The Justification of Johann Gutenberg

by Blake Morrison

Around 1400, in the city of Mainz, a man was born whose heretical invention was to change history. Sixty-odd years later he died- robbed of his business, his printing presses, and, so he thought, his immortality.

Reading between the lines of history, Blake Morrison has woven a stunning novel around the few facts known about the life and work of Johann Gensfleisch, aka Gutenberg, master printer, charmer, conman and visionary- the man who invented "artificial writing." He has been called the most influential man of the last millennium. He launched a communications revolution- and changed the written word forever. This is his tale, and the story behind his heretical invention.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

259 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Blake Morrison was educated at Nottingham University, McMaster University and University College, London. After working for the Times Literary Supplement, he went on to become literary editor of both The Observer and the Independent on Sunday before becoming a full-time writer in 1995.

A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and former Chair of the Poetry Book Society and Vice-Chair of PEN, Blake has written fiction, poetry, journalism, literary criticism and libretti, as well as adapting plays for the stage. His best-known works are probably his two memoirs, "And When Did You Last See Your Father?" and "Things My Mother Never Told Me."

Since 2003, Blake has been Professor of Creative and Life Writing at Goldsmiths College. He lives in south London, with his wife and three children.

Reviews

[Kathryn Bashaar · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I'm still trying to sell my first novel, I got the idea of writing a fictionalized biography of Gutenberg. In starting my research, I came across this book, which is essentially what I wanted to write. There is no point in my doing a book on Gutenberg now. This book was perfect. I could not hope to do better. I loved the voice that the author gave to Gutenberg. It seemed just right to me, based on the research that I had done. The story is told in first-person, by an elderly Johann looking back on his life, and the tone is very intimate. The answers Morrison posits for some of the mysteries of Gutenberg's life seemed plausible to me, too.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fictional account of the man who invented printing but, paradoxically, left little recorded evidence of his life. Plenty of scope for the author's imagination, then. And Blake Morrison does his subject justice, skilfully conjuring up the atmosphere of fifteenth century Germany - a hotbed of political intrigue. Gutenberg emerges strongly as a stubborn, driven man who pays a high price for the success of his invention when he turns his back on love. I found this a very enjoyable read.

[Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually had to read this novel for school, but I somewhat enjoyed it, which was surprising to me most of all!

This is, in the way of writers like Philippa Gregory and Tracy Chevalier, a fictional biography of the inventor of the printed word, Johann Guttenberg, as told by this figure to his young writter.
The narrator, Guttenberg, takes us on a lifelong journey spanning from his early days and living with his family, to his struggles and problems with the law, as well as women, and of course, his most important invention, that changed the world.

This book was originally written in English, I unfortunately had to read it in Slovene (not because I don't like my own language, which I actually love, but I prefer reading books in the language in which they were originally written, so things don't get lost in translation). I liked it quite a lot nonetheless, and there were moments where I actually got a bit emotional, which doesn't happen to me very often when I'm reading books! It was a good read for sure, and I think it will be helpful for my exam as well. I would even go as far as to say that I would recommend this book to people who are interested in history, as well as books as objects. The author did a really good job developing the characters and I also really liked how the narrator didn't make excuses for himself, even when he did something wrong.

The only reason why I'm taking down a star is terrible, but I'd have to read the original version to see what rating I would give it. I might do that sometime in the future, but until then, this will remain one of the better books I've had to read for school.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little slow to get off the ground--after all, there is no evidence of what Gutenberg's early life was like--as I was not quite convinced to suspend my disbelief. But once you get past all that and into the actual development of moveable type, publishing people will strongly identify with all the trials and disasters that have been part of the business since day one.

[Elaine Cougler · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Justification of Johann Gutenberg by Blake Morrison is well written, insightful and believable. I learned something of Gutenberg's times even if the details of his life have been mostly created from the writer's imagination. A good read this book taught me new things. I always enjoy something different.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm giving this book three stars because the history and imagery are beautiful. The plot and the characters were dull. Even the "drama" fell flat

[Heidi Polk Issa · Rating 3 out of 5]

As potential for a novel, this was great material (especially if you like books about books - which I do in spades). What could be better than historical fiction about the man who revolutionized the accessibility of written works? It's something we take for granted in the 21st century and I was interested in hearing about how it all came about...

This book neither begins with a bang nor ends with a whimper...instead, it maintains an even-handed (one might even say monotonous or flat) tone throughout the work, regardless of what is actually occurring in the plot.

The novel is constructed as a memoir, orally dictated to a young scribe, by Gutenberg himself, who is lying on his sickbed. He is determined that everyone shall know the story of how his famous press came into being. He also is intent on offering his memoir as a sort of apologia for his life's industry, the creation of which made the talents of scribes and monks superfluous.

Morrison obviously thrived in researching and re-creating the backdrop of his book - his meticulous detailing and descriptions of every aspect of life is quite astonishing. However, his characters are utterly devoid of any flesh or blood; this lack of any sort of real spark of life in them means that I, as a reader, really didn't care about what happened to them and how things fell into place - which was a great disappointment. In addition, there were times when the story itself seems to almost disappear under the author's need to be historically accurate - I feel that it is a huge responsibility for authors to depict the details as accurately as possible, yet when the reader feels like they are slogging through endless acres of muck, with no end in sight, it is a bit disheartening.

Fascinating subject that was thoroughly and wonderfully detailed, yet the plot and characters were definitely not executed as well as they could have been...

[Penny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful! It made me go to Google and Encarta to see what I could learn about the real Gutenberg -- and so little is known that I was astounded. It was hard to believe that the author had been able to fill in what seemed like fact for this man's life. Author is very skilled at using the double entendre, that is, terms that have to do with books, book parts, publishing, etc. -- so skillful and I guess it has gone mainly unappreciated since I found this book also on a bargain shelf for $1.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story of Gutenberg's life, although at times the story does seem to get a bit bogged down.

[Nancy Rose · Rating 1 out of 5]

Great for a historical view on the period but one of the most boring books I've read

[Tim Pattison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pleasant lock-down surprise found unread on a shelf at home. If you are even slightly interested in Gutenberg, printing and the printing press or the German city states of the 15th century then this is a worthwhile read. Morrison has Gutenberg narrate his story to a scribe which adds a new dimension to the device of the 'unreliable' narrator. Gutenberg is shown as ageing throughout the narration and begins to contradict himself and blame a previous scribe for comments that he suggests are false. The 'unreliable scribe/narrator' works well given that so little is known of Gutenberg in the historical record and, like official biographies, Morrison embellishes those records. The book misses out on a 5 star rating because modern sensibilities intrude into the narrative several times and this strikes a discordant note in a novel aiming at a historical feel (I'll leave you to find them) and there are an awful lot of puns on printing terminology. The puns are fine and start in the second word of the title, but after a while can seem forced especially when Gutenberg explains the pun at length to the scribe (once again, I'll leave you to find them).

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little is known of the life of the inventor of the printing press and this novel imagines him as an obsessive but very human figure battling for money to subsidise his ambitions. A good fictionalised “autobiography” which captures elements of the 15th century experience, although this was subordinate to his personal struggles where he was unlucky with women and somewhat naïve in business. Interesting, informative and an easy read

[Dave Taylor · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bailed. Got bored about 1/3 thru. Have too many good books on the shelf.

[Helen Varley · Rating 3 out of 5]

i picked this up at the wieße rabe, a second hand shop in munich that has a reasonable collection of english-language books, mainly because i was attracted to the cover. morrison brings the character of johann gutenburg, inventor of the printed word, to colourful life, imagining his personal relationships and motivations amid a convincingly detailed historical context. apparently very little information exists about gutenburg the man, so the novel is largely fictional. the character morrison creates is at times surprisingly naive in his personal and business relationships, however the device of an elderly vision-impaired gutenburg dictating his memoirs to a young scribe works well and allows for selective memory as he recollects his past. the plot moves along at a good pace with some interesting twists and turns.

[Tom Hapgood · Rating 2 out of 5]

So little is known about Johann Gutenberg, ironically, that I found myself not taking any of the story seriously. It's well-written and a fun story, but when it's based on a historical person and seemingly 90% of the story is conjecture, it's almost a disservice to both the subject and the reader. Again, well-read and flows pretty well as a story, but tough to suspend disbelief.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

"When we die, it is as if a page has been torn from the book of life. But every page blows up to heaven, where God sits binding them up, so we all are assembled in His library. One day I will be a volume in eternity."

[lindsay · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mind-numbingly dull. I couldn't get past the second chapter.

[Beatriz Pérez Pérez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maravillosa narrativa!

[Ruth Bonetti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Absorbing initially, an interesting concept and historical setting. It was well written with vivid descriptions. But it needed some pruning to maintain interest.

[Lee Wainwright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Johann's not a character you can feel drawn to; he's childishly competitive, ambitious and manipulative. But it's an imaginatively written novel and quite a tender labour of love.