Customer Reviews

A Philosophical Investigation

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In "A Philosophical Investigation" Philip Kerr comes up with one of the most original premises I have ever encountered in the "thriller" genre. What if a killer philosophically justified his murders in advance, and what if modern science, on some level, supported those justifications?

I don't want to give away the plot, but suffice it to say that Kerr's Earth of the 2020's is a dystopia in the classic tradition. On the surface, everything is OK, as technology has made work easier and play more intense. At the same time, though, the technology has subtly stolen the freedom of the indivdual and blurred the lines between right and wrong. As a result, the villain lives in a world where a logical moral argument can be made for the murder of society's undesirables. Is murder wrong if it removes potentially dangerous (genetically identified) people from society?

"A Philosophical Investigation" succeeds as a futuristic thriller without any literary pretensions. The characters are deep and well drawn, and the future England is realistic. However, it is those "literary pretensions", that set this novel apart and that will leave you thinking. Enjoy!

Solving the murder is the easy part of A Philosophical Investigation. FigurIng out which mystery Philip Kerr is actually trying to solve takes a little longer. Is it the brutal death of a woman or the metaphysics of reading?; a computer beak-in or the poetics of William Blake? Maybe Kerr's book is simply a complicated case of mistaken identity: an innovative treatise on moral philosophy disguised as a riveting feminist science-fiction detective novel.

Ostensibly about a meta-serial killer (a serial killer who kills potential serial killers) in the London of 2013, A Philosophical Investigation is composed of two distinct narratives. One is the blow-by-blow account of investigating officer, Detective Chief Inspector Isadora "Jake" Jakowicz. Abused by her father and harassed by her superiors, DCI Jakowicz is fighting Western Civilization's newest epidemic-"hollywood-style, recreational murders," media-generated, purposeless, ritualistic acts of male violence against women.

The second narrative is composed of diary entries by the serial-killer, codenamed "Wittgenstein" (the famous philosopher whose last work is titled-what else?-Philosophical Investigations). Part computer hacker, part dedicated public servant, part philosopher, "Wittgenstein" routinely gets his kicks by raping, killing, and mutilating computer generated images of women on his "Reality Approximation" machine in the virtual reality/privacy of his own apartment/mind. The problems begin when he decides to become a real world vigilante.

The alternating narratives also create a weird montage of current scientific and philosophical positions. Between the two of them, Jackowicz and Wittgenstein cover everything from the sexual symbolism of the brain to the mystical power of common names. By the time the narratives actually intersect, Kerr has shaken up most of our common assumptions about everything from free will to media manipulation, gender relations, political correctness, and the biology of morality.

Despite the "wonders" of universal DNA coding, holographic interfaces, and satellite phones, A Philosophical Investigation is more concerned with cross-examining the present than with escaping to the future. For Kerr that means coming up with a way to remain human in the face of vast systems of social tyranny and technological control. Through it all, Kerr remains optimistic. The low-key heroism and complex moral vision of DI Jakowicz will come as a great relief to anyone who appreciates the difficulty of doing the right thing in a world gone bad.

This book, with its clever double-barelled storyline, combines the fears of today with the known reality of tommorow. In a brilliant realisation of 21st century London, Kerr projects images of a decaying culture against the backdrop of the European superstate.The fact that he manages to prey upon our concerns so much relies on his ability to show us our own fears so coherantly.

In an ultra violent society of the future which has become so denatured as to exclude compassion, Paul Esterhazy is a killer with a head for logic and a mind for Wittgenstein. He has a rare genetic disposition which makes him a likely candidate for mass murder. By hacking into a government computer he manages to find a list of other potential killers. He then sets about exterminating them.

In an effort to contain Esterhazy, Chief Inspector Jackowicz must try and capture him to limit the damage. However, under pressure from the Home Office an attempt is made to use Esterhazy's philosophy against him, i.e. force him to take his own life. Ironically it is left to C.I. Jackowicz to save Esterhazy from himself - but can she do it.

This book engages the reader by firstly spinning a carefull web of Esterhazys mind and then finally ensnaring the reader within it. The best thing about this book is that an entire 'mindspell' becomes apparent and, despite its title, no prior knowledge of philosophy is needed.

On a personal note, this book inspired me to write a screenplay based upon it. However, I appear to have been beaten to the rights - still, I can't wait for the movie!

Wittgenstein, the philosopher whose thinking drives the thinking of the killer in this novel, once said that "what can be said can be said clearly". Wittgenstein described philosophy as the clarification of thoughts. The killer in this novel is a philosophical killer--his kills are clarificatory kills; each is held to standards of clarity; each is an exhibition of logic: After all, as Wittgenstein also said, "no mistakes are possible in logic". So, if each kill is clear and logical, each kill is correct.
This book is memorable because of the way in which Wittgenstein's word-racking investigations, his obsessional searches for clarity, are internalized by a killer. In internalizing them, the killer transmutes them, subtly and not-so-subtly changing Wittgenstein's logical existentialism into a pathological existentialism. The transmutations are balanced by the transmutations of the detective who is chasing the killer. The detective attempts to internalize Wittgenstein, to turn his philosophical methods into methods of policework.
The book's weakness is a function of its strength: it straddles the line between futuristic noir detective novel and psychological/philosophical thriller. Each genre makes severe demands on a sucessful novel, and Kerr shortchanges each in his attempt to do both. Still, the book's a solid read; it provokes both thoughts and thrills.

Basically, if you're looking for a compelling mystery thriller with a twist, this is decidedly not that book. Kerr's book is a more highfalutin' version of "Silence of the Lambs", which itself was of course very popular back when Kerr wrote this book, in the early nineties. And though Kerr has some interesting ideas here, he ultimately can't seem to fit them into a compelling thriller. As one reader notes, the flow of the story is regularly interrupted by the pseudo-philosophical musings of the killer himself, which only minimally add to the story. The whole thing is frustrating because the premise and the slightly futuristic context are tantalizing in their promise, but in the end Kerr can't deliver. Chockfull of philosophical ideas, the story suffers. The character of Jake is alternately sympathetic and annoying. She harbors much of the same rage (due to her father's psychological abuse) as the serial killers that she pursues, although she is generally able to keep it in check. She hates men, and eventually realizes (a la Clarissa Starling) that the one man she finds the most interesting is the killer himself. Her character and her own story end up undeveloped. One of the better twists in the book is that the killer eventually understands that he has turned into exactly what he has been trying to prevent - a serial killer of potential serial killers. He has viewed himself as a kind of vigilante, convincing himself of the rightness of his actions with his philosophical ideas. But he has too much self-awareness to sustain that, and he himself eventually becomes dispirited and suicidal. Then Jake takes on the task of trying to "save" him, primarily because of her fascination with him. Unfortunately, all of these interesting ideas remain underdeveloped, and the book comes to resemble a sketch of a story onto which Kerr can hang his own philosophical musings. It appears that Kerr tightened up his writing style in subsequent books, but in this early one, the story comes up short.

Book Review by C. Douglas Baker

London 2013. Genetic typing has allowed the British government to identify men with a predisposition to serial killing. Now, someone is going around murdering all the men on the list! Thus is the setting for Kerr's A Philosophical Investigation.

As a science fiction work, Kerr has painted a very believable future with a variety of insights on the day-to-day ramifications of modern technology. Gene typing allowing the government to identify potential serial killers could be used for nefarious purposes by an over zealous government. In this case Kerr avoids the "big brother" syndrome, instead showing that the existence of this information becomes dangerous, despite the government's humane intentions. An example of the everyday affect of new technology: a female detective gets a call in the middle of the night from a colleague, answering her picta-phone without thinking she inadvertently exposes herself and the caller makes a lecherous comment about her (...). Homosexuals now use a new, thicker condom less likely to break. Overuse of "reality approximation devices" (virtual reality), is likened to the overuse of LSD; many who overuse such devices begin to lose touch with reality. None of these tidbits are at all central to the story, but along with other small insights, build up a believable future environment.

Readers will recognize many of the developments in 2013 London, both technologically and socially. [NOTE THESE CULTURAL VIEWPOINTS BELOW ARE EXPRESSED BY CHARACTERS IN THE BOOK, THEY ARE NOT VIEWPOINT OF THIS REVIEWER.] Women continue to advance in social equality. Cynically Kerr depicts governmental organizations, such as police forces, as being forced to accept women equally. One British Minister is a black female but a former Olympic sprinter with good looks, which no doubt immensely helped her rise to this position. Again a pessimistic, although realistic, depiction of the social advancement of women. While the women may not always be looked upon as equals by their male colleagues, they continue to prove themselves the equal of men in most cases, and in some tasks they are deemed even better.

Unfortunately, as a mystery novel, A Philosophical Investigation does not come off as well. Kerr could have done much more to add to the suspense of the novel. The culprit is found out early on and the conclusion seems preordained from that point forward. The tracking and catching of the killer is mildly entertaining at times but for the most part is mundane.

The real strength of this book lies in its setting and the creation of a recognizable 2013. Kerr's understanding of the ramifications of technological advances allows him to depict the use of technology in a realistic, day-to-day fashion that is not common in the science fiction genre. The plot and story itself are less satisfying but there is enough of interest here to entertain the casual reader.

A Philosphical Investigation borrows part of its inspiration from Alfred Bester's sf novel, The Demolished Man, in which the chief protagonist must find a way to murder his business partner in a future where all police are telepaths and premeditation is a crime. Kerr's novel takes place in a London overrun by violent crime, particularly serial murder. In an effort to combat these problems the government has developed a test to screen men for a predisposition to such behavior. Now one of the men on their list is systematically killing the others. Mixing philosphy (each of the victims is comprised of those potential killers code named after famous philospohers) and the elements of a taut thriller, this is an usually thought provoking novel that is also Kerr's best.

After reading this book twice in the space of two years I can honestly say that this is both a fine novel, a philosophical primer and a fabulous movie waiting to happen. By casting a woman as the books anti-hero (and she's certainly not perfect) whilst avoiding gratuitous sex and fragility Kerr gives us someone we can trust and believe in. The bond that builds between the books primary characters echoes reality more than convention and he's unafraid of making relationships and concepts so complex that easy answers are impossible. Anyone who enjoys being entertained and stimulated simultaneously, or who thought that "Seven" was a great movie should read this book. If all you've read from Kerr has thus been disapointing, trust me his talent is far more reliable than his consistancy.

an excellent insight in to dystopia that seems all too real now, and provides rudimentary lectures for students who should know better, get it.

In Kerr's dystopia of 2013, murder (especially mass murder) has become somewhat stylish, alternate realities addictive, DNA testing and knowledge has become more predictive and therefore acted-upon than ever.

Without giving away the plot, it can be said that Kerr's murderer, code-named Wittgenstein, is a highly intelligent but naturally also somewhat spotty type, who has identified a set of targets that he methodically goes about bumping off. As the pattern becomes clear to CDI "Jake" Jacowicz, a conflicted type of inspector herself, she lures him into a conversation of sorts with her, which forms the most interesting part of the book. This conversation revolves around generally philosophical questions that, while initially tantalizing and fresh, eventually became distracting and somewhat dull to this reader. The rest of the book is broken up between a set of notes/narration by the murderer, which are well done, and the tracking down of first a computer breakin, then a manhunt, and finally the inevitable confrontation.

As a murder mystery itself there is little suspense. The dystopian elements of the setting are believable, with the exception of the solution to the costly lifetime imprisonment vs death penalty conundrum, which remains (I hope) still somewhat farfetched. For now.

Kerr is these days best known as the author of the noir-ish Bernie Gunther novels. This book is nothing whatever like those. It is well written and different from the ordinary murder mystery, but could be more tightly plotted, and as mentioned above, its central device may eventually wear out for the typical reader.