Prominent linguist Philipp Perlmann, a widower for a year, doesn't know how to live in the present--he's "fallen victim to an incurable indifference toward all desire for knowledge." He's run out of things to say and lives in fear of being exposed. Still, he agrees to organize a symposium and reluctantly invites the greatest minds in the field to join him at the Grand Hotel Miramare near Genoa for four weeks, where he will be the keynote speaker on the interrelationship of language and memory.
Perlmann tries to lose himself translating a linguistic text sent by Vassily Leskov, a formerly jailed Russian dissident who is not allowed an exit permit to attend the symposium. Meanwhile, the seminar members deliver their talks and grill each other; alliances are forged, enmities sparked and quiet vendettas unleashed. It's the academic jungle, where pointing out a colleague's mistake is a blood sport.
Perlmann miserably calculates how many days remain before he must deliver the paper he has yet to write. As the competitive antagonism of his colleagues corners him into a panic, Perlmann finally succumbs to a hideous temptation--he passes off Leskov's work as his own. The next day he receives word that the Russian linguist has managed to get a visa and will be joining them. Horrified, trapped, his plagiarism about to be exposed, Perlmann frantically begins to plan an "accident" for Leskov.
What could drive a good man to murder? Philosopher novelist Pascal Mercier (Night Train to Lisbon) has clearly given it serious thought. Once Perlmann sets out on his disastrous, suicidal attempt to arrange the perfect murder, this stately glacier of a novel morphs into an out-and-out thriller, as the character we've been sympathizing with for hundreds of pages tries to kill a man who genuinely likes him. It's harrowing, heartbreaking stuff, and author Mercier expertly ratchets up the suspense. --Nick DiMartino, Nick's Picks, University Book Store, Seattle