El enigma Turing

by David Lagercrantz, Martin Lexell (Translator), Mónica Corral Frías (Translator)

8 de junio de 1954, plena Guerra Fría. Alan Turing, el matemático visionario, es encontrado muerto en su casa de Wilmslow, Inglaterra. Junto al cuerpo, una manzana a medio morder con evidentes restos de cianuro parece haber sido la causa. La investigación de lo que parece un claro caso de suicidio es encargada al joven inspector de policía Leonard Corell, que muy pronto empieza a albergar dudas en el curso de sus averiguaciones. ¿Por qué motivo la documentación relativa a Turing es altamente confidencial y ha sido clasificada?
¿Tuvo algo que ver su implicación en Enigma, la máquina de su invención que logró descifrar los códigos nazis? Su reciente condena por homosexualidad hizo saltar las alarmas en el seno de los servicios secretos: ¿pudo haber sido chantajeado por espías soviéticos, convirtiéndolo en un agente doble? ¿Podría tratarse de un complot en el que están implicadas las más altas instancias del país?

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Mystery, Crime, Audiobook, Thriller, Mystery Thriller

464 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

David Lagercrantz, born in 1962, is a journalist and author, living in Stockholm. His first book was published in 1997, a biography of the Swedish adventurer and mountaineer Göran Kropp. In 2000 his biography on the inventor Håkan Lans, A Swedish Genious, was published. His breakthrough as a novelist was Fall of Man in Wilmslow, a fictionalised novel about the British mathematician Alan Turing. In David Lagercrantz' writing you can often see a pattern: major talents who refuse to follow convention. He has been interested not only in what it takes to stand out from the crowd, but also in the resistance that such creativity inevitably faces.

In 2011 his best-selling sports biography I am Zlatan Ibrahimović was published, one of the most successful books in Sweden in modern times. The biography was nominated for the prestigious August Prize in 2012, as well as shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award. To date, the book has been published in over 30 languages around the world and been sold in millions of copies.

In the summer of 2013, Lagercrantz was asked by Moggliden (the Larsson Estate) and Norstedts to write the fourth, free-standing sequel to Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy. The Girl in the Spider's Web was published – in August 27, 2015 – simultaneously by 26 publishers (in 24 languages) worldwide, ten years after the Swedish publication of Stieg Larsson's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

Stieg Larsson's three Millennium novels have sold more than 82 Million copies to date, by 52 publishers worldwide. The Girl in the Spider's Web is sold to 47 publishers and more than 6 Million copies have been sold worldwide.

Reviews

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The pace of David Lagercrantz's novel 'Fall of Man in Wilmslow' feels frustratingly slow, so slow in fact that In the beginning I didn't think I could continue if the action didn't ratchet up a notch or two. After my initial uncertainty and perseverance, I adjusted and appreciated the languid pace, taking in every detail. It was from that point onwards that I loved the book and characters, especially that of Allan Turing as imagined by Lagerkrantz.

As I said before, the pace in this novel is painfully slow and not going to hold the attention or interest of everyone, especially those wanting an action packed, edge of the seat thriller. Fall of Man in Wilmslow sure won't rock their boat. However, I found it to be a deeply rewarding historical, educational, suspenseful, read. The substantial character development, and Lagerkrantz's astounding ability to simplify complex mathematical concepts and philosophical conversation for the layperson more than compensates for the lack of pace to my mind. In particular I found the conversation on the 'liars paradox' totally fascinating. I believe I even understood it, at the time of reading !

Fall of Man in Wilmslow is on the surface a detective mystery novel set during the 1940's and 1950's when paranoia, and conspiracy theories were rife. You just couldn't trust those scheming communists, or far worse those immoral homosexuals... always ripe for the Russians to coerce into an uncompromising position and blackmail into divulging our national secrets.

DC Leonard Corell is assigned to the 'open and shut' case of an apparent suicide. That of an 'Alan Turing'. Corell becomes obsessed and fully immerses himself in his investigation to find out who Alan Turing was and what he did during the war. His fascination with Turing leads him to some unsavoury characters and into dangerous waters, but also along the way he discovers more about himself and his family, and ultimately begins to question his own prejudiced beliefs.

The atmosphere of tension of suspicion, is palpable and I got a real sense of the overpowering hatred and sexual bigotry of the times towards the homosexual community.

On a deeper level it is a fascinating character supposition analysis of an immensely talented genius and how he was treated appallingly even by those who knew what he had achieved during the war. Not only did no one help him, they actively encouraged the accusations, then left him to be destroyed mentally after his treatment of chemical castration for the most heinous crime of being a homosexual.

I found Fall of Man in Wilmslow to be a deeply affecting novel and couldn't help but think what a waste of an exceptionally gifted mind. What advancements may we have delayed in the computing and artificial intelligence fields. It is beautifully and sensitively written - to my mind it is an absolute must read for anyone wanting an intelligent, thought provoking mystery thriller.

One of my favourites this year.

Disclaimer: A complimentary copy of Fall of Man in Wilmslow was provided by Quercus Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest unbiased review.

[Cold War Conversations Podcast · Rating 4 out of 5]

This not your usual police procedural, but it’s much the richer for it.

World War 2 codebreaker Alan Turing’s death has always been somewhat of a mystery and this novel from Swedish author David Lagercrantz uses his death to tell a story of 1950s Britain gripped by the paranoia of KGB espionage.

Young policeman Leonard Corell is charged with investigating Turing’s death and finds himself drawn into one of the
most closely guarded secrets of the war.

Lagercrantz has created a thriller that combines science, history and gripping psychological tension. Corell evolves from the classic procedural police detective to someone who begins to question his core beliefs through the information he uncovers.

Be prepared for some intellectual stimulation such as the “liar paradox” amongst others. This not your usual police procedural, but it’s much the richer for it.

[Thua Ly-Pham · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really want to like this book. After watching the Imitation Game, Alan Turing had sparked an interest in me. But this book is devastatingly slow.
I feel that the author is almost too detailed in the writing. I was hoping for a story about Alan Turing's than about the fictional character (this case, Corell). The author goes into great detail about Corell's struggles, family life, and really goes into Corell's psychological welfare. These parts starts to get wordy and annoying. It may be because I don't relate, sympathize or even like Corell as a character, or any of the characters that much.
I understand the literary concepts that the author wants to utilize, but this writing isn't for me. There's short dialogues plugged into nearly a whole chapter of descriptions. There's some sort of suspense to understand why Corell's so miserable. There's Corell's mental and physical journey into uncovering his case. But it's the sort of writing I can't stomach.
The jacket summary did inform me of the contents of the book, but maybe I just didn't like the timing of the book. If it weren't focused on Turing post-death and in some sort of other perspective, I would have liked it more. Or if it were more biographical and Turing-based rather than Corell's own fictional life, I would have liked it more. All in all, not a book for me.

[Alexw · Rating 2 out of 5]

When Swedish native Stieg Larson who wrote the dramatic thrillers starting with Girl With The Dragoon Tattoo passed away the Swedish publisher Norstedts picked Lagercrantz to continue the series. Obviously, the publisher didn't read the above book in their decision to pick Dave as this bears no resemblance whatsoever to Stieg's great thrillers.
The entire book can be summarized by Thoreau's famous quote of "men living lives of quiet desperation." The main character hates his job, despises his boss & has no friends or social life. Add enough mathematical equations that no one understands, and you have a bore.

[Tripfiction · Rating 4 out of 5]

Novel set in Wilmslow and Bletchley (the Death and Life of Alan Turing…)

David Lagercrantz is an extremely interesting author. He wrote the Fall of Man in Wilmslow in 2009, many years before the 2014 film of Alan Turing’s life, The Imitation Game (though I would suspect that this quite excellent translation from the original Swedish by George Goulding was timed to pick up on the film’s success). A perhaps strange subject for a non-Brit? Then in 2013 he ghosted the best selling autobiography of footballer Zlatan Ibrahimovic – I Am Zlatan Ibrahimovic – and later this year is scheduled to publish his just written The Girl In The Spider’s Web, the fourth book in Stieg Larsson’s unfinished Millennium sequence. Quite a range of genres!

Fall of Man in Wilmslow is a novel, more than loosely based on Alan Turing’s death and life. What really is striking is that the book captures so well the paranoia of the time (Turing killed himself in 1953) towards both homosexuals and communists. Turing was not a communist, but he was suspected of being one because of his homosexuality. The paranoia, of course, came from the adventures of 1930s Oxford – featuring, amongst others, Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean. They were homosexual and had turned into Soviet spies – why wouldn’t Turing as well?

The book is a curious, but successful, mix. It is part detective novel… Leonard Correll is a young policeman in Wilmslow who investigates the open and shut suicide case. He becomes intrigued by Alan Turing and begins to probe deeper. He follows his investigations through to Oxford (to meet some of the players in Turing’s life) and to Bletchley Park where Turing worked on the successful cracking of the German Enigma Code. He encounters MI5 and other personnel who are keen on him not finding out too much about what is still a project with high security clearance. On another level it is a book about Mathematics and Logic. And, what is quite brilliant, is that Lagercrantz – presumably very ably abetted by Goulding – manages to explain concepts like The Liar’s Paradox in a way that is quite understandable to mere mortals. You really feel you appreciate the mathematical issues that Turing was struggling with as he developed the machine he would use to crack the Code. And the third level is that of social commentary. It is about a time 60 years ago, and the book does not make one particularly proud to be British – the persecution and treatment of homosexuals was both cruel and degrading for society. We have come a long way in the past half century…

All in all an excellent and thought provoking book. And it will be interesting to see whether Lagercrantz’s ability to simplify and explain complicated concepts will carry forward into his Stieg Larsson continuation novel. If so, it should be an excellent read.

[Alicea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, I spent the entirety of this book fully convinced I was reading a nonfiction book about Alan Turing from the point of view of the policeman who found his body. Good job, David Lagercrantz! You totally fooled me! The book in question is Fall of Man in Wilmslow and it's the fictionalized story of Alan Turing's suicide and his contribution to the war effort and to numerous academic disciplines. Over the last year or more, I've been pretty much obsessed with all things A.I. and as a result I've learned a great deal about Alan Turing (and I've talked about him a few times here if you remember) who is considered the father of the modern computer AND Artificial Intelligence. What a guy! As a result, I'm pretty familiar with the biographical points of his life and his death. That's partially why I thought this was a work of nonfiction because all of those facts were laid out...which is the perfect way to build a fantastic piece of historical fiction. Lagercrantz used just enough of the truth to weave a convincing story about what might have happened had the policeman who found him been somewhat like Turing himself. Detective Constable Leonard Corell is the first officer on the scene and at first he is disgusted by not only the act of suicide itself but the man who committed it. This disgust turns into a kind of rage when he discovers that Turing was convicted of homosexuality. Even his initial aversion doesn't tamp down his horror at the punishment meted out by the government however. (He was chemically castrated which many believe was the main reason he chose to end his life as it led to severe depression.) Corell is an odd character. He flip flops between being overconfident in his abilities to allowing himself to be railroaded by his peers and bosses. He's also constantly daydreaming which I found tiring by the end of the novel. Speaking of the end of the novel, I didn't like it. It felt like the book was building and building and then the end was such a letdown. I can't say more about it without giving away huge spoilers but let's just say it was closely tied into Corell's daydreams. If you're completely unfamiliar with Turing and his work then this is an interesting way to get clued in because as I said much of the story is completely factual. Excepting the end, I really did enjoy this book. Lagercrantz is an excellent storyteller and he fooled me into thinking this was entirely plausible. 8/10 because that ending bummed me out.

[Rocio Anahi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este libro es como esas películas francesas o alemanas que mantienen un ritmo tan pausado que al inicio sientes que quieres apretar el acelerador o dejarlo a un lado... craso error sería cualquiera de estas opciones, es un libro muy bueno que teje tanto cuestiones reales como la existencia y muerte de Turing como aspectos ficticios muy bien tejidos con la realidad de espías y la postguerra.
Es una lástima que pocos valoren una literatura tan bien dibujada que termina envolviéndote en una telaraña tan sutil que es imposible dejar el libro a pesar de esa primera impresión de letaargo.

[Steven Yenzer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a strange novel. The history and science is well-recounted, but the narrator (unlike most of the other characters) didn't feel quite real to me. The beginning is quite slow but Lagercrantz builds the tension well and it ultimately paid off, except for the rather pat ending.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

Verrrrrry plodding.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story of a detective constable Leonard Corell in the small township of Wilmslow who is assigned to investigate the death of a man named Alan Turing. It is set in that time in England where the Cold War and defections from the highest levels of British intelligence led to a virtual witch hunt for traitors and homosexuals. This paranoia was mirrored here in the United States, both countries destroying lives by innuendo and suspicion and scapegoating, to no good end.
While it appears to be a suicide, Detective Corell has some nagging doubts, which lead him after the inquest to investigate this life that ended too early. It is as much a homage to Turing as it is a mystery story, it is also the story of one man's struggle to become his true self.
Lagercrantz has created fully English characters and drawn them out to reflect the many contradictions that form interesting characters in the best form of an English novel. I have always been drawn to this type of writing which is more about characters and how circumstance changes their ideas and directions in life, defines their weaknesses and gives them credit for even small growth: the plot only being that imaginary space where they can interact with reality and each other.
Wonderfully crafted by this Swedish author who gives flesh to a man who was pivotal in the turning of the War, and the genesis of the world of computers.

[Jerry Mcculley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was taken in by the review which says it's an electrifying thriller but it's more an introspective style of writing about an unknown detective with no motive to do what he does. you must have a colossal amount of patience for this plot that goes nowhere. as soon as you think something is about to happen, the author stops for more "what the character is thinking narrative" for pages. This happens repeatedly and eventually I realize the author has not done anything to make me care about the main character, the detective. I read 25 chapters before finally giving up. not my cup of tea.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great story of spies, codebreaking, outsiders and community. The setting is just after WWII in the English town of Wilmslow. The central characters are Alan Turing, a mathematician and scientist and Leonard Corell, a young police detective. Turing is a real person and while this is a work of fiction, there are elements of non-fiction woven throughout. I put aside all other things I was reading to finish this book. It was that good.

[Stefano · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ne sono rimasto onestamente un pò deluso.
Non tanto per la qualità della narrativa, che in realtà è ben rifinita, ma per la frustrazione che ha ricevuto la mi aspettativa pre-lettura.
La storia di Turing e di Bletchley Park è intrigante e non ha bisogno di nessun ritocco per essere una perfetta spy story, con risvolti umani unici. E da un romanzo che si intitola "Indagine sulla morte di Alan Turing" mi sarei aspettato proprio questo, un'indiagine. Invece il romanzo è la storia del detective che si trova ad affrontare le ricerche per la morte di Alan, che di per sé non hanno gran colpi di scena, se non quelli appunto legati alle vicende del detective Corell.
Mi è parso una gran occasione persa per confezionare un romanzo al cardiopalma e al contempo profondo e toccante.
Se non sapete niente della storia di Turing, ne consiglio la lettura per capire con un romanzo dilettevole se possiate avere interesse a saperne qualcosa di più. Se invece avete già un'infarinatura, non aspettatevi niente di particolarmente approfondito, rivelatore o investigativo, perché non lo troverete e rimarrete a bocca asciutta.

[maeveshelby · Rating 3 out of 5]

could’ve been gayer

[Lyda Van Den Bos · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hoewel interessant verhaal, taai om te lezen.

[Alex Bowditch · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is unfortunate when a story rich in intrigue is rendered poorly.

Fall of Man in Wilmslow, David Lagercrantz’ novel about the brilliant yet doomed mathematician, Alan Turing, and the determined Detective Constable Leonard Correll, who sets out to unravel the mystery of Turing’s untimely demise, is rather lukewarm, which is to speak of it at its best. At its worst, it is a unique combination of boring and overwrought. It appears as though Lagercrantz never made up his mind about style during the writing process, for his book lurches between thriller, police procedural, and historical fiction without ever succeeding at any one genre. However, I am not one to pigeonhole literature into categories, which is why I will move on to the real problems with Fall of Man in Wilmslow.

Alan Turing was a mathematical genius and one of the most controversial LGBTQ figures of the mid-20th century. During World War II, he saved England from sure invasion by building a machine that could crack Germany’s Enigma codes. After the war, he went on to design the first stored-program computer and studied mathematical biology. However, his contributions to his country, as well as to the fields of mathematics, science, and technology, were not enough to stop the British government for prosecuting him for his homosexuality in 1952. Being gay was a crime in England at the time and rather than go to jail, Turing chose DES treatment, which was, essentially, chemical castration. He committed suicide in 1954 by eating an apple poisoned with cyanide. This is where Lagercrantz begins his story.

Twenty-eight-year-old Leonard Correll, the enfant terrible of the shabby Wilmslow police department, is the second person to gaze upon Alan Turing’s dead body (after the housekeeper who discovered the corpse). Correll, who has long thought of himself as too good for his surroundings and as such, sleepwalks through life, is surprised to find himself intellectually stimulated by this case. Lagercrantz reveals that Correll’s background is elite, similar to that of Turing and many of the academics and government men he encounters throughout the novel. However, he lost everything when his father, a bombastic man and middling writer whom he idolized, wasted the family fortune and then stepped in front of a train when Correll was still a tween.

It appears as though Correll views Turing’s case as a chance to crawl back into the ivory tower from whence he came. Lagercrantz makes this evident through page after page of unnecessary literary references, cumbersome passages on mathematic theory, and conversations about his main character’s unrecognized talents over pints of lager in ye olde English pubs. This self-congratulatory tone permeates the novel, making it an unhappy read to digest. However, this is not to say that there aren’t moments of beauty in FAll of Man in Wilmslow. One of my favorites comes when a government thug assaults Correll in Cambridge:

"Not far from the Eucharist being celebrated in King’s College’s venerable chapel, Arthur Mulland, father of three, was crawling around in the shrubbery like a brawling schoolboy, and when he discovered, while struggling to get Correll onto his back, that his knees had become filthy he became even more furious, not because he cared about his trousers, but because the grass stains reminded him of how vulnerable he had been as a child (249)."

Lines like these make for a wonderful break from the general spirit of Fall of Man in Wilmslow and showcase Lagercrantz’ talent as a writer. Unfortunately, his tendency towards excess when describing his characters’ inner lives turns the book into a compilation of character sketches rather than a fully realized novel. Perhaps, in this case, part of the blame lies on his translator.

The over-exposition of his characters’ psyches gives me the perfect opportunity to segue into my final argument against Fall of Man in Wilmslow: that a novel about a gay genius who was discriminated against to the point in which he chose to end his life should be narrated entirely by cisgendered straight white males struggling to find their moral high ground in a homophobic climate is not only unimaginative and redundant, it is wrong. I don’t want to congratulate Detective Constable Correll for his grand realization that LGBTQ people aren’t evil after all. And I certainly don’t want to read anything by an author who picked a story full of diverse characters and decided to focus on the most boring ones. FALL OF MAN IN WILMSLOW ends with a muddled message about tolerance that, in context of the novel’s content, I’m still trying to grasp the significance of.

[Veerle Roets · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik weet niet waarom ik zo gefascineerd ben door de figuur van Turing, wiskunde was niet bepaald mijn beste vak. Ik begon ooit aan zijn biografie, maar gaf op wegens niet meer leesbaar. Dit boek leest een stuk vlotter en is begrijpbaar.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to first thank Quercus Books for sending me this English translation through Netgalley, I was beyond excited to be approved to read and review this book. I have been a great admirer of Alan Turing for this past year and finding a fictional novel surrounding the reasons behind his suicide immediately caught my attention.

We meet Leonard Corell a police detective who is put on the case of Alan Turing's death, he visits Turing's home in Wilmslow and discovers that there are a fast amount of dangerous chemicals in the property. When a post mortem finds traces of potassium cyanide in Turing's body it becomes a clear conclusion that his death was an act of suicide. Corell finds an apple on the floor of Turing's bedroom drenched in the chemical and is reminded of Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, where Snow White is too poisoned by an apple. It is said both in this novel and in historical documents that Alan was fond of this film and perhaps found it comforting or like a fairy tale to end his life in this way.

Immediately Corell his fascinated as to why Turing would end his own, he delves into every document he can find concerning Turing and discovers that two years previously he was persecuted for being gay and had been convicted of gross indecency and sentenced to chemical castration.

Corell's investigation doesn't stop there, he explores as much of Turing's world as he could. However he soon realises that Turing wasn't just any normal mathematician but involved in a secret project for the British government during the war. As Corell meets former colleague's and friends of Alan he uncovers matters that no one else could ever know, which becomes a risk for Corell.

What this book conveys very well is the paranoia and tension of the beginning of the Cold War, not only this but the personal struggles the main character has with his views on homosexuality as well as the new discoveries and technological developments of the era and how all of these were viewed by the civilians of that time in history.

I found that the story gave interesting interpretations of how development in technology made those wary like for example, during the war "machines" were seen as damaging and a risk to the security of Britain during a time of paranoia and yet despite the doubt surrounding Alan's abilities he managed to crack the German enigma machine that had a vast impact on the war effort.

How the author dealt with conveying the opposition of homosexuality during this era was very well done. He conveyed the prejudices of those who believed that someone's sexuality could influence them to be a spy against their own country. I see how the rejection of homosexuals in a society could push those away, though it was said that during the war homosexuals were influenced by Stalin due to him welcoming them into Soviet society that would then lead them to being his spies- which we all know is ridiculous! Although despite my dismissal of this from a "modern mind" its not hard to see that during this tense time it wouldn't have been hard to put this idea into someone's head.

I can't fault this novel, it dealt with difficult topics and brought out the difficulties of accepting change, not just in society but in technology too. Perhaps the one dislike I have of this book would be the length, it seemed drag on longer than I expected with events that didn't necessarily need to be in it. Otherwise it's worthy of a four star rating.

Again thank you to Quercus Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this great book!

[Toni Osborne · Rating 1 out of 5]

This story, a melding of two narratives, is an attempt to capture a sympathetic biography of Alan Turing who was badly treated by the establishment and a police procedural in which a detective tries to get to the bottom of a mystery.

This disturbing tale of Turing’s suicide and the circumstance that let to it is told through the eyes of Detective Leonard Corell who was in charge of the investigation. The book reveals Turing’s life and his obsession with mathematics but above all we are shown the anti-gay attitudes at the time and openly admitting to homosexuality was treated as a crime. The novel is set in 1954. More than half the story is devoted to follow Corell.

The book contains a wealth of details about life and theories although it came out somewhat between a dramatized version of a biography and a kind of a lousy detective drama. I really couldn’t tell where the fine line stood between the historical part and where we stepped into the author’s vivid imagination. I also found the characterization to be not only dull but also very thin. I will not expand any further and leave to the readers whether to like or dislike the way this story develops.

What a pity, I would have loved to know more of this exceptional man and have more confidence in what was written. This is not the case here. I also had a hard time keeping my attention at bay, too much intellectual stimulation needed to keep up with the mathematical concepts and philosophical conversations making a painfully slow moving plot one that couldn’t held my attention till the end. Too many dull moments and I agree with those saying this is one of those books that work better as a cure for insomnia.

This novel is not for everyone, it was definitely not mine not to say it wasn’t good book it was simply not my cup of tea.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. “This is the way I see it”.

[Jovi Ene · Rating 2 out of 5]

De la renumitul film The Imitation Game, Turing a căpătat un fel de celebritate mondială târzie, chiar dacă în mai multe cercuri științifice sau intelectuale el era foarte bine cunoscute.
David Lagercrantz a scris această carte în 2009 și reconstituie într-o manieră polițistă ultimii ani ai lui Turing, decodarea mașinii de coduri naziste Enigma și misterul sinuciderii. Matematică pură, matematică, filosofie, toate acestea fac parte din misterul acestui roman.
Cu toate acestea, parcă farmecul este disipat de polițistul aproape perfect care investighează cazul, Leonard Corell, care este parcă voit hiperbolizat și aproape neverosimil (pasionat de numere și de logică, ajunge într-un orășel nesemnificativ ca ofițer de poliție, pentru ca, la final, să-l regăsim într-un rol important, de profesor universitar renumit).
Un roman ok, din care aflăm mai multe despre teroarea războiului, Turing și prigoana asupra homosexualilor.

[Kristen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I only read until page 70 or so. There was not one likeable character in the book. The main character was basically a robot.

[stasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

[janvier 2023]

----
(...) - Il était mieux placé que personne pour savoir que la normalité humaine n'était pas l'étalon unique.
- Comment ça?
- Il était habitué à se sentir exclu. Aussi étrange que cela puisse paraître, il n'avait pas de mal à se mettre du côté de la machine.

----

- Après la publication du livre de Norman Wiener Cybernetics, le débat a été lancé - sur un mode bien sensationnel, si vous voulez mon avis - pour savoir dans quelle mesure il était même possible de parler machines pensantes. Un neurologue, Geoffrey Jefferson, a aussitôt pris la défense de l'humain, en disant que tant qu'une machine serait incapable de rougir, d'écrire un poème ou une symphonie, de jouir de la caresse d'une femme et de ressentir des regrets ou de la joie, nous ne pourrions la considérer comme intelligente à l'égal d'un humain. Alan trouvait cela profondément injuste.

- En quoi ?

- Pour commencer, Alan non plus ne pouvait pas jouir de la caresse d'une femme. Et écrire une symphonie? Qui en est capable ? Vous ? Pour lui, on n'avait pas le droit de donner une définition trop étroite de l'intelligence. Il trouvait même que Jefferson était injuste à propos des sonnets, car qui mieux qu'une machine serait à même d'apprécier un sonnet écrit par une autre machine?

- Pardon ?

- Si les machines peuvent apprendre à penser, il est probable qu'elles aient d'autres préférences que nous. Alan voulait montrer que nous n'avions pas le droit de nous considérer comme des modèles. Une machine peut être pensante sans pour autant être comme vous et moi. Elle n'a même pas besoin d'apprécier les fraises à la chantilly. D'ailleurs, il ne cherchait pas à créer une machine particulièrement douée. Il suffisait qu'elle soit maligne comme un homme d'affaires américain, disait-il.
En tout cas, il avait mis au point un test.
----

Un livre vraiment superbe qui retrace la vie d'Alan Turing!
J'ai vu dans d'autres reviews que le rythme de ce livre était lent et si vous cherchez un policier ou un thriller alors oui le rythme sera lent. En revanche si on prend ce livre comme il est, à savoir une sorte de biogrpahie de Turing via le prisme d'une enquête, alors je n'ai trouvé aucune longueur.

A la découverte du corps de Turing l'inspecteur Corell va retarcer la vie d'Alan d'abord en tant qu'individu, puis en tant qu'homosexuel dans un contexte de Seconde Guerre mondiale puis en tant que scientifique et enfin la figure qu'il incarnera dans ce contexte politique.
Les portraits dressés de Turing sont très intéressants et révèlent tous une facette de Turing très différente.

Il y a tout un passage sur les mathématiques (de l'Histoire des mathématiques aux révolutions contemporaines et aux boulversements que cela à ammener tant d'un point de vue scientifique que sociétal) que j'ai vraiment adoré (sur plusieurs pages) qui est terriblement intéressant et très bien vulgarisé!
Le côté scientifique est omniprésent au récit et apporte une autre dimension à ce qui pourrait être une simple autobriographie.

Pour ce qui est du côté enquête et du personnage de Correl j'ai étonnamment apprécié.
L'enquête permet vraiment d'aborder la vie de Turing étape par étape en ajoutant à chaque fois une nouvelle dimension à son personnage et donc un autre niveau de complexité. Dès le début, et si on connait déjà l'histoire, on sait qu'il s'agit d'un suicide et donc l'enquête n'est qu'un pretexte pour développer la figure de Turing dans cette Angleterre en guerre où une sensation constante d'oppression pèse sur une partie de la population.
Pour ce qui est du personnage de Correl, il était plus qu'antipathique. N'étant pas au centre du récit cela ne posait pas vraiment de soucis mais j'ai commencé à m'inquiéter quand arrivé à 100 pages du récit l'on avait croisé que des personnages moralement problématiques. Les discours et paroles tenus sont durs et je pensais qu'aucune évolution du personnage n'aurait lieu pour Correl ou même que l'auteur ne laisserait pas transparaitre par la narration que les propos tenus sont problématiques. Heureusement le livre finit par petite touche subtile à condamner les propos tenus et l'époque dans laquelle l'Angleterre se trouvait. C'était très fin et très bien amené. Le personnage de Correl pourrait presque devenir sympathique à la fin, ou en tout cas à ne plus être aussi répulsif qu'il l'est durant le roman.
Après le personnage reste un cliché du flic torturé avec un passé sombre qui va apprendre sur lui-même grâce à l'enquête sur laquelle il travaille et qui finit par l'obséder. Mais n'étant qu'au second plan et ayant une sorte de développement invisible qui se passe en sous-texte il reste un personnage assez complexe et intéressant.

Bref, en gros je n'ai pas trouvé de longueur (mais il ne faut pas le prendre comme un policier/thriller car effectivement l'enquête n'est qu'un prétexte!), le personnage de Turing a été extrêmement bien développé, le contexte de guerre dans une Angleterre de classe prolétaire et dans un contexte académique/scientifique est très bien fait et pesant durant la lecture.

Vraiment un très bon roman de fiction historique!

[Gintautas Ivanickas · Rating 2 out of 5]

#perskaityta

David Lagercrantz
Fall of Man in Wilmslow

Nekenčiu, kai knygos apgauna.
Būna du apgavystės būdai – kai tave mausto autorius ir kai išduria leidykla. Abiem atvejais knyga apsimeta ne tuo, kas yra. Tai su šita nutiko tas pats. Ir čia labiau tas atvejis, kai mausto leidėjas.
Anotacija prasideda taip: „An electrifying thriller that opens with Alan Turing's suicide, and then opens out to take in a young detective's awakening to painful secrets about his own life and the life of his country.“ Ir iš principo ji netgi sąžininga, jei nekreipsime dėmesio į „electryfying thriller“. Nekalbu jau apie „electrifying“, pakaks to, kad trileriu čia net nekvepia. Tai tas nesantis trileris, plius faktas, kad autorius – rašytojas, kuris buvo pasirinktas pratęsti garsiąją Stiego Larssono „Milenium“ trilogiją, mane ir prigavo.
1954-ieji, jaunas policininkas Leonardas Corellis pirmas atvyksta į nusikaltimo vietą. Nors gal nusikaltimo jokio ir nėra? Akivaizdi savižudybė. Keistuolis matematikas savo noru pasitraukė iš gyvenimo. Ir, matyt, vienintelė mįslė – kodėl? Atsisveikinimo raštelio, kuris viską paaiškintų, jis nepaliko. Užtat stalčiuje Corellis aptinka Britų imperijos ordiną. Už kokius nuopelnus tas keistuolis atsiskyrėlis matematikas Alanas Turingas jį gavo? Akivaizdu, kad jis ne iš tų, kas karą praleido apkasuose.
Tyrimas (o ir ką čia tirti?) neužtrunka, bet Corellis nerimsta. Tiesa, dabar jau jį labiau kankina klausimas – kuo gi užsiiminėjo Turingas karo metu? Ir jis po truputį kapsto tą kryptimi. Ir gal čia būtų kažkokia intriga, jei mes nežinotume, kas tas Turingas, ką jis veikė karo metu ir už kokius tokius nuopelnus gavo tą ordiną.
Man jau sunku prisiminti, kada aš skaičiau ką nors lėtesnio ir klampesnio. Intrigos – nulis, bet labai daug vidinės Corellio savirefleksijos. Bėda tik, kad pagrindinis (na, ok, vienas iš dviejų pagrindinių – Turingas kaip kokia Hamleto tėvo dvasia nuolat – regimai ar ne – dalyvauja veiksme) veikėjas, Corellis – mažų mažiausiai nesimpatiškas. Akivaizdus homofobas, nesibodintis kitų mintis pateikti kaip savo, norėdamas pasirodyti geresnis, nei yra. Ir nors pro tą homofoniją retsykiais prasimuša žmogiškumas, užuojauta dėl persekiojimo, bet tuoj pat vėl įsijungia „iškrypėliai, nenatūralu“ ir t.t. Apskritai, homofoniškoms to meto nuotaikoms skirta labai daug dėmesio. Visai neseniai paspruko porelė demaskuotų sovietų šnipų, o jiedu juk buvo homoseksualus. Tai prie viso to „nenatūralu“, dar prisideda, kad visi „jie“ galimai šnipai bei komunistai . „Segodnia prosto pede*ast, a zavtra rodinu prodast“ – maždaug tokios nuotaikos visuomenėje. Ir tai galėjo būti viena judinančių knygą dalių, bet dėl savotiško pateikimo ir nuolatinio kartojimosi, netapo.
Žodžiu, norėjau rašyti skystą trejetą, bet supratau, kad tai būtų tik mano duoklė Turingui, o pačiam Lagercarntzui pakaks dviejų iš penkių.

[Polo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and scholarly, this book delivers history, intellectualism and wonderful characters. A stimulating read that is now my favorite book of the year and shelved on my top ten shelf. The author writes with a stream of conscious flow that understands humans. How our brains work, our self-esteem issues, hopes, fears, relationships that we treasure and hold dear. I love Detective Leonard Correll and how he can be cheeky and funny at times, despite his sometimes low self-esteem and all the challenges life has thrown him.

David Lagercrantz writes with a style that challenges us to question, think, sift and summarize the story as we read. I thoroughly enjoyed the historical references to Alan Turing and the development of thought that led to cracking the Enigma Code during WWII. A book to treasure.

[Koriee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Qualcuno ha per caso detto "macchina intelligente"? No perché in questo libro viene citata almeno ventimila volte.
Ma comunque, le parti su Alan Turing mi hanno affascinata parecchio. La storia di Corell - il poliziotto che ha preso in carico il suicidio di Turing- invece mi ha annoiata parecchio. Sinceramente mi aspettavo di più su Alan Turing che sul poliziotto.
E poi... quanti cavolo di personaggi si può aggiungere in un singolo romanzo? Alla fine non ho più capito chi fosse chi.

Mi aveva preso tantissimo all'inizio, poi è diventato molto noioso e il finale è molto "mehhhh... ok".

[Joakim Roubert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jag gillar ju David Lagercrantz. Men här får jag intrycket att han har tagit sig an en alltför stor kontext för att placera sin roman i. Jag tycker inte riktigt att han får ihop det.

Jag har lite svårt för det liksom tvångsmässigt intellektuella som egentligen inte för vare sig handling eller form framåt (så fort det börjar namedroppas Wittgenstein blir jag lite trött) men David Lagercrantz är ju också en produkt av sin uppväxt, (och den förste att tillstå det).

Med tanke på det digra antal sidor som på slutet listar researchen som har gjorts och alla redaktörer och korrekturläsare så tycker jag att det är slött att det i boken står ”Encyclopedia Brittanica” och inte ”Encyclopedia Britannica”, samt att sådant som särskrivningen ”tweed kostym” har fått slinka igenom.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

At some point, I’d like to read this book again and see if I like it more than I did the first time. I feel like I couldn’t get a grasp on who the main character was, and because of that I’m only giving this three stars.

A second reading might change that.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It helped to read the Wiki entry for Alan Turing before I started this audiobook, so I knew what was real and what was fictionalized. I don’t think I would have been as invested otherwise. It was a little mathy for me but I enjoyed it.

[Tarjei Skille · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interessant bok om matematiker Turing. Godt skrevet, men litt mye tung matteanalyse og historie som vil passere min hukommelse. Typisk listefyll-bok

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

We see a man's character and self-esteme gradually change in this book. At times, the images and discussions were a bit technical, but not so I couldn't understand them. The book was thought provoking and satisfying.