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Pears, Iain

The dream of Scipio / Iain Pears - New York : Riverhead Books , 2002. - 398 p. : maps ; 24 cm.

The centuries are the fifth (the final days of the Roman Empire); the fourteenth (the years of the Black Death); and the twentieth (World War II). The setting for each is the same -Provence -and each has at its heart a love story. The narratives intertwine seamlessly, but what joins them thematically is an ancient text -"The Dream of Scipio" -a work of neo-Platonism that poses timeless philosophical questions. What is the obligation of the individual in a society under siege? What is the role of learning when civilization itself is threatened, whether by acts of man or nature? Does virtue lie more in engagement or in neutrality? "Power without wisdom is tyranny; wisdom without power is pointless," warns one of Pears's characters.

ISBN: 9781573222020

LCCN: 2001058916

Subjects--Topical Terms:
World War, 1939-1945---France----Fiction
Jews----Fiction
Antisemitism----Fiction
Intellectuals----Fiction
Black death----Fiction
Poets----Fiction

Subjects--Geographic Terms:
Provence (France)----Fiction

Index Terms--Genre/Form:
Historical fiction
Love stories

LC Class. No.: PR6066.E167 / D74 2002

Dewey Class. No.: FIC PEA