Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
194th out of 676 books
—
2,016 voters
The Geographer's Library
by
Jon Fasman
The literary history suspense novel has long been a genre appreciated by a small subset of general readers. It is currently enjoying a new vogue and a wider readership with the publication of such novels as The Da Vinci Code, The Rule of Four, and Codex. What these books have in common, and what The Geographer's Library can also claim, is a set of characters in the here an...more
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
February 28th 2006
by Penguin Books
(first published October 10th 2004)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
2,806)
Aug 12, 2007
Blair
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
mystery-thriller-etc,
past-and-present
The Geographer's Library is a novel with two threads. Every other chapter follows the story of Paul Tomm, a newspaper reporter in modern-day America investigating the mysterious death of an old university professor; the alternate chapters describe the origins of fifteen arcane objects thought to hold the key to eternal life. So this is a present-day adventure with strong historical influences, and as such has inevitably attracted comparisons with best-sellers like The Da Vinci Code. These associ...more
Horrible. To be fair, I stopped a little short of halfway through. Seriously, this reads like a marginally talented junior-high student's rough draft of a story. Lot's of good ideas that go nowhere and a complete inability to properly characterize the participants that I'd chalk up to a lack of maturity and life experience except (I assume) Mr. Fasman is an adult.
I thought this book would be an intellectual thriller, but it turned out not to be much of either. The interesting part of the narrative are the short descriptions of the 15 objects that make up the geographer's library. These brief but vivid stand-alone chapters kept me reading this book through the first 200 pages where nothing much happens. I kept waiting for someone in the frame narrative to discover one of the objects, or to make some connection to the library, but that didn't happen until...more
When this was returned to me, I had forgotten I read this already. Partly because I read rather quite a bit of it when drunk, and partly because despite the semiplausible magical realism of the alchemy theme, it was still sort of forgettable. And weird in an ordinary way.
So it's a do-over.
If you're looking for magical realism, try A Trip to the Stars, by Nicholas Christopher (I think; can't be bothered to fact-check). That one is pretty darn awesome despite its near-equal implausibility. Come o...more
So it's a do-over.
If you're looking for magical realism, try A Trip to the Stars, by Nicholas Christopher (I think; can't be bothered to fact-check). That one is pretty darn awesome despite its near-equal implausibility. Come o...more
I had such high hopes for this initially. History, mystery, age old sects, alchemy, a little modern day love...oh it sounded so cool! And the device the author used of alternating the modern day story, of Paul Tomm, a young reporter in a small town setting out to write what should be a routine obituary and discovering instead a plot and tale that goes back centuries, with bits and baubbles of that old tale itself, was at first fun. But it got tiresome for me, and the story bogged down a bit. But...more
I need to read something else, not a mystery, by this author. I was pleasantly surprised when bits of his writing were clever and slyly funny, especially in the main character's first person assessment of himself. But the mystery aspects of this book were not great. The first couple hundred pages are slow going, though interspersed with interesting vignettes about various alchemy-related antiquities. At first, these side stories are the most engaging part of the book, but the early stages of the...more
1 like · like · see review
Paul Tomm, recently graduated from a prestigious private New England university, is somewhat aimlessly passing his days as a reporter for a small-town newspaper in Connecticut. He works for a decent editor and has a sort of stability, but even if he’s unsure what he wants from life, it’s probably something else.
A reclusive professor from his alma mater who’s taken semi-retirement in Paul’s small town passes away, and Paul is assigned the task of writing the obituary. Contacting the professor’s n...more
A reclusive professor from his alma mater who’s taken semi-retirement in Paul’s small town passes away, and Paul is assigned the task of writing the obituary. Contacting the professor’s n...more
Just out of a prestigious (and fictional) New England college, but without a girlfriend or a life plan, Paul takes a job as a writer for a biweekly paper in a sleepy Connecticut town. When a reclusive professor from his alma mater dies, Paul is assigned his obituary and soon discovers that the professor's life--and the manner of his death--were not as ordinary as they seemed.
The chapters alternate between telling the story of Paul's investigation and recounting the history of artifacts that onc...more
The chapters alternate between telling the story of Paul's investigation and recounting the history of artifacts that onc...more
A very ordinary history-based mystery that's a feeble attempt to garner some appreciation after the success of Dan Brown's Robert Langdon novels. While the history part of the novel is well researched/imagined (chapters of the story alternate between what is currently happening and an accounting of the provenance of a series of historical alchemical items missing from a dead professor's display case) the other half of the work is sadly lacking. The main character is a journalist for a small-town...more
This is a book I salivated over before reading. In the event I enjoyed it quite a lot, though it didn't fully live up to my probably somewhat overinflated expectations. Paul Tomm is a junior reporter for and in fact almost the entire reportorial staff of a small-town Connecticut newspaper. He's told to do an obituary when reclusive and distinctly odd local university professor Jaan Puhapaev dies, and his nascent journalistic antenna goes into overdrive -- or whatever it is journalistic antennae...more
Smart, laid-back,, almost to the point of lazy recent college grad reporter, Paul Tomm, meets Russian/Albanian/Estonian jewel thieves, keepers of a secret, alchemy magicians, thugs and murderers. Not the kind of book that I usually read, but the title drew me in, I thought for sure it was some sort of book about a guy's library. Not quite. Paul is a self-deprecating anti-hero who gets curious after a professor at his old college shows up dead. He's supposed to write an obituary, but when he can...more
May 23, 2013
Shane
added it
Somewhere between the two and four star range, I might have liked it better if I skipped every other chapter - it is written such that the first-person present-day narrative trades off with a sort of "Antiques Roadshow" chapter in which we're given a description of an object and its history.
Anywho, this one was published in 2005, and it feels a bit historical - or what some folks might call dated - because there's not much in the way of 2.0 technology such as computers. Also, this is one of the...more
Anywho, this one was published in 2005, and it feels a bit historical - or what some folks might call dated - because there's not much in the way of 2.0 technology such as computers. Also, this is one of the...more
hmm, this is definitely a tough one to review.
A historical/fantasy/ suspense novel in the vein of Historian or The rule of Four. this is the 1st effort of Jon Fasman. The novel intertwines 2 different narratives - 1 of a small town reporter Paul Tomm who is trying to write the obituary for a Professor who died mysteriously, and while trying to get some material for the same how he gets more than he can handle, and the story/ history of 15 historical items which were stolen in the 12th century fr...more
A historical/fantasy/ suspense novel in the vein of Historian or The rule of Four. this is the 1st effort of Jon Fasman. The novel intertwines 2 different narratives - 1 of a small town reporter Paul Tomm who is trying to write the obituary for a Professor who died mysteriously, and while trying to get some material for the same how he gets more than he can handle, and the story/ history of 15 historical items which were stolen in the 12th century fr...more
As mystery novels with medieval back-stories go, this one is pretty inept. I picked it up because, well, I like mystery novels with medieval back-stories (Eco nut, not going to waste my time on Dan Brown), and the author is a blogger for The Economist. As is appropriate for an Economist writer, Fasman's English is articulate and pretty interesting, but the plausibility of his characters is highly variable. He spends a lot of time in the plot showing off his (journalist's) knowledge of obscure So...more
Yet another addition to the list of occult/arcane fiction, Geographer’s library, tells the story of 15 arcane objects strewn across the globe, that carries the key to the science of transformation, made by a 12th century arab geographer in his library. Some sect, or vested parties are desperately trying to trace those objects which over the ravage of time has been passed over, stolen, abandoned across the world.
A fresher , Paul Tomm, after doing some course in journalism lands in a laidback town...more
A fresher , Paul Tomm, after doing some course in journalism lands in a laidback town...more
Very interesting premise to start book. The reader might think this will be an Indiana Jones adventure. No, instead there is a long meandering set of short stories designed to demonstrate the intrigues of the Russian mob and machinations of the crumbling Soviet military near the end of the official Soviet Union. Granted some less than interesting historical objects are detailed with some imaginary approximated value, but that information has very little relevance to the actual thread of the book...more
May 08, 2010
Brent
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people who enjoyed "The Historian"
Shelves:
fiction
This book had potential to be great. I totally dig the premise: Small-town journalist, an underachiever, sets out to write the obituary for a reclusive college professor, but is caught up in a centuries-old hunt for and protection over 15 artifacts (the "library") used by a 12th century Islamic court scientist/geographer/alchemist (who happens to know the secret to immortality). Sounds pretty good so far, yes?
Here's what I liked: The geographer sets out from Sicily (how about that, eh?) to map t...more
Here's what I liked: The geographer sets out from Sicily (how about that, eh?) to map t...more
This book was, unfortunately, a real disappointment.
The premise was fascinating, and the alternating chapters that focused on the objects stolen from the Geographer's Library were pretty good, but the frame story, about a cub reporter investigating the death of a local faculty member, was predictable and dull.
Things I particularly disliked:
1. The heavy-handed foreshadowing.
2. The excruciating detail used in the frame story chapters (did I really need a character to compare, for example, their d...more
The premise was fascinating, and the alternating chapters that focused on the objects stolen from the Geographer's Library were pretty good, but the frame story, about a cub reporter investigating the death of a local faculty member, was predictable and dull.
Things I particularly disliked:
1. The heavy-handed foreshadowing.
2. The excruciating detail used in the frame story chapters (did I really need a character to compare, for example, their d...more
This is a story of a young reporter who, while writing an obituary for an elderly professor, stumbles on to something bigger. In the course of investigating, of course a beautiful woman becomes involved, vague threats are made, and creepy mobster-types lurk all over the place. Every other chapter leaves the main narrative and tells the history of an object once belonging to an Arabian geographer in the service of a king.
This is a really interesting premise but I think the book on the whole is fa...more
This is a really interesting premise but I think the book on the whole is fa...more
HIgh hopes were dashed by the fifth chapter. This book had such promise and instead, was a missed opportunity. Using any one of the artifacts as the main story/the back story would have been an interesting tale. Instead, we get a simplistic modern man-child who capitalizes on academic relationships that would never occur or proceed as described. Adults in his life were one dimensional, had no apparent flaws, and were unilaterally and unquestioningly supportive. Not one is believable. Educated ad...more
When a book is being compared to say… the Da Vinci Code, Rule of Four, and even the Secret History, there's usually a reason for that: It needs an extra boost (rather than being extra good). Well, for just 2 Euros at my thrift store, I felt like giving it a shot anyway.
It is the story of a young reporter who stumbles upon a dead university Professor. Doing research to write his obituary, he learns more and more strange details about the guy and naturally he meets the obligatory gorgeous girl alo...more
It is the story of a young reporter who stumbles upon a dead university Professor. Doing research to write his obituary, he learns more and more strange details about the guy and naturally he meets the obligatory gorgeous girl alo...more
Ugh. Honestly not sure how this got published. I really like one character but mostly because she reminded me a woman I used to date (everything is more interesting and appealing in the rear-view mirror). The story doesn't come together at all, the characters aren't believable or interesting and the resolution is laughable. Glad I'm done.
The blurb, the first few chapters and the artwork set this up to be an exciting read ala Da Vinci Code, albeit an airport novel. The potential was there, but it faded. On a short international flight I even found myself watching reruns of the big bang theory... There was a lot of good stuff in the book, but it wasn't bought together until the very last chapter. You can see where the author is going with the story, but it is a tedious jump through chapters like a seventeen year olds first univers...more
The Geographer's Library is a conspiracy novel whose primary subject is alchemy. In other words, one of a million such titles. I've read a few of them before, and they are all rather similar, and this one does nothing much to stand out from the rest. What I found odd about the whole thing is that throughout the novel we are introduced to these artifacts that ostensibly come from the library of a famous geographer/alchemist, and we are led to believe that there is some importance attached to them...more
One of the best da vinci esque books I've read in a long time: the narrative switches between a main, current story and sections that deal with different characters, times, locales, and an investigative list, that all supplement the story's mystery. Some pretty interesting characters, but the main attraction was attempting to piece together where the author was going with the nonsequential portions in relation to the narrator's investigating. Although the mysteries are solved in a decently clima...more
Very interesting book. I really liked the main character-he just seemed completely real somehow. The dialog was very down to earth and smart w/ a little sarcasm thrown in-very much my taste. I know that some readers would probably find these parts a little boring, but I actually really enjoyed reading about the different and strange objects listed throughout the book. Even though the plot line was slowed a little by the many little storylines connected with these objects, I found it fascinating....more
On our train trip back from Paris :) I finished reading _The Geographer's Library_. The concept was promising--a young, small town reporter is researching the death of a secretive professor who appears to have had access to large quantities of money and to have been remarkably well-preserved. Investigation chapters alternate with chapters about different alchemical objects from a collection amassed several centuries before and how they've traveled to their present known location/owner (a lot of...more
I think nearly anything is better than The DaVinci Code, to which this was compared. I enjoyed the protagonist, but found myself bogged down a bit by the wealth of characters and so many names and situations, alternating as we did from present day back a thousand years, or to the 80s, and back, chapter by chapter. (Messy sentence, but I'm no writer!)
The antiquities were interesting, but I didn't really want to know quite so much about them.
One might say the syllable to content ratio (a phrase f...more
The antiquities were interesting, but I didn't really want to know quite so much about them.
One might say the syllable to content ratio (a phrase f...more
Certainly a much better read than the insipid Da Vinci Code, but not as interesting as I hoped it would be. Very predictable, and though packed full of historic (at least I think historic, not sure if this is as well researched as The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova, a much more interesting historic intrigue) information and exotic locales the story is just another detective story, with a protagonist, Paul Tomm, who isn't really a detective. Tomm is ordinary, too ordinary. I didn't believe someo...more
Um! Diciamo subito che con le libreria non c'entra a niente. Sono narrate due storie: quella di 15 oggetti trafugati da un ladro ignaro e che, essendo sparpagliati nel mondo qualcuno cerca di recuperare, e la storia di un assassinio..... Se l'idea era buona, � trascurato come notizie.... degli oggetti cita marginalmente l'utilit� ma non la magia o l'alchimia, non dice niente per perch� gli oggetti dovevano rimanere insieme, svela la trama nelle prime 100 pagine..... insomma, manca "la magia", qu...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
I am the author of "The Geographer's Library" (2005) and "The Unpossessed City" (2008), both published by The Penguin Press.
More about Jon Fasman...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“They call it 'the whispering of the stars.' Listen," he said, raising a finger for silence. I could still hear the tinkling and craned my neck to see what it was. Zhensky laughed. "No, here. Look." He formed his mouth into a wide O and exhaled slowly. As he did, I saw the cloud of breath fall in droplets to the ground. That was the sound I heard: our breath falling. "It's a Yakut expression. It means a period of weather so cold that your breath falls frozen to the ground before it can dissipate. The Yakuts say that you should never tell secrets outside during the whispering of the stars, because the words themselves freeze, and in the spring thaw anyone who walks past that spot will be able to hear them.”
—
1 person liked it
More quotes…
Aug 29, 2012 02:50pm