Remarkable. . . If all crime novels were like this one, there would no longer be the need for a genre
The Book of Evidence is a major work of fiction in which every suave moment calmly detonates to show the murderous gleam within. Banville writes a dangerous and clear-running prose and has a grim gift of seeing people's soulsBanville has excelled himself in a flawlessly flowing prose whose lyricism, patrician irony and aching sense of loss are reminiscent of
LolitaOne of the most important writers now at work in English - a key thinker, in fact, in fictionThe darkly compelling confession of an improbable murderer, shortlisted for the 1989 Booker Prize.
Inspired by the crimes of Malcolm Macarthur in Ireland, 1982, The Book of Evidence by John Banville is a gripping portrait of a cold, deceptive and utterly unprecedented killer.
'Banville writes a dangerous and clear-running prose and has a grim gift of seeing people's souls' – Don DeLillo, author of White Noise and Libra
Freddie Montgomery has committed two crimes. He stole a small Dutch master – an unattributed painting of a middle-aged woman – from a wealthy family friend. And he murdered a chambermaid who caught him in the act, bludgeoning her to death with a hammer.
An eccentric narcissist, he has little to say about the woman he killed. He travels through life without any apparent remorse. He killed her, he says, because he was physically capable of it. It made sense to him.
However, as he narrates his testimony, there is one thing he cannot understand. One thing he would desperately like to know. Why did he want to steal the painting?
With extra material for the 25th anniversary, including an introduction by Colm Tóibín, author of Brooklyn.
Shortlisted for the Booker Prize
'Remarkable' – Ruth Rendell, author of the Inspector Wexford novels
The Book of Evidence is the first in John Banville's acclaimed Frames Trilogy. It is followed by Ghosts and Athena.
John Banville was born in Wexford, Ireland, in 1945. He is the author of many highly acclaimed novels. His first book,
Long Lankin, was published in 1970. His other works include
Doctor Copernicus (which won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1976),
Kepler (which was awarded the
Guardian Fiction Prize in 1981),
The Newton Letter,
Mefisto,
Ghosts,
Athena,
The Untouchable,
Eclipse,
Shroud and
The Sea, which won the 2005 Man Booker Prize. He has been awarded the Franz Kafka Prize and a literary award from the Lannan Foundation. He lives in Dublin.
