Pure

Pure
Andrew Miller

This month, we turn our attention to the 2011 Costa book of the year, and the intense drama of ‘Pure.’  On the front cover, the reader is captivated by the pistachio-coloured cloak, worn by the protagonist, Jean-Baptiste Barratte, as he seeks to find his place in the heart of Paris.  This is an historical novel, based around the overflowing Cemetery of les Innocents.  The task is a macabre one; to dig out the heart of the city’s cemetery in order to begin to bring life back into the heart of Paris.

 

 This is pre-Revolutionary France; a place of decadence and poverty.  Our hero meets both the best and the worst of Parisienne society, and crucially for the time, suffers for his art.  An engineer by trade, Baptiste embodies someone struggling to create a new society, whilst the very foundations on which life is built collapse beneath him.

 

Pure has been critically reviewed, with many critics noting its use of language and descriptions.  It is not an easy read, and some readers may well find the closing scene frustrating.  However, it is a beautifully written book with plenty to discuss with others.

 

Questions for discussion:

 

This novel was awarded the 2011 Costa Book of the Year.  To what extent does an award or recommendation affect your decision to read a book?

 

The novel is set in 1785, just before the French Revolution.  How does this context affect the story?

 

Some people have suggested that the Cemetery is a parable for change and revolution.

·         In what ways might this be true?

·         How do the different characters interact with the cemetery (as fact or as metaphor?)

·         How does the writer help the reader engage with the shifting context?

 

What is ‘Pure’ about the novel, if anything?  Why is the title so important for this novel?

 

Jean-Baptiste accepts his commission without flinching.  How does the exhumation of a cemetery make you feel?  Why?  What do you think about Jean-Baptiste’s task?

 

Monsiuer Saint-Meard is the church organist.  What part does he play throughout the novel?

 

As the burden of the destruction of the cemetery bears down on Jean-Baptiste, Lecoeur consoles him with the words that ‘tomorrow will break our hearts.’ 

·         Why does Jean-Baptiste insist that ‘tomorrow will be easier.’

·         Who is right?  Why?

 

Doctor Guillotin is very clinical when it comes to dealing in death.

·         Why are some of the characters revulsed and silent by this?

·         How do you respond to death?

·         Why are we afraid to talk about death?

 

The final act of the book involves the gutting of a church.

·         What did the miners and Jean-Baptiste save?

·         What would you save?  Why?

 

Jean-Baptiste is a character in contradiction.  He walks the line between traditional and modern, rational and religious.

·         How do you respond to this?

·         In what ways is this contradictory nature a barrier understanding the character?

 

There are a number of gritty and macabre scenes in the novel.

·         What do they add to the narrative?

·         What elements of light are there in the book?

·         Which do you respond to positively?  Which are more difficult to reconcile?  Why?

 

In what ways does this novel help you engage with your own choices and mortality?  Why?