First things first. I was fortunate enough to meet David Liss following a panel discussion at the 2013 San Antonio Book Festival. He was cordial, friendly, but almost the textbook academic nerd. Expected, I suppose, but meeting authors whom seem like they would much rather be locked away in the library always puts a smile on my face... A great book based on historical fact concerning the beginning of the stock market. I am not typically especially interested in historical fiction. Unless the author has written the story in a way that is true to history yet relevant to our times, which David Liss has done. His use of language is masterful, as he does write with terms, phrases, colloquially correct grammar of the eighteenth century, yet, somehow, the reader can follow easily. Liss even manages to create humorous dialogue, endearing characters, and an intriguing mystery that keeps readers engaged and guessing. It is evident in his writing that the research for the novel was extensive. This is explained by the fact that it was actually based on his dissertation at Columbia University concerning the early stock market & "The South Sea Bubble", the true event that inspired the story. This, however, does not explain how the words transport the reader to a different world and time by illicit ing colors, costume, feeling, and ideologies. That can only be attributed to Liss's talent and mastering of the English language. The story covered in A Conspiracy Of Paper is so extensive, confusing, elaborate, that even the synopsis does not suffice. But, in short, our hero Weaver has been seduced into investigating his father's death, which he becomes convinced was actually a murder. Weaver has been estranged from his Jewish family and/or roots for many years now, but curiosity and guilt lead him home. He is soon led to evidence that links his father's murder to that of another associate's, also covered up as something else. Quite soon, further investigation results in him half discovering, half led by other forces, to accumulating evidence that his father was involved in something far more serious than anyone can imagine. The maze he has now committed himself to is full of dead ends, dark alleys, one ways, and endless false paths. One wonders whether he will ever make it out. I loved many of the characters created by Liss. Unlike many other authors whom write stories with many different personalities, Liss actually explored individual characters, giving them not only depth, but enough scenes, dialogue, etcetera to provide readers with true insight, and, along with that, an ability to empathize despite the many questionable things that occur in a story of murder and intrigue such as this. My favorite character was Elias Gordon, a true friend to Weaver. By no means perfect, he spends his time with whores and in the gaming houses, but when it counts, he is there for his friend, whether it be with a funny anecdote, encouraging words, and/or companionship & support, however it might be required (including dressing up in a less than ideal masquerade costume, engaging in the pursuit of dangerous men, posing as Weaver). Alas, my criticism is that by the end of the novel, although the mysteries were supposedly solved, I was still a little confused, maybe overwhelmed with all the elaborate twists that no matter how it was perceived, it was nothing but a tangle of confusion. I suppose this is the way a conspiracy is, but I wanted to easily, fully understand the solution to the puzzle. Some scenes I felt were unnecessary; many false leads Weaver followed with full faith that could have been eliminated, lessening the perplexing number of twists. In all, a transporting, great read by David Liss. As this is a trilogy, it seems I will have yet another opportunity to visit the worlds created by this promising author.
Rating: 3.9* of fiveThe Publisher Says: Benjamin Weaver is an outsider in eighteenth-century London: a Jew among Christians; a ruffian among aristocrats; a retired pugilist who, hired by London's gentry, travels through the criminal underworld in pursuit of debtors and thieves.In A Conspiracy of Paper, Weaver investigates a crime of the most personal sort: the mysterious death of his estranged father, a notorious stockjobber. To find the answers, Weaver must contend with a desperate prostitute who knows too much about his past, relatives who remind him of his alienation from the Jewish faith, and a cabal of powerful men in the world of British finance who have hidden their business dealings behind an intricate web of deception and violence. Relying on brains and brawn, Weaver uncovers the beginnings of a strange new economic order based on stock speculation--a way of life that poses great risk for investors but real danger for Weaver and his family.In the tradition of The Alienist and written with scholarly attention to period detail, A Conspiracy of Paper is one of the wittiest and most suspenseful historical novels in recent memory, as well as a perceptive and beguiling depiction of the origin of today's financial markets. In Benjamin Weaver, author David Liss has created an irresistibly appealing protagonist, one who parlays his knowledge of the emerging stock market into a new kind of detective work.My Review: An honorable man sets out to right a wrong that he cares relatively little about. His quest leads him to wrongs he didn't know were possible, and that he cares a lot about righting. He can't fix it...nobody could then, and nobody can now...because it's all to do with human greed and viciousness.David Liss came to my attention with this top-notch thriller. He takes the abstruse and impersonal concept put forth by (then-newly minted) economic scientists called "economist"s Hand of the Market, squeezes that bastard tight, and shakes out of it the economists' worst nightmare: The human cost of their depersonalized, accountability-free rent-reaping mills.What makes Weaver a compelling character is his almost unbelievable level of alienation from every sector of London's social web. A Jew estranged from his family by disobedience. A Jew in the Christian London that persecutes Catholics, allegedly fellow Christians. An educated man who fought with his fists for money. An absolute outsider.It makes for the best fictional characters, this does, and even better for a sleuth in a mystery. He has access to but not membership in many groups. He can ask questions because he's Different, and he can't be bought off by assimilation--too far outside the pale of anyone's social-group tolerance--nor can he be threatened by exclusion (from what that he isn't excluded from already?).A successful thriller combines plausible action in service of believable stakes by a character with a definite and powerful moral compass. Delivered here in trumps. It's a pleasure to read a book that makes it clear that markets, all markets always and everywhere, must be controlled, damped down, and regulated to prevent the vile and contemptible from abusing the greedy and gullible. It is, in the end, the rest of us who pay the bill. It was ever thus. It will ever be thus, world without end.Until we're no longer human beings, that is. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
What do You think about A Conspiracy Of Paper (2015)?
I wasn't a huge fan of this book. There was nothing necessarily wrong with the novel other than I felt it was forgettable. This was supposed to be a suspense book filled with mystery and murder but I was not at all invested in the characters or the story. I found myself putting the book down for long periods of time and not having an urge to pick it up and find out who did it. The reading itself was enjoyable enough but I just felt like there was alot of back and forth and not enough progression throughout the 400 pages. I wouldn't read it again. Probably won't recommend it to others. In all honesty I will probably forget in a few months that I even read this book at all.
—Dannelle
One of the rich rewards of reading well written historical fiction is that, if it achieves the proper balance, it not only entertains but is painlessly edifying. This novel fits the bill. Set in early 18th century London we are introduced to Benjamin Lienzo, a Sephardic Jew who has changed his name to Benjamin Weaver and gained notoriety as a pugilist. After sustaining an injury that chronically compromised his athletic skill he has become a “thief-taker”, a profession somewhat akin to a modern day bounty hunter, and one that makes him a social outcast in the Jewish community. This begins to change however, after he discovers that his estranged father was murdered. He becomes determined to get to the bottom of this mysterious death in spite of a convoluted conspiracy that tests his competence as a detective. David Liss’ exposition of a lawless London, class distinction and the evolution of monetary change in Europe, as paper money and corporate stocks begin to be adopted, is intriguing. One can’t help but see the piquant parallels in our present day transition from paper currency to the abstraction of electronic transactions. I enjoyed it, thanks for the recommendation Trudy.
—Keith
Do you have any friends who take 20 minutes to tell a story that could be told in about three minutes? This book is like that. It goes the long way around, for sure. It wasn't exactly gripping, either. Eventually, I found that I was reading more to see how the author was going to tie up all the dangling strings than because I was especially interested in the characters. When I stop paying attention to the story that is being told in order to observe how it is being told...well, that's not really a good thing. This story is really a mash up of two genres: historical fiction and mystery. The history is there, and the mystery is there, but character development is a bit lacking. It's told in first person, so you get to know the narrator, but he's (I paused for a long time here looking for the right word) inconsistent. He was once a thief so he has certain skills, but readers are asked to believe he is scrupulously honest. That is a bit of a difficult leap for me to make. The only other characters that you get to know in any depth are the MC's uncle -- and that is only through one particularly well done passage, where the uncle is revealed to be something of a coward -- and the MC's best friend, who is also somewhat inconsistent. He is dissolute, a gambler, a drinker, yet also remarkably intelligent. There are plenty of other characters I would have enjoyed getting to know -- Miriam, who is the only half-drawn female character, and even Mendes, a supporting character who seems to be almost two people in one form. But, because of the first person narration, the reader gets only limited glimpses of those characters. It could be that this book just isn't to my taste. It's definitely not an awful book, and something about it reminded me of In the Name of the Rose (which I absolutely detested). If you are interested in London history, or the history of the British economy you may enjoy this story.
—Dava Stewart
