Instances Of The Number 3 (2003) - Plot & Excerpts
The highly acclaimed author of ‘Miss Garnet’s angel’ has written another astounding novel to add to an already prized collection, which is both stylish and compelling. If the eye-catching, striking front cover doesn’t capture your imagination then the storyline certainly will, that shows the three graces from ‘La Primavera’ by Sandro Botticelli a beautiful painting from Florence. This novel stood out distinctively by the effortless exactness and luminous, realistic perception by a writer who is highly talented. It combines a fictional personality underpinned by truth and authenticity, which entwined together, creates something so wholesome and believable before your very eyes. Glimpsing back to the past, the present that surrounds us and the future this is writing that is thought-provoking to the core; where one looks at life and those moments of significance. This is a classy, sophisticated book that is slick and stylish depicting London as a fine portrait in which one explores deep self-discovery. A philosophical approach combined with character observation forms ideas that are as vibrant as people, and which leaves you thinking for a long time afterwards. Salley Vickers has exceeded all expectations and triumphed spectacularly with this new work, her writing going from strength to strength with deeper meaning, ideas and notions that target ones heart and soul. Here is an author who is brave and courageous to ask those big questions in a way that is delicate and exquisitely done, without being overpowering or forced hence I fell under her spell and into her work. Death, forgiveness, optimism and understanding are all topics that are explored with the utmost sincerity and intelligence, which sustains your interest throughout the book that kept me from wanting to put it down. This is a novel that is not only highly readable and enjoyable but something much more than just a simple light read, as it goes much deeper in seeking out meaningful answers to questions that are fascinating & interesting. If you loved this as much as myself then I would also recommend Miss Garnet’s angel and Mr. Golightly’s holiday by the same author, which are just as readable as Shakespeare only with a lighter touch. A brilliant and engrossing read that has brightened up my year.
I liked this book more while reading it than in retrospect.The language is charming, and I very much enjoyed spending time in the company of the characters. They were interesting people, drawn with great insight. There are flashes of wry humor and a certain warmth throughout.The ending kind of peters out, though, and the big surprise is something I figured out less than halfway through the book. (Perhaps we were supposed to? The reveal itself is almost anticlimactic.) And there are certain logistics that I'm not sure quite work in retrospect.Not bad, but not as good as Miss Garnet's Angel.
What do You think about Instances Of The Number 3 (2003)?
Engrossing and unusual take on the dynamic of a husband, wife and his mistress, after he has died. I really liked the small passages at the end of some of the chapters, written from Peter's after-life perspective, and I thought there could have been more of this if anything as I wanted to know more about his state of mind. The two women were portrayed well as two distinct and quite different characters. The fact that they didn't feel more jealousy of one another was the only thing that for me, didn't quite ring true.
—Sophie Wainwright
hm. Dull. I discovered Salley Vickers via a book group read, Miss Garnet's Angel. I enjoyed that because I liked the character of Miss Garnet and her journey of self-discovery. But the other two Vickers books I've read since have failed to grab me. She's a psychoanalyst and in this book it shows. Far too much heavy-handed exposition of characters' states of mind, with the three main characters almost ciphers standing for ideas. I never really cared about them. It all just seemed too obvious, and
—Veronica
This is a book I would heartily recommend as an intelligent holiday read. The basic story is simple but the psychological insight is acute - unsurprising bearing in mind Ms Vickers was a psychoanalyst for some years.I hate the cover though. More than one person thought it made the book look dated (which it certainly isn't - quite the opposite) and not a little throwaway, which does the book an injustice. A small thing perhaps but I would want to encourage more people to take this off the shelves..
—Suzie Grogan
