Stone's Fall by Iain Pears

Stone’s fall is a story of such girth that it is entirely conceivable that its readers are open to numerous interpretations of what lies within its pages. Some will believe it to be a parody; a pastiche of current events that have conspired to up heave the delicate balance of global high finance. Some will consider it a rather humorous and benign account of the industrial age, with rose tinted spectacles firmly in place. Others will contemplate the politico stance of the author as one who is astutely observing the sad decent of the British Government to that of being a mere pawn of financial institutions; for instead of telling the City it must put its own house in order, today’s Government has risked billions in a rather fuddled attempt to bolster a failing banking industry that had grown disproportionately due to its all consuming greed and avarice. Yet others will be assuaged by the deeply moving humanitarian elements of Pears’ tale; that of a young woman of some disrepute having the wherewithal and fortitude to recreate herself into someone of considerable wealth and desirability; or perhaps that of a young man whose actions have far reaching consequences that culminate the death and ruin of many poor souls; then again, maybe it is a unique love story, mixed with reproachable behaviour, unscrupulous decisions and having a disastrous and devastating consequence that one will simply not see coming.... Read full book review >>>