Close to 800 pages long, but you won't notice. Dickens, Wilkie Collins, come to mind here. Victorian mystery about inheritance, murder, wills, etc. Palliser is brilliant at evoking the period and setting.

Released on Monday, March 17, 2003 at Controlled Release in Chicago, Illinois USA.

Set aside a chunk of time, bayouposte!

Quincunx arrived in this afternoon's mail, just as I was complaining to myself that not one of the books in my TBR stack was calling to me. I love Dickens and Wilkie Collins and am really looking forward to this huge tome. The lovely postcard of Whistler's Nocturne in Grey and Gold will make a great bookmark. I'll journal again when I finish...but with 700+ pages of tiny print, it may be a while!

Thanks Joan!

Finished Quincunx last night after a marathon weekend of reading. As I read this involved and complicated novel, I wondered many times how long it took to write, and finally, reading the author information, discovered that it took 12 years.

Full of "hints and allegations," coincidences, ever-widening conspiracies, and excellent Victorian detail, the novel also has elements from several Dickens' plots, a dash of Bronte, a little Dumas.

The first 100 pages or so were slow, but after that, finding a place to stop became more and more difficult. Clues were scattered liberally in what appeared to be throw-away lines, but although you think the clues indicate one thing, they are often leading in another direction. How Palliser kept track of the immense complications and multitude of characters in this work confounds me.

Deception is the byword here, practiced by every character and by the author himself, who didn't reveal John's age until nearly 600 pages into the book, and even then, not directly.

I will be sending this on to Tamarabk and hope it continues to make its rounds!

Mailed to Tamarabk on April 2.

My receptionist nearly broke her back carrying this in for me from the mailbox!! It looks good I am excited to dive in to this meaty volume-thanks!!