John Banville, The Book of Evidence

Kevin Boyle (Dublin City University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.4: Irish Writing and Culture, 400-present.
Vol. editors: Paul Delaney (Trinity College Dublin), Anne Markey (Dublin City University), Ian Campbell Ross (Trinity College Dublin), Sinéad Sturgeon (Queen's University Belfast)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1989

Places

Ireland, Republic of (Eire) (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

The Book of Evidence (1989) is Banville’s seventh novel. Told in the first person, the narrative involves a destitute former scientist named Freddie Montgomery stealing a painting from a private collection and murdering a maid who catches him in the act. The novel is written in the style of a confessional monologue and has a violent murder as its centrepiece. At the beginning of the novel, Freddie is awaiting trial and he protests that he is innocent of his crimes, eventually claiming that the only sin he is guilty of is a failure of his imagination (215). Freddie can be considered a typical anti-hero as he is largely incapable of feeling empathy for other people, and is a callous and violent man. His tale is continued in the …

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3777 words

Citation: Boyle, Kevin. "The Book of Evidence". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 31 October 2013 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=1417, accessed 22 November 2024.]

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