Hawksmoor

By: Peter Ackroyd

Narrated by: Sir Derek Jacobi

Peter Ackroyd's Hawksmoor was first published in 1985. Alternating between the eighteenth century, when Nicholas Dyer, assistant to Christopher Wren, builds seven London churches that house a terrible secret, and the 1980s, when London detective Nicholas Hawksmoor is investigating a series of gruesome murders on the sight of certain old churches, Hawksmoor is a brilliant tale of darkness and shadow.

©2014 Audible, Inc.; 2002 Peter Ackroyd

unusual structure and style

Hawksmoor combines a number of styles and time shifts to paint an unusual tale of the edge of sanity and the darkness that can be found or generated when one leans too far over to stare into the abyss. The detail of the narrative is intense and can transport anyone at all familiar with London to its very soul. That being said, the story feels almost like an avant garde experiment in prose that some may find difficult to follow in spots and the historical alterations may be hard to understand. Everything knits together in the end but the reader must be prepared to elaborate the reality, or lack thereof, for themselves

A bit convoluted

I LOVE Peter Akroyd's work. The book description made the story just my cup of tea. However, once I got into it, the shifting of timeframes, which I usually enjoy, just became unusually muddy. That said, I bet some film maker could make this a very intriguing move.

Pretty miserable story

Interesting premise but miserable story. Everyone is miserable in it and you are miserable reading it. The small amount of synchronicity, experimental formatting, and London architecture are not worth the misery of grimness, mental illness, bodily functions, and child death.

Intellectual yet gimmicky literary novel

Hawksmoor appeared on my Audible search results for a mystery. I was intrigued by a NY Times review which said that "this was a novel primarily of ideas", specifically a contrast between the superstitious and mystical beliefs of an earlier time and those coming of age in the 18th century dealing with the "new science of rationalism and experimental method" which "will eventually eradicate superstition". I did not really find much evidence of this debate in the novel. Instead, it seems preoccupied with the debased nature of mankind. Much of the text takes place inside the minds of the two main characters, Nicholas Dyer, a fictional version of the eponymous real life architect, Nicholas Hawksmore and the modern detective, recursively named Nicholas Hawksmore, who is investigating a series of child murders in London. The action takes place in the area of seven churches built by the real architect Hawksmore whose devotion to Christianity is called into question by the numerous pagan symbols he used to decorate his churches. This much is actually true and does add a note of interest to the text.

The internal musings of these two characters borders on the paranoid and the delusional. I am not especially drawn to this type of study of the human psyche, with characters speaking internally in an overheated emotional and irrational way, all the while afraid that their irrationality and indeed criminal nature is about to be discovered.

I found much of the work repetitious, especially so because the author chose the rather gimmicky device of repeating many of the thoughts and actions of the characters whose lives are separated by some 300 years to create a supernatural aura over his tale. And yet without the atmosphere created by this echo down the centuries, the book would lose much of its interest entirely. One saving grace was to be able to play the reading at 1.5x or even 2.0x time; if I were reading the book, I would have had to skim large sections too.

This is not to say that there are not entertaining moments, but they are few and far between. Even the brilliant acting of Derek Jacobi could not redeem this work for me.

haunting

I enjoyed listening to the Peter Ackroyd book "Hawksmoor" on audiobook, which Sir Derek Jacobi narrated. The combination of Jacobi's alluring voice and Ackroyd's hauntingly beautiful words makes for a wonderful listening experience.

I was riveted from beginning to end by the story's captivating fusion of historical fiction, mystery, and paranormal aspects. I was immediately taken to another time and place by Ackroyd's brilliant depictions of 18th-century London and its architecture, particularly the works of the mysterious architect Nicholas Dyer.

But Jacobi's narration was what really made the story come to life. Every character he played had depth and complexity because to his rich, resonant voice, and his grasp of accents and dialects was exceptional.

It was like attending a private performance by one of the best actors in the world to hear him read "Hawksmoor" out loud.

What's even more amazing is that I once had the opportunity to randomly run across Sir Derek Jacobi in the line for a London musical show. I couldn't resist but tell him how much I loved his narrator for "Hawksmoor" because he was so endearing and courteous. We had a fantastic talk about the book and the craft of narration after hearing it, and he was obviously delighted.

For those who enjoy excellent literature and skillful storytelling, "Hawksmoor" is a must-listen. And with Sir Derek Jacobi in charge, it's a memorable event that you won't soon forget.