Choice of Murder

by Peter Vansittart

This is a story of murder and redemption, exile and return, conquest and self-questioning, set in the fourth century BC and based on the life of Timoleon of Syracuse, one of Plutarch's heroes.

Yet, despite its historical antiquity, A Choice of Murder exposes dilemmas, moral and political, still unresolved. Can political assassination be justified? Should the truth always be for the public good? Can a man be acclaimed a success while simultaneously being an almost total failure?

As he participates in his multi-faceted adventures, Timo works out his relations with his city and family, with gods and changing fortune, with blood feud and friendship, with Nature and Time. Finally, old and blind, hailed as a god, a ruler without police or bodyguard, sustained by moral prestige alone, he must ponder the ironies of material achievement.
Once again, Peter Vansittart lights up the past with a succession of brilliant literary flares. Set pieces, such as the battle at the Crimesus, in all its blood and agony, flash into life and remain vividly in the mind.

216 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1992

About the author

Peter Vansittart was a master of the historical novel and a writer of outstanding talent. He wrote more than 40 books, which also encompassed anthologies, works on literature and social history.

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5***. I enjoyed this book, my first experience reading this particular author. I had never heard of Timoleon of Syracuse, a general and statesman in the days of Philip of Macedon. Two things kept me from rating this book as a 4: although very well written, the author's style took getting used to and I also could not connect with any of the characters. I felt like I was observing the story through a glass wall.

Timoleon [called Timo in the novel], born and raised in Corinth, is exiled from that city for fratricide, having assassinated his brother, Timophanes, the cruel ruler of Corinth. After many years living in the wilderness, he is found and called upon to liberate the city of Syracuse on Sicily from the threat of Carthage. [Syracuse is a Corinthian client-city or colony.] With his two faithful generals, Apelles and Theodotos [the latter he met on his wanderings], he defeats Carthaginians at the Battle of Cremesus in the midst of a gigantic storm. He becomes the ruler of Syracuse and improves the lives of the people. He defeats other Sicilian cities who support Carthage. When he is offered the crown, he refuses gracefully and quotes Pindar: "When the Despot first appears, he is a Protector." He goes on to say, "I am warning you against myself....Government is an art, rigorous, painful, sometimes fatal...."When the problem is solved, the ruler must have his say, then go quietly away." He realizes power can corrupt. Until the end of his life, he remains a respected elder statesman.

Plutarch greatly admired Timoleon and wrote extensively on him: http://ancienthistory.about.com/libra...

I regret I couldn't get close to Timo, although admiring him. The author used very many metaphors from myth. Once the style did not bother me any more, I began noticing how well crafted the novel was and how each word chosen was perfect. I enjoyed the exciting Battle of Cremesus; the description of the Eleusian Mysteries, of which Timo becomes an initiate; also the last section: "Darkness", about Timo's blindness and last days. As far as the title, which sounds like one for a second-rate murder mystery: I think the author is asking us to think about the morality or non-morality of political assassination. Through the whole novel, Timo is conflicted about his fratricide. The author brings up other concepts; this is a thoughtful novel.

Recommended for those who love historical fiction set in the ancient world.

[Ozymandias · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve read several of Vansittart’s books now so I know pretty much what to expect in terms of writing style. The story is told mostly through narration, with dialogue minimized and often forced (though I found his dialogue here better than usual). There are never entire conversations, rather snippets of conversations are extracted and placed into context through the narrative voice. Logic is not something he admires, much preferring to obsess over irrational behavior and beliefs, even if he has to make them up. He hates nothing so much as moderation: all sentences must be enormous meanderings or tiny fragments of thoughts. His books are full of detail yet none of consequence. He loves contrasts and nothing pleases him better than making a clear, unambiguous statement and then immediately undermining it with a snarky retort. His books are full of wit and clever putdowns. Each chapter is like a separate story, bound up in an impressively self-contained narrative. His work is essentially a tone poem more than a narrative. If a chapter works it works, but that has no impact on other chapters or the broader narrative.

Basically, his writing style is unique and all-encompassing and overwhelms everything else. When it works, you’re swept along with him, feeling the emotion at a direct level without needing to engage your reason. When it founders it just seems showy and artificial. I’ve yet to read one of his books where I didn’t feel both reactions at one point or another. But the lows tend to be very low and the highs never enough to compensate.

The real issue I have with this intense focus on emotion over reason is that it makes motivation invisible. Why does Timo turn against his brother? It seems here as simple as having been asked to do so. What was his brother doing that was so wrong? We get plenty of hints that there’s a reign of terror going on, but it never steps above hints nor does it make clear why Timophanes is in power. Seizing the acropolis, a standard action by a wanna-be tyrant, is never mentioned. Having read this book I have less of a feel for who Timoleon was than I did when I started. Honestly, check out Plutarch’s Life of Timoleon for a much clearer take on his character.

The book generally takes a bizarre holistic approach to character. We rarely hear about what Timo did, at least not what he’s doing in the present, only what events are going on around him. I find it works about as well as holistic medicine. Humans generally seem alien and hostile. Inscrutable. They behave as they do because of reasons beyond our ken. The details of their behavior are inconsequential. There’s a line from Timo which seems to sum up his approach to character: “logic is but the last resort of the civilised.” Emotion, that’s the key. Vast oceans of emotion and eventually you’ll understand character without the need to actually know his actions.

As you might gather from this, the plot is just a bunch of things that happen. The story is a meandering account of events in the life of Timoleon, not a real biography. The biographical aspect was the only reason I picked up this book having read and been frustrated by Vansittart before but figuring the strict focus required by following a real man’s life would have to restrain his worst instincts. But he doesn’t seem to know any other way of writing.

I suppose I can’t really fault him for that if his style won him critical fans, but this is the last time I give him a chance. I find his work unfocused, flat, repetitive, and pretentious, and his dialogue and character work insipid. He has one trick, his allusive way of presenting material, and that’s it. I was so bored because it’s all ultimately meaningless; all the clever plays with words, the poetical phrasings, the digressions and ramblings... in the end it’s all just an empty shell. The book has nothing to say that it hasn’t cribbed from Plutarch and obscured through needlessly dense writing. His books are not worth the effort deciphering.