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Pure

From the Booker shortlisted author of The Land in Winter
3.6 goodreads logo

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( 10,629 ratings, 1,282 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Pure by Andrew Miller is set in pre-revolutionary Paris and follows a young engineer, Jean-Baptiste Baratte, who is tasked with the grim job of clearing a long-standing cemetery that is poisoning the city. The story captures the tension between the past and an uncertain future as Baratte encounters colourful characters and tackles moral dilemmas. Through his journey, the decay and beauty of Paris in this period come vividly to life.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you are captivated by historical fiction set in pre-revolutionary France, where the compelling story of a young engineer tasked with clearing a cemetery unfolds. The narrative beautifully captures the mood of the era and is rich in atmosphere and meticulous historical detail, making it a treat for those who appreciate vivid storytelling that transports them to a different time.

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*WINNER OF THE COSTA BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD*

*WINNER OF THE COSTA BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD*

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A year of bones, of grave-dirt, relentless work. Of mummified corpses and chanting priests.

A year of rape, suicide, sudden death. Of friendship too. Of desire. Of love...

A year unlike any other he has lived.

Deep in the heart of Paris, its oldest cemetery is, by 1785, overflowing, tainting the very breath of those who live nearby. Into their midst comes Jean-Baptiste Baratte, a young, provincial engineer charged by the king with demolishing it.

At first, Baratte sees this as a chance to clear the burden of history, a fitting task for a modern man of reason. But before long, he begins to suspect that the destruction of the cemetery might be a prelude to his own.

Pure by Andrew Miller is a vivid portrayal of a year unlike any other, blending elements of history, friendship, and the timeless struggle between progress and consequence.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Pure by Andrew Miller has been praised for its exquisite prose, evocative depiction of pre-revolutionary Paris, and thought-provoking narrative. Critics highlight Miller's ability to craft arresting and intelligent sentences that bring a tangible sense of a vanished world while questioning societal norms and personal integrity. The novel's richly detailed and symbolic storytelling, coupled with its dynamic characters, creates a vivid and atmospheric reading experience.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781444724288

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 05 January 2012

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Sceptre

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 23.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 197.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 352

About the Author

Andrew Miller's first novel, Ingenious Pain, was published by Sceptre in 1997. It won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and the Grinzane Cavour Prize for the best foreign novel published in Italy. It has been followed by Casanova, Oxygen, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the Whitbread Novel of the Year Award in 2001, The Optimists, One Morning Like a Bird, Pure, which won the Costa Book of the Year Award in 2011, The Crossing, Now We Shall Be Entirely Free, The Slowworm's Song and The Land in Winter, which won the Winston Graham Historical Prize and the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2025. Andrew Miller's novels have been published in translation in twenty countries. Born in Bristol in 1960, he currently lives in Somerset.

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