Customer Reviews

A Conspiracy of Paper: A Novel

5 star:		(119)
4 star:		(57)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

David Liss takes his readers to the 18th century. Not only does he capture, from extensive and detailed research, the ethos, color, and texture of the time, but his novel, written in the first person voice of Benjamin Weaver, is a near mirror of the writing style and tenor of 18th century British literature.

In this first novel, Mr. Liss educates about the beginnings of the modern financial world--did you ever wonder how and why poeple started attaching value to paper? But, he does so with the intrigue of murder, clandestine meetings, brawls, and the dark alley mysteries of London life. He paints great pictures of the sights and sounds of 18th century London, and yes you can almost smell the stench of the open sewers which were the streets.

His characters come alive. They are well drawn and vigorous. Benjamin Weaver, his narrative protagonist, is not only likeable, but he is extremely interesting, worldly, and persceptive of human nature and human condidion. (We definitely need another novel with this character as our guide to life and times in London.)

This book is without doubt worth the reading. Although it begins a bit slowly, you are committed to discover with Weaver why his estranged Father has been murdered and what that has to do with potential damaging financial scandals.

Mr. Liss is a gifted writer and scholar of the times in which he sets his very good story. Enjoy, his work. It is a labor of love.

This is a novel that captured my interest and charmed me with the history of London in 1719. The setting was so well developed that I felt I could see the ravages of disease in the prisoners at Newgate Prison and hear the crowd as they taunted a prisoner for being a Jacobite.

Underneath the story itself, there are also political lessons for today when we watch the news and see the political unrest in Egypt and Lybia. This is a time when England is in fear of the French and their support of the deposed King James.

Benjamin Weaver is a Jewish detective who is contacted by a snobbish gentleman named Balfour. Balfour states that he questions his father's suicide and that the person responsible for his father's death is also the person who murdered Weaver's father. This astounds Weaver who was not close to his father and presumed that his father's death was accidental.

Underneath the possible murders is the fact that Weaver's father was a stock trader and there may have been stock forgery that caused the crimes.

Weaver is hired by Sir Owen to retrive some matters he lost when a whore got him drunk and stole his valuables. As Weaver finds the whore, we read of the streets of London and the dangers of a city with little in the way of police.

There are other underlining facts. Weaver is a Jew and there is a feeling in society that Jews are out to steal their money. At one time a character states, "...any man who has lost money in funds (stocks) can follow ...the loss to the hand of a Jew."

I was completely entertained by this novel, the picturesque images of England, the well developed characters and the sophisitcated writing style of David Liss.

Benjamin Weaver is an 18th century London Jew making his way in a complex Christian society, and an equally arcane criminal underworld. After turning his back on family and religion, he has made his living as a boxer, a highwayman, and a thief, until he found the less dangerous occupation of thief-taker. Now drawn back into the world of London's Sephardic Jews by a client who raises questions about Weaver's own father's death, Benjamin is surprised to find himself comforted by the traditions and family he thought he had rejected.

This is one of those books that plop you right in the middle of a fascinating world completely unknown to you. Author David Liss creates the richly textured world of 18th century London Jewry, their traditions, their aspirations, played out against the famous stock speculation by the South Sea Company. Early stock brokers funded much of the 18th century's wars and economic growth from their tables in coffeehouses across London. Of course, there were also disasters, and the Jews, as the only stockbrokers, often took the blame for all sorts of economic downturns, as Weaver finds out.

The characters in "A Conspiracy of Paper" are unusual and engaging. So many books have been set in 18th century London that it seems to be a landscape readers know well. One of the treats of this book is finding a different world in a place we thought we had down pat.

I picked up this book in the store because the cover caught my eye, started reading it by the rack, and could not put it down. Needless to say, I bought it! This is one of the most enjoyable books I've read in I don't know how long. The characters are likable and realistic, the setting (a time and place I didn't know anything about) is beautifully constructed, and the plot is a total page-turner. "A Conspiracy of Paper" seems, at first, to be just a regular mystery, but it is far more compliated, intricate, and clever than any mystery I've ever read. A real treat for anyone who loves to read!

I generally dislike comparing the work of one Author with that of another. But as this is the debut of Mr. David Liss, a reference point or two may be of help.

If the writing of Mr. Charles Palliser is to your liking, or that of Mr. Iain Pears, or perhaps Ms. Tracy Chevalier, this book will earn its place on the same shelf.

The book is excellent, and although its story occupies a time that is not unfamiliar, Mr. Liss has brought a style that is his own. His characters have depth, they do not imitate others drawn in another's book.

The dialogue is well constructed, reads naturally, and together with the narration Mr. Liss and company lead you through a labyrinth of a plot, tempt you with false leads, and pull the carpet out just as you thought you were drawing together the threads. Not a chance, the Author anticipates the reader's moves, and misleads and deceives through a truly wonderful tale!

History, twistery, truth, lies, or mystery? It is all here, brilliantly written by a Novelist that is destined for many great books that I look forward to.

Outstanding!

This is exactly the kind of thing most of us seek historical fiction before: A gripping yarn, a fascinating setting, and a chance to reflect on things that matter to us now in a new way. The two things at the center of this novel-- money and religious heritage -- are of course old hat. But by placing them in the hands of his 18th century boxer, this book gives you the chance to reflect upon them as you never have before. Even better, this book has fascinating, three-dimensional characters (esp. the narrator), about whom you just want to know more and more. It's hard to put this book down.

A Conspiracy of Paper is without a doubt the best historical mystery I have ever read-- suspense-filled, clever, filled with period detail, and written in a narrative voice evocative of the 18th-c without being precious or pretentious. Liss has created a hero who is irresistable and vastly complex. What makes this novel particularly remarkable is its pairing of financial intrigue with the development of probability theory, which is used to wonderful effect. The attention to Sephardic culture and boxing make this novel truly exciting and a pure reading pleasure.

This novel is one of the most impressive debuts I have ever seen. "A Conspiracy of Paper" is a brilliant historical novel that doesn't just slap history onto the mold of a mystery plot, but instead uses a lot of the standard ideas found in mysteries to think about the nature of solving crimes. But this novel is neither ponderous or overly intellectual. It is pure fun! How does that happen? Well, the protagonist, Benjamin Weaver, is absolutely compelling, and he easily guides the reader through places and ideas that are alien, making them fascinating, amusing, frightening or suspenseful. This book is much more thoughtful in its use of historical material (the stock market, prejudice, class difference, etc.) than any other historical mystery I've ever read. And most important, the conspiracy plot works amazingly well. This is a book I could just not put down because I needed to know who had done what and why. I don't want to give anything away, but I will say that this is one of those novels where there are lots of shady characters and most of them are up to some kind of no good, but it is almost never the kind of no good the reader suspects. If you like historical novels, if you like mystery novels, if you like novels that are better than 95% of the stuff that's out there, then "Conspiracy of Paper" is for you.

I usually don't like books that begin with an explanation of their reason for being which is not tied in, in some more profound way, with the main storyline -- this kind of thing strikes me as amateurish and unnecessary, even in a first person account. So, given all the glowing praise for this book (not to mention its Edgar nomination), when I read its opening comment ("For some years now, the gentlemen of the book trade have pressed me in the most urgent fashion to commit my memoirs to paper") I hoped for some spin at least remotely as unusual as that put on the story by similar openings in each of the four parts of Iain Pears's "Instance of the Fingerpost," to which this book has been compared. Alas, I soon found that this hope was in vain, and I almost didn't continue reading.

I am glad that I did, however, because although this is clearly a "first," Liss tells a richly textured and, for the most part, well-researched tale. His background in both history and economics allows the author to give an interesting spin to mysteries as a genre, and to this book in particular. Despite some unnecessary phrases like the one mentioned above, he vividly conveys the atmosphere of the place and the society he describes; namely, that of 18th century London with its lawless underbelly, corrupt judges, dark alleys, ginhouses, whores and, in particular, `Change Alley and its coffeehouses and the prejudice against "stock-jobbing" Jews. The book's narrator, ex-boxer Benjamin Weaver (born Benjamin Lienzo and formerly professionally known as "The Lion of Judah") is a compellingly drawn character. And as a comment on the volatility of the stock market and its dangers for the uninitiated, the book couldn't be more timely; even if its story ends before the actual burst of the so-called "South Sea Bubble."

Unfortunately, Liss has forsaken historical accuracy in a major way in the portrayal of Miriam, Weaver's almost-love-interest (the relationship between the two appears somewhat contrived anyway) -- and he has done so against better knowledge, as he admits in the interview with fellow author Sheri Holman reproduced at the end of the book. Here, and in his representation of other women (a literate laundry lass?!) the book loses a good part of its credibility. Not only would Miriam not have had the liberty to move about in society as she does, or to freely interact with Weaver in the way that Liss portrays (not even if Weaver had unequivocally declared to his uncle his intention to marry her, which he hadn't); she also would neither legally nor socially have been able to engage in any stock transactions. Weaver's friend Elias, with his penchant to sink money into disastrous "get-rich-quick-schemes," would have been a more credible victim to the fraud perpetrated there (although arguably that inclination of Elias's is not easily reconcilable with the insightful lessons which, on the other hand, he teaches Weaver about the stock market and the "new economy"). Unfortunately, this is not just a minor and ultimately negligible aspect of the story but a key element and hence, a major detractor.

Generally speaking, though, this is a promising start, and I am looking forward to reading Liss's next book. He is clearly able to draw the reader into his story, and in a mystery, this is one of the things I am looking for the most. Given his background, I just hope next time he'll get rid of the unnecessary bywork and stay true to what he has researched and knows historical facts to be, particularly where it comes to the core elements of the story.

Also recommended:
An Instance of the Fingerpost: A Novel

"A Conspiracy of Paper", a first novel from an obviously talented new author, is a very enjoyable book set in 18th century London. It is probably the best historical novel I've read, and richly deserves the awards it's already garnered.

The hero, Ben Weaver, begins to investigate the death of his long-estranged father. Soon enough he finds himself in way over his head, embroiled in the financial intrigue that would ultimately become the South Sea Bubble, causing the ruin of many of London's finest gentlemen.

The style of writing is wonderful, part first person, part narrative, and heavy into the vernacular of early 18th century England. Near the end of the story, this becomes one of those "must stay up until I finish it" books.

A thoroughly enjoyable book. I highly recommend it to those who love the genre.