Customer Reviews

Hidden

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

How do you rate a well-written book that has a very bad plot?

Tobias Hill is obviously a very gifted writer. His command of the language is impressive to say the least. The imagery is beautiful, metaphors are effortless. Just a few subtle strokes is all it takes to set the mood for any given scene.

Unfortunately, all the skills in the world could not save this book. Simply put, it's boring. The narration crawls and meanders pointlessly for far too many pages. There are characters that don't serve any purpose in the plot. There is the setting, Sparta, and non-stop mentioning of its culture, traditions and mysteries, which turn out almost completely irrelevant to the actual plot. The excerpts from the PhD thesis written by the novel's protagonist are interspersed throughout the chapters. These also have nothing to do with the story, although ironically, they are one of the most interesting sections of the novel to read. It takes two thirds of the book to finally build up some semblance of suspense, but then comes the anticlimactic ending, and any hopes for a satisfying resolution of the plot come crashing to the ground.

Ben Mercer had read Classics and Archaeology at Oxford. His marriage had broken up, and he went to Greece to get away for a while. He worked in a restaurant in an Athens suburb; a fellow student from Oxford turned up at the restaurant and mentioned that he was working on a dig at what was Sparta. Ben thinks that would be ideal work for him - he had always been interested in the Spartans, not least because there is so little direct evidence about them: they left hardly any writing, and archaeological evidence is extremely meagre. Most of what we know about them comes from non-Spartan sources. Ben has been working on a thesis about Sparta, and the novel is interspersed with notes for it, and a grimly pathological, paranoid, cruel and savage society it must have been. He goes to the British School in Athens and gets himself sent to join the dig. He is looking also to work with a group: all his life he has been outside or at the most at the edge of groups. The dynamics of this particular group are both complicated and secretive: an inner circle does not welcome him and for a long time ignores him. Half-way through the book, they seem to accept him, and the scene where he is allowed to accompany them on a hunt to shoot a jackal is one of the few gripping passages in the book. The scenes towards the end of the book, which reveal what the group has been secretive about, are certainly unexpected but don't seem (to me, at any rate) to have any organic `rightness' about them, the supposed link with Spartan ways very tenuous.

I found the book disappointing. For a long time the plot did not seem to be going anywhere. The story is peppered with inconsequential events and inconsequential conversational exchanges. If it were not for the jacket hinting at a dangerous outcome, one does not sense danger for a long time, and I certainly missed the "astonishing grace and power" with which the blurb says the book is written. The characters do not really come alive: they are all seen from the outside, except for Ben and possibly Missy Stanton, the American head of the party who, like Ben, is treated by the group as an outsider. The description of some of the key-scenes is oblique. The dialogue, annoyingly punctuated, consists mostly of laconic one-liners (OK: `laconic' relates to Spartan, but that doesn't make the dialogue any less irritating); and it is sometimes hard work (and at times impossible) to know who is speaking. Sometimes it is not clear who "he" is - and that is really clumsy writing. I suppose that all these features of the style are meant to be as secretive as the story it depicts, but it sure makes for rebarbative reading.

I can't deny that T. Hill writes beautifully. Full of metaphors and tightly wound descriptions that paint a brilliant picture. However, his story is ultimately a huge disappointment.

Trying not to say too much here (and give spoilers) I bought this because I was interested in the angle of the mystery that had to do with archeology, history, ancient Greeks. The mystery pulled me all the way through the book. When the reveal was finally close, I suspected Mr. Hill was about to pull a fast one. But I was 4/5th of the way in. Too late to bother putting it down now.

And it was as I had feared. The resolution had nothing to do with what the book was sold to me on. And the hidden plot was as dull as they come. (At least I think so.) Enough said.

I'm half way through the book but it has taken me a long while to get even this far. Nothing much happens, and the characters--all of them--leave me cold. Much of the dialogue is contrived and artificial. A typical sample: "You're at Oxford?" --More or less. "Do you like it there?" --Not really. "No? I always though it sounded nice. Ivory towers. Tea and crumpets. Romantic evenings around the bar theater." There are three distinct pieces to this book: the historical notes; Ben's life on the dig in Sparta; and his life with ex-wife and child in England. Strangely, the points of intersection are not in any way compelling. In terms of plot, there is no reason why so much space is devoted to the breakup of his family, since the lead character, Ben, seems incapable of introspection and his domestic drama does nothing to move the story along. The historical notes are rather interesting, but the moment the book switches to present-day Greece or England, the narrative falls flat again. There's no incentive to keep reading to find out what the big "secret" or mystery is supposed to be. For that, you need to have your emotions invested in a book, but that's a tall order when a book fails to engage you in the story.

Like this intriguing novel itself, the title has many layers of meaning. The most obvious is the setting. The book mainly takes place during an archaeological dig in the ruins of ancient Sparta, in Southern Greece. Under the direction of an earnest American archaeologist, an international group of youngish workers (from America, Germany, Japan, Georgia, and Britain, together with some Greeks) work long hours to uncover relics of that ancient civilization that was at one time the dominant military power in Greece. No priceless artifacts are expected; this is a picture to be pieced together from broken potsherds and fragments of bone.

Another layer refers to ancient Spartan society -- a culture that not only left little evidence of its achievements but actually seems to have enshrined secrecy as a virtue. This background is discussed in chapters throughout the novel entitled "Notes Towards a Thesis," written by the protagonist, Ben Mercer, a graduate student of archaeology at Oxford who volunteers for the dig when it is already in progress. Hill is brilliant at setting out the facts and theories of classical history in a way that is anything but dry. The moment you open the book, you know you are in the presence of real intelligence, whether Ben's or the author's or both. And these historical interludes turn out to be essential underpinnings of the themes of the novel.

When Ben arrives at the dig, the five other non-Greek workers seem to have formed a clique that excludes him. One of them, a German named Eberhard, knew Ben slightly from Oxford, but now he seems disdainful and remote. Jason, the only other Englishman, offers apparent friendship that turns to antagonism. Ben, who is eager to be accepted, finds himself attracted to one of the group, a Japanese woman named Natsuko, but that relationship too seems based as much on mystery as revelation. He soon suspects that the members of this clique are linked by secrets of their own, from which he will always be excluded.

But then Ben has secrets himself. He comes to Greece originally to recover from the loss of his wife and child in a divorce which, though relatively amicable, leaves him yearning. As time goes on, we gradually learn more about the reasons for this divorce, and of a secret violence hidden within Ben himself. The most disturbing thing is that he is a sympathetic character and clearly no monster, and yet the author seems to imply that even normal people like ourselves can carry the monstrous in us.

"The Hidden" finally refers to a group of young men in ancient Sparta who apparently served as a kind of vigilante force outside the normal law. Whether historically based or not, the idea turns out to have considerable thematic importance as Hill gradually adds the mechanisms of a thriller to fill out his psychological study, and take it to places of particular relevance to our post-9/11 world.

One thing THE HIDDEN does NOT do is draw spurious connections between the ancient world and our own. There are no discoveries to be made that will overthrow accepted history, no secret societies pledged to preserve the ways of the past; we are not in Dan Brown territory here. But everything in this complex novel is linked thematically, if not as cause and effect. In terms of sheer plotting, it is true, it may require a certain suspension of disbelief. And Hill has not entirely solved the problem of giving individual delineation to a group of characters who cloak themselves in mystery. Yet in terms of its tightening nexus of ideas and loyalties, the novel is immensely powerful, leading us inexorably into a very dark place in the human soul.

I think this book suffers a bit from being presented as a thriller, because that label suggests the action-heavy plot and obvious themes of airport entertainment. I'd compare it more to Donna Tartt's The Secret History. It's a sort of metaphysical suspense story where you have to think a bit about the the main character and his flaws and why he's attracted to certain people and ideas. What's the relationship between the group at the archeological dig, the ancient Spartans and the reason for Ben's divorce? It's not glaring right in your face. This is called a metaphor, something you find in art. You don't expect it in a Tom Clancy novel, and if a Clancy thriller all you're really equipped to read, you won't get it. So I think the kind of person whose reading comprehension stops at the airport thriller level should stay away. You will think that the book is boring and that nothing happens.

That said, readers who know how to read below the simple surface level and who tend to read more literary books, will find a lot more suspense and plot in this book than they're used to. I think those readers -- the kind of people who like Ian McEwan novels, for example, will appreciate how marvelous "The Hidden" is.

As he mystery unfolds in the archaeological dig, it is hard for anyone familiar with greece not to get sucked further into this work. By skillfully en-wrapping the reader in classic tales of sparta while exploring images of modern greece it is hard not to get sucked into the drama unfolding around the main character.

The identity of "the Hidden" is at the heart of the mystery that unfolds in British author Tobias Hill's fourth novel. The narrative follows Ben Mercer, an experienced "shovelmonkey" on various archaeological digs, who joins a group searching for the ruins of the long-lost city of Sparta. After going through a painful divorce, he finds the remote Greek countryside a welcome change of scenery--except that one of the members of the expedition, Eberhard Sauer, is a close acquaintance of his ex-wife.

They manage to get on well enough, and as time goes on, Ben finds himself getting romantically involved with one of the expedition members, a young Japanese woman named Natusko. Despite the fact that, by all appearances, he has been fully accepted as a member of the group, he occasionally hears whispers of some dark secret the others collectively keep. Even Natsuko refuses to give him a clue. Eventually, after undergoing what he believes to be a series of tests to prove him worthy, Ben faces the challenge of learning what the others have been keeping from him--knowing that, once he experiences it, his life will never be the same.

Interspersed with the story are passages that recount the history of Sparta, which ostensibly weave a backdrop for the present-day drama. These historical vignettes may, in fact, be the most intriguing and compelling aspects of the book. While Hill's prose is lyrical and engaging, with vivid descriptions and rich atmosphere (although I find the usage of em dashes, rather than quotation marks, to denote dialogue a tedious affectation), narrative development is mired in verbal quicksand. Now, I do enjoy novels that focus on characterization and setting and that unfold gradually; as a recent example of these characteristics, I might point to The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova. In fact, The Historian's plodding pace rates highly as a subject of criticism.

Dare I say it, compared to The Hidden, The Historian is a screaming NASCAR race.

To better appreciate The Hidden, one may consider the novel less a literary drama than a biography of its main character. For example, the novel opens in England, with Ben Mercer working in a diner. The author introduces a number of characters and devotes significant time and effort developing the place and the people--none of which (apart from Eberhard Sauer) are ever revisited or even made relevant. The section is too long and detailed simply to serve as an introduction to Sauer; one must take it as a chapter of Mercer's life that the author considers important.

And viewing the novel as a biographical portrait, one can see this as being one of Mercer's pivotal life decisions; yet, for the sake of the drama, the entire back story could have been presented in briefer manner, and with considerably more impact. At the resolution, for all the novel's atmosphere, rich historical detail, and living characters, the reader receives very little reward in the drama department.

While I admire the author's elegant prose, I would have a hard time recommending The Hidden to any but the most patient readers--whose fondness for elegant prose supersedes a desire for well-rounded drama.

See also : The Magus

Puzzling, subtle, extremely well documented, an excellent historical thriller, a masterpiece. Gives one much to think and to learn.

This was a random grab off the new fiction shelf at our local city library. I was intrigued by Ben, the Oxford archaeologist running from himself and his own history, having been replaced as a husband and father. The interspersed sections on the history (or lack thereof) of ancient Sparta are fascinating and educational pieces. Ben meets the enigmatic group of "shovel monkeys" excavating part of ancient Sparta. I was captured by the interactions between the group as they at first resisted Ben, then incorporated him into their little community. I was drawn further into the story when it came to light that this group had a secret, something concealed in the caves at Sparta. I was soundly disappointed when it turned out they were kidnappers of a war criminal for political purposes, the unexplained demand to the Greek government for the release of unidentified prisoners, a demand that is ultimately not met. There are some pointed jabs at American involvement in the creation of the Greek military government of the 1970s. There are no real explanations as to why this group is engaged in this activity (though it is not for money, or what they hope to accomplish aside from perhaps righting a wrong here and there. The ending is a further disappointment. Ben, in choosing not to acquiesce in the group's decision to kill their prisoner and move on to the next target, makes his own decision to turn against his new found "friends", even his lover Natsuko. It's pretty much left at that point with no resolution. It seems as if the author lacked a real definition of his ending.

I may try another Tobias Hill novel just to see if this was a fluke. I hope not as he is an engaging writer.