'A nearly perfectly fashioned work of art' - Irish Times The third in his thematically-connected Revolutions Trilogy, The Newton Letter is an exceptional work of literature from John Banville, Booker Prize-winning author of The Sea. A historian, on the brink of completing a book on Isaac Newton, rents a cottage in southern Ireland for the summer. As the summer wears on and he dissects Newton's mental collapse of 1693 he becomes distracted by the mysterious occupants of Fern House and finds himself constructing their ...
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'A nearly perfectly fashioned work of art' - Irish Times The third in his thematically-connected Revolutions Trilogy, The Newton Letter is an exceptional work of literature from John Banville, Booker Prize-winning author of The Sea. A historian, on the brink of completing a book on Isaac Newton, rents a cottage in southern Ireland for the summer. As the summer wears on and he dissects Newton's mental collapse of 1693 he becomes distracted by the mysterious occupants of Fern House and finds himself constructing their imagined histories to powerful effect. His elaborate attempts to decipher the complex web of relationships are, however, far from accurate . . .
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Add this copy of The Newton Letter to cart. $21.49, fair condition, Sold by 2nd Life Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Burlington, NJ, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by David R. Godine, Publisher.
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Fair. A readable copy. All pages are intact and the cover is intact. Dust jacket may be missing. Pages can include considerable highlighting markings writing but cannot obscure the text. May be an Ex-lib. copy and have standard library stamps and or stickers. May NOT include discs or access code or other supplemental material. We ship Monday-Saturday and respond to inquiries within 24 hours.
Add this copy of The Newton Letter to cart. $22.86, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brownstown, MI, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by David R. Godine Publisher.
Add this copy of The Newton Letter to cart. $22.86, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brownstown, MI, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by David R. Godine Publisher.
Add this copy of The Newton Letter to cart. $22.86, like new condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by David R. Godine Publisher.
Add this copy of The Newton Letter to cart. $39.86, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 1994 by David R. Godine Publisher.
Add this copy of The Newton Letter to cart. $59.05, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by David R. Godine, Publisher.
Add this copy of Newton Letter to cart. $60.35, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1991 by Grand Central Pub.
Add this copy of The Newton Letter (Revolutions Trilogy) to cart. $63.94, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by Picador.
Add this copy of Newton Letter to cart. $67.20, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1997 by Random House UK.
Add this copy of The Newton Letter to cart. $99.91, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1994 by David R. Godine, Publisher.
The Newton Letter is a small book beautifully written, highly informative and thoroughly engaging. Can't wait to read the other two in the trilogy.
Os4short
Feb 14, 2009
What letter?
Don't read this book if you want to learn about Newton's letter - the two letter's by Newton referred to in the book, one historical, one fantasy, are seen only out of the corner of the eye, never in full view, and, for much of the book, forgotten all together. The main character in this brief novella- the narrator with no name - spends a few months in a rented cottage to finish his book about Newton, but gets wrapped up in the goings on at the main house. Although his mis-conceptions about this family become apparent as the story approaches the end, much is left unknown, or at least unspoken. No tidy package at the end.
Banville's prose sets the mood well, with a strong sense of place. However, neither the place nor any of the people that populate this story seem very likeable, including the narrator. Thus, it's tough to get drawn into the story. It may be realism, but the ending is unsatisfying. Still, it's worth the short time to read it, especially as part of Banville's impressive body of work.
