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75th out of 120 books
—
72 voters
The Darwin Conspiracy
by
John Darnton
From the author of the bestselling Neanderthal comes this novel of gripping suspense and scientific conquest–a page-turning historical mystery that brilliantly explores the intrigue behind Darwin and his theory of evolution.It’s 1831, and aboard HMS Beagle the young Charles Darwin sets off down the English Channel for South America. More than 150 years later, two ambitious...more
Paperback, 320 pages
Published
September 12th 2006
by Anchor
(first published January 1st 2005)
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I readily admit this was a strange read for me to pick me up. As someone who's grown up with (and still leans toward) a staunchly Creationist view, it's more likely a book I'd encounter with these two words in the title would be putting Darwin down. Actually, although not at all religious, that's not so far from the truth about this novel. In many ways it's a mystery, surrounding questions of Darwin's moral character, hypochondria, and the evolution of his theory. It was the mystery that got me...more
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O Pecado de Darwin é um título que tem tanto de ambicioso como de decepcionante. Um título que, ao contrário do original do livro, deixa logo antever um pecado de Darwin e foi precisamente com esse interesse que me propus a ler este livro.
Darwin é, inquestionavelmente, um dos Grandes Nomes da Ciência. Assim, quanto a mim, é necessário uma grande dose de coragem para se elaborar um trama cujo principal tema é algo que Darwin “fez” e que esteve por detrás da origem da célebre teoria da Selecção Na...more
Darwin é, inquestionavelmente, um dos Grandes Nomes da Ciência. Assim, quanto a mim, é necessário uma grande dose de coragem para se elaborar um trama cujo principal tema é algo que Darwin “fez” e que esteve por detrás da origem da célebre teoria da Selecção Na...more
This historical novel is an interesting conspiracy of Charles Darwin's life and a question of where creation and evolution really spawn from...a real "what if it happened like this" take on history. The novel jumps between two timelines. First, a fictionalized version of Charles Darwin's journey around South America on the Beagle. The second, a modern-day Darwin scholar who stumbles upon the journal of one of Darwin's daughters, and perhaps discovers a mystery when he stumbles upon several previ...more
O Pecado de Darwin retrata não só o contexto biográfico de Charles Darwin, apresentando a sua vivência familiar e social, como dá a conhecer de um modo compreensível toda a teoria criada por Darwin – a teoria da evolução.
Toda a explicação científica é construída com base na viagem que o naturalista britânico realizou a bordo do HMS Beagle, mas tudo de um modo suave.
John Darnton foi sem dúvida merecedor do Pulitzer. Embora não tenha ganho o prémio com este livro, o leitor rapidamente capta o porq...more
Toda a explicação científica é construída com base na viagem que o naturalista britânico realizou a bordo do HMS Beagle, mas tudo de um modo suave.
John Darnton foi sem dúvida merecedor do Pulitzer. Embora não tenha ganho o prémio com este livro, o leitor rapidamente capta o porq...more
My definition of historical fiction is a work that takes key pieces of a very real history while expanding and filling in the gaps of the unknown to create a more fully fleshed version of reality. John Darnton's "The Darwin Conspiracy" targets something a little different. Darnton takes the bones of history, specifically Charles Darwin's trip to South America on board 'The Beagle', and wraps around it a skin of his own creation, to display an alternate version of of how he came to develop his no...more
This historical novel is an interesting conspiracy of Charles Darwin's life and a question of where creation and evolution really spawn from...a real "what if it happened like this" take on history. The novel jumps between two timelines. First, a fictionalized version of Charles Darwin's journey around South America on the Beagle. The second, a modern-day Darwin scholar who stumbles upon the journal of one of Darwin's daughters, and perhaps discovers a mystery when he stumbles upon several previ...more
To say Charles Darwin was controversial in his day is an understatement, but although close to two hundred years have passed, he's scarcely less controversial in our own day. There are many mysteries surrounding the way he conducted his life: he did not publish his theory for nearly twenty years, after his famous voyage, his health and nerves were poor, and he rarely traveled again. John Darnton has constructed a novel around these factors, with an eye toward explaining what could have caused Da...more
ighly enjoyable light reading material. Reinforces my view that all famous people are just everyday people like the rest of us. We all have our drama, tragedy, hopes, fears and joys in life. Even the most intelligent person can make mistakes in their personal lives. While most of the book is fiction, it is based off historical events, which shed a new light on Darwin and all of his adventures in life. It has left me with the impression that Darwin found his own gilded cage to be locked in and si...more
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I bought this book at a newspaper book sale because it was cheap and the title seemed interesting, so I wasn't expecting much. On that score, the book delivers. The separate threads it weaves together--(1) contemporary researcher haunted by the death of his brother starts looking into the life of Darwin and comes across the journal of one of his daughters; (2) the daughter's story,; and (3) Darwin's voyage to South America on HMS Beagle--all start out with promise, but the results are predictabl...more
Another instance where I wish I could give half-star ratings. This read like one of those books that seem to have been written by someone who, having completed their post-graduate English degree research, figures they can put all that information to good use. Not the case here, as Mr. Darnton is older and has written a number of other things first, but the whole thing smacked of what I call "James Michener syndrome", AKA "Look at all the research I did!!"
That said - parts were very interesting,...more
That said - parts were very interesting,...more
This story left me ambivalent about it. Alternative history or understated science fantasy, the narrative weaves three main story lines into a single thread. The first thread features a contemporary biological researcher who has been trying to flee personal demons and guilt from his youth. The story begins at a field camp on the Galapagos Islands where the protagonist Hugh meets a beautiful and intelligent fellow researcher, Beth. The second string is a fictionalized account of Charles Darwin's...more
At one point one of the characters says, "It's exasperating." If the characters find it exasperating, how do you think the reader feels? I have never read such pussyfooting around with so little result in my life.
There are two mysteries going on in the book, what happened to Hugh's brother and what happened to Darwin on the Beagle voyage. There are people who know the answers to both questions, but they aren't talking. "Why don't you just say what you want to say?" Hugh asks his brother's frien...more
There are two mysteries going on in the book, what happened to Hugh's brother and what happened to Darwin on the Beagle voyage. There are people who know the answers to both questions, but they aren't talking. "Why don't you just say what you want to say?" Hugh asks his brother's frien...more
Naturally there is an enormous amount of speculation and creative license taken in this book. Moreover, I'm not familiar enough with the known history to be sure how accurate the historical portions of the story may be. However, Darnton's story is certainly engaging. He cleverly combines past and present, with journals and letters bridging the gap, to create a storyline that at the very least piques a reader's interest enough to learn more. I, for one, enjoyed it tremendously. It was, perhaps, a...more
This book was surprising. I was expecting narration from only one perspective, but the point of view changed many a time. Some of the copies of the letters and messages written by characters were incredibly long (and unavoidably so) which detracted from the readability, but was necessary to the perspective changes. A twisting plot full of parallels and dark secrets, John Darnton invents a whole new story behind why Darwin took his famous voyage on the Beagle, and how it affected not only his ren...more
Audio Book. The book kept me entertained and intrigued enough to be eager for the end. Hugh was either really good or had some stupid good luck. It seemed to be the latter. First he just happened to be looking through an old accountant ledger and stumbled on to Lizzie's journal. Then he runs into Beth who just happens to be Darwin's Great great granddaughter and has a missing chapter of his autobiography. They follow all these clues and end up finding out that Darwin was a fraud. He didn't come...more
I enjoyed this book in three voices, but found two more consistently engaging than the third. The modern day couple investigating the mystery in Darwin's past were well-handled and believable, although the two story threads were occasionally working at cross-purposes. The diary segments from Lizzie Darwin were great and made for interesting and at times suspenseful reading. But the third voice, that of Darwin himself during his voyage on the Beagle, I found dull and repetitive and not very engro...more
Disclaimer: I listened to this book on audio while on a road trip. I love to take in books this way, but I admit it comes with distractions.
Still, I'm not sure I would have enjoyed this book much more in print. For one thing, I've been experiencing conspiracy fatigue. Deep down I think we all want there to be some big conspiracies out there. But as I look at our leaders, and how frantically they are just trying to keep up in the rat race, my heart tells me most conspiracy theories are just so mu...more
Still, I'm not sure I would have enjoyed this book much more in print. For one thing, I've been experiencing conspiracy fatigue. Deep down I think we all want there to be some big conspiracies out there. But as I look at our leaders, and how frantically they are just trying to keep up in the rat race, my heart tells me most conspiracy theories are just so mu...more
Darwin's life is a bit of a mystery, and John Darnton took the known facts of his life and let fiction build the rest. He coupled it with some modern-day sleuths that have their own mysteries.
I especially enjoyed Lizze Darwin's time line - we see her as girl near womanhood snooping through Darwin's belongings and then later as a woman in her 20s, unraveling the last strands of her father's mystery.
We also get to see Darwin as a young man traveling the world, hunting and hiking and swimming and...more
I especially enjoyed Lizze Darwin's time line - we see her as girl near womanhood snooping through Darwin's belongings and then later as a woman in her 20s, unraveling the last strands of her father's mystery.
We also get to see Darwin as a young man traveling the world, hunting and hiking and swimming and...more
Daunton bases his novel on a great deal of research;however, I know so little about Darwin I will now have to go a quest to separate fact from fiction. Truly an intriguing character...and Daunton adds a mysterious journal supposedly pinned by Darwin's daughter Lizzie, and a modern-day narrative of Hugh, who has his own quest to find out about Darwin, win the lady, as well as solve the mystery of his brother's death. Listened to it in the car, which made it possible to finish. It would've been di...more
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“Hugh and Beth slept late, then descended to an outdoor terrace overlooking the lake, where they treated themselves to an old-fashioned English breakfast: eggsa, sausage, bacon, tomatoes, and baked beans. Beth smiled, stretching in the sunlight – like a contented cat, thought Hugh. He had also slept well. He could not remember the last time he had felt as good as he did now, both completely alive and completely relaxed.“
Regresso à novela histórica, desta v...more
“Hugh and Beth slept late, then descended to an outdoor terrace overlooking the lake, where they treated themselves to an old-fashioned English breakfast: eggsa, sausage, bacon, tomatoes, and baked beans. Beth smiled, stretching in the sunlight – like a contented cat, thought Hugh. He had also slept well. He could not remember the last time he had felt as good as he did now, both completely alive and completely relaxed.“
Regresso à novela histórica, desta v...more
Darnton has done it again, presenting a great novel, full of scientific history and challenging the mainstream view. While past bookshave tackled medical and anthropological phenomena, the author pulls out all the stops and challenges the foundation of Darwin’s evolutionary discoveries. He also posits some theories as to why it took so long to present his findings to the public, and some biographical nuggets. Told in a three person narrative, the story flips from the present, to Darwin’s own jou...more
Este era um livro que teira de ler, pois sou um grande admirador de Charles Darwin, no entato, o livro enganou-me redondamente, por diversos factores.
Apesar de ler a sinopse, pensei que este seria um livro mais técnico contando a vida e obra de Charles Darwin, assim o foi, mas certamente, não como imaginaria.
Directamente não parece, mas, para uma melhor compreensão da obra, é bom ter assente algumas ideias da teoria da selecção natural e quem foi: Wallace, Lyell, Erasmus, Darwin ou Lamarck.
A obr...more
Apesar de ler a sinopse, pensei que este seria um livro mais técnico contando a vida e obra de Charles Darwin, assim o foi, mas certamente, não como imaginaria.
Directamente não parece, mas, para uma melhor compreensão da obra, é bom ter assente algumas ideias da teoria da selecção natural e quem foi: Wallace, Lyell, Erasmus, Darwin ou Lamarck.
A obr...more
Me topé con éste libro en un puesto de libros viejos. Este estaba en muy buenas condiciones y en excelente precio así que me lo llevé a casa. El título no me decía gran cosa y honestamente la vida de Charles Darwin no me llamaba la atención en absoluto. El libro es ficción, aunque varios de los personajes y algunos de los datos históricos son reales. El personaje principal, Hugh, es un joven entusiasta en búsqueda de respuestas y de dirección en su vida. Después de varios meses de aislamiento en...more
Darnton, John. THE DARWIN CONSPIRACY. (2005). ***1/2. This is a clever work of historical fiction arranged much like a crime novel. It explores the life of Charles Darwin, through his journals (Voyage of the Beagle), discovered letters of his younger daughter, Lizzie, who is either fictional or of whom not much is known, and two modern-day researchers who stumble upon some inconsistancies in the records. Although well researched – much of the historical references are well-documented in known wo...more
An interesting story in another familiar formula, with the story alternating between the contemporary researchers investigating Darwin's life & an account of The Beagle's trip. The researchers find a diary written by one of Darwin's daughters who suspects her father of moral failure. One of the researchers also pursues another investigation in the death of his older brother, who he had held up as a hero (the parallels are strained & unnecessary). The story is often melodramatic & not...more
Okay I confess! I only LISTENED to this book while I was at work. At first I didn't like it and was a little bored, but the story got a moew interesting and involved so I enjoyed the time I listened to it. My only concern is that people may take this book as fact. There were many things about Darwin in this book that aren't true at all. In fact, the book perpetuates the myths about him that make people averse to his theory. It would be better for a person with a solid Darwin background to read t...more
I've been on a bit of a Victorian kick lately, so I was in the right mood for this historical mystery about Darwin. In the end it was just OK. I found the writing kind of exasperating in parts, and I once I figured out the solution to the mystery, (a little early for my taste since the suspense is sort of what the book is all about) it seemed a little too simple. There was a sibling rivalry theme running through the story that could have been a nice addition, but instead I felt like the reader k...more
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John Darnton has worked for The New York Times for forty years as a reporter, editor, and foreign correspondent. He is the recipient of two George Polk Awards and a Pulitzer Prize. He is also the author of five novels, including The Darwin Conspiracy and the best seller Neanderthal. He lives in New York.
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