me with a slight sense of dread, I liked it! I finished it a couple of weeks ago and to my surprise have found myself missing it. It somehow gets to you.

I thought the read was quite good. Not outstanding but definitely didn't detract from the story.

intriguing and clever but sometimes overdone

The setting is intriguing, as you can see from the publisher's details; the handling of the story and the gradual descent into darkness with the counterpoint of the development of sincere love are clever. The use of language is often almost poetic, a delight to listen to. However, at times all these elements just tip over the fine line between the satisfying and the irritating and strain the suspension of belief. It is rather a shame that Jonathan Aris sometimes has trouble with the pronunciation of the (numerous) French names, as in every other way he is a masterly reader. All in all, worth listening to but not, for me, a book of the year.

Pure Perfection

I bought this book ages ago and then allowed it to languish while I read some of my more 'flashy' titles. Now I have finally got around to giving this a listen I can't believe this took me so long.

This is a vivid account of a Paris filled with physical and moral corruption. Jean Baptiste is an idealistic young engineer from the North charged with clearing a cemetery so overcrowded that bones are exposed to the air and scattered around the grounds. He lodges with a family who live so close to the cemetery that their breath and food is tainted by their environment. The natural assumption is that Jean Baptiste would be applauded for the work he is conducting, but this is not the case, and he meets resistance from all sorts of strange and mysterious sources.

The details in this story are fascinating. From the food people ate, to the clothes they wore and their daily routines.