Rating: 
Summary: Beyond words
Review: The jacket copy on this book is somewhat misleading, since it's billed as a mystery, which leads one to expect a more suspense-filled plot and also a story that moves quickly. This novel is neither, although it does contain a mystery of sorts. The question surrounds the identity and interactions between several historical figures in three different time periods -- the fall of Rome, the time of the Black Death in Europe and the fall of France during the Second World War. The story contains many references to philosophy and religion, comparing characteristics among the three time periods and the people who lived through each. A key idea of the book is the question of personal choice during times of trouble. Does one hold fast to absolute principles, risking death and destruction, or is it better to go along with the opposition in hopes of ameliorating its brutality? In the three cases described in the novel, the opposition is represented by the barbarians who sacked Rome, the oppressive Church of the Dark Ages and the invading Germans of 1942. In the first two instances, the heroes allow themselves to be co-opted by a barbarian king and the Church hierarchy, with mixed results. In the final instance, the hero teeters on the brink of choice, finally deciding to stick with his principles, even though in doing so he, his friends and his way of life are certain to be destroyed. The book is exceptionally thought-provoking. I spent a lot of time thinking about what I read, going back and re-reading sections, and pondering what I might do in a similar situation. A bonus was that I learned a good deal about the Greek philosophers and about what life was like during times and in places that I don't know much about. This is a very good read that will challenge most readers and, in return, pay off in ways that the usual page-turners do not.
Rating:
Summary: Erudite performance
Review: This book is a bequest to the intellectual from Pears. I believe Pears did not write The Dream of Scipio for the satisfaction of the masses or the publisher but for self preservation of the deliberations he as a human being has evoluted through.
The disappointment of our human existence is the continued, unabashed and brazen repetition of history. This elegant prose from Pears expounds on this mere fact through the ages, from varied angles, so as to break through to the masses of a diverse readership that we are. What survives is... as related in the book forces and pierces through the thick fog of severe indoctrinated thinking enforced through religion, through social or cultural customs or through a falsified dictatorial and misguided existentialist thinking… that love… and purity of it live on. Further disappointment enforced from The Dream of Scipio is that our human recognition is limited to the here and now. The comprehension of the act, of the event of love does not register till generations have passed.
Read, and reread… and rejoice in the purity of complex expression!
NOTE: I have taken the privilege to define “the process of evolving” in the word “evoluted”.
Rating:
Summary: Labors of Love
Review: When I come across books such as 'The Dream of Scipio' lying in a discounted novel pile, or a remainders bin...it saddens me to see the top of the bestseller list crowded with the Koontzs, Steeles, and Grishams, while some books languish into oblivion, because they require more than a few moments to read and interpret.
I could attempt to give a high-brow review to this book, but it is just plainly a good read. Not being overly versed in the history of the French Revolution, nor of the time of the black plague, I cannot define what is accurate and what isn't. However, this does not detract from the enjoyment of Pears' novel.
Set in three historical eras, the two aforementioned, and World War 2, the story weaves back and forth between the stories of three men...Manlius Flavius, Olivier De Moyen, and Julien Barneuve, all touched by the love of extraordinary women, and bound together by an ancient manuscript, 'The Dream of Scipio', by Prospero Cicero.
While the manuscript itself is not really a plot point, in my opinion, it is a strong enough thread to tie the three tales together with.
The depth of love that these men feel, as well as their senses of right and wrong, honor, and duty, compell them to take actions that could/do lead to their downfall, and to great loss. Each is faced with an 'impossible' choice, and must only follow their heart.
Out of this trio of tales, the one that touched me the most was that of Julien Barneuve, set in the WW2 portion of the novel, for various reasons. To list them would give away too much of the ending of the novel, so I will refrain.
Again, there are many complexities to this book which will invariably drive people who want 'quick fix' reading away from it...which is regrettable, as it is a fine read, captivating from start to finish, and a gem of a historical story.
Highly recommended.
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