The Athenian Murders

by José Carlos Somoza

Book Overview

The English debut of one of Spain's most dazzling younger writers -- a postmodern murder mystery set in ancient Greece. In this brilliant, highly entertaining, and intriguing novel, Jose Carlos Somoza... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374106770
• ISBN13: 9780374106775
• Release Date: June 2002
• Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
• Length: 262 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.4" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Philosophy with Murder on the Side

At first appearances a murder mystery set in Athens at the time of Plato. A young man, Tramachus, is found dead, apparently killed by wolves, but suspicions remain. The youngster's former tutor, Diagoras employs the help of Herakles, a decipherer of enigmas, to explain the odd behaviour of Tramachus before his death. The mystery deepens with a further death and continues to weave itself around Athens, the Academy, the Piraeus, the law courts, and draws heavily upon philosophical and cultural references. The plot, however, is on more than one level - the narrator, by means of footnotes, is the translator of an edition of the Greek text. Both reading for the first time and translating, he perceives that the text holds a second, hidden, meaning within. As he progresses, he comes to suspect that the text is making direct references to him, and then events in his life take a strange and sinister turn. A superb novel which will make the reader think. The intriguing double plot and the discussions of reader, ideas and texts reminded me somewhat of Borges, for this is essentially a philosophical novel, not a genre mystery. A basic familiarity with the classical background will enhance the reading pleasure.

Noam Chomsky, Douglas Hofstaetter and Umberto Eco all in one

Phantastic read in the true sense of the word. Although indeed sometimes apparently 'unsubtle' and heavy going, the incredible finish justifies it all. The 'detective novel' is just the window dressing, albeit well done pastiche. If one enjoys word games, self reference and some (light) philosophy, this is the book to read

Brilliant! Stunningly intelligent

"The Cave of Ideas", this book's title in the original Spanish, is actually a far better one; certainly more apt. "The Athenian Murders" doesn't quite bring across the right tone that of a viciously intelligent piece of a philosophy. It more creates the impression of a simple historical whodunit, which is rather misleading. For it is FAR more than that, and anyone who picks up this book just wanting an enjoyable historical novel may find themselves confounded. Because this book is, as that original title suggests, a novel of ideas. It is not just a piece of philosophy, this book IS philosophy. It's set-up is original and brilliant, leading to the fact that we actually have here TWO first-person narrators. One, Diagoras, is a contemporary of Plato, a pedagogue at his academy in Athens. He is writing an account concerning the brutal murder of one of the sons of a leading Athenian dignitary. His body was found on a wooden hillside, and the condition of the corpse initially leads the discovers to think he has been savaged by wolves. Diagoras calls in the "Decipherer of Enigmas", Heracles Pontor (note the initials!) to help investigate the murder. Our second narrator is the modern-day translator of this ancient Greek manuscript, who speaks to us only through his footnotes as he translates the text. Gradually, as he works, another story appears to be emerging in the writing, buried in layers of hidden meaning. It seems that there is a message beneath the main story, and the unnamed translator grows obsessed by it. The more he translates, the deeper the roots seem to extend, until eventually the astonishing, confounding truth is revealed...This is probably the most important literary thriller since Donna Tartt's The Secret History, or Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose. It won the UK's CWA Gold Dagger for Best Crime Novel of the year, and I don't think there has ever been a more deserving winner. This is the writer's sixth novel, but his English language debut, and it marks out a remarkable, astounding talent. It is incredibly hard to convey the sheer quality of this text (somehow that word seems more appropriate than "novel") is without revealing its brilliance, the stunning, jaw-dropping final revelation which shafts this novel into the stratosphere of brilliant works of literature and ideas. As I say, though this starts as a philosophical novel, with meaning within meaning, with its end it actually BECOMES a genuine piece of actual philosophy itself. It's ending explodes it into the category, "masterpiece". It's definitely a book for the thinking-reader, though, some of the ideas explored take time to get your head around, and I'm sure that the end can provoke hours of thought, cogs turning round and round in the brain. It did for me, certainly. However, there is more to this brilliant mystery than just its end; don't let my effusive praise deceive you!The historical sections are fascinating, wonderfully detailed; crafted with the love of a scholar.

A novel that simply defies description.

It's a story within a story, within another story. It's an eidetic novel. It's a philosophical progression. It's a self-reflexive text. It's a quest for truth. It's a mystery, in many senses of the word. It's "The Sixth Sense," but rendered in prose and about a thousand times better. It's pure poetry in parts. It's a novel about ideas and words, and whether one can exist without the other. It's one of the best books I've read in years. It's difficult to say anything specific about "The Athenian Murders" without spoiling the wonder of it completely, but I can safely give it my highest recommendation. About halfway in, I gave up trying to figure out how it would end and just let myself enjoy its twists and turns. I've rarely been more richly awarded by trying out a new novel.

A Platonic Argument

This Platonic murder mystery that ultimately discusses Plato's Theory of Ideas through eidetism comprises two stories. The first is that of Heracles Pontor (who in his physical description comes across nicely as the ancient Hercule Poirot - not William Baskerville) and the second the self-doubting brush with insanity of the author-Translator.The premise of the novel is that a young member of Plato's Academy - Tryamachus - has been killed by wolves. A small inconsistency on the body, plus his mentor's - Diagoras - last moments with his student leads Hercules to take on the job (though he professes he is solving it for himself, even as he takes a fee) to discover the culprits. Along the way there are three other murders and a great deal of philosophizing as he works hs way through the intellectual and physical barriers thrown up to prevent him finding the truth.The one problem with this intellectual murder mystery - although along the same vein as Eco, but not as good - is that the reader is constantly forced to interrupt the narrative to read the subplot of the modern day Translator as a series of footnotes. This causes The Athenian Murders to become fractured and halts the easy reading flow of narrativeHowever, the novel succeeds admirably on many different levels. At a basic level the denouement is as you would expect for a mytery set at this time and place. Combined with the endless aim for philosophical purity, vying with the descent into decadence beguilingly offered by mysterious cults the novels moves neatly from scene to scene laying level upon level of twist and suggestion as to both motive and fact.Hercules laconic decipherments offset nicely against the sense of mortification that his 'hirer' - Diogenes - develops as each murder occurs and he is forced to accept Reality. The plot itself is simple but the - at first - self-congratulatory nature of the Translator who feels the need to explain each and every clever image to the reader becomes a trifle wearisome. It is an interesting dichotomy. Many people would say the point of a novel is that every single reader 'sees' the words and images in a unique way at each reading. What the novel is trying to prove/disprove is that the eidetic nature of the book means every single reader will always arrive at the same Key no matter when or where the book is read.The nature of this philosophical argument and the novel's attempt to both explain, discuss and demonstrate it is what makes The Athenian Murders thought provoking. Highly Recommended