The Irrationalist: The Tragic Murder of René Descartes –by Andrew Pessin

Fiction / Historical

508 pages

5 Stars

DISCLAIMER: I received a free electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If you like historical fiction, sans romance and the required rescuing of fair maidens, then this is the book for you! It's a murder mystery about one of the more famous men of European history, the philosopher, René Descartes.

For untold years, it has been accepted, more or less, that Descartes did in fact die of pneumonia his first winter in Stockholm. Rumors also have abounded that he was murdered.

Andrew Pessin has taken history, and rumors, and combined them into a most enjoyable, and plausible, read. This is, primarily, a murder mystery. It isn't an adrenaline gusher, though there are a couple of times it comes close. It is the story of a young, sickly René, raised by the Jesuits who has a penchant for mathematics and not much else. It is also the story of another young boy who is the 'house boy' and René's "servant." Due to his lack of money, this young boy is self-taught, and he is every bit as much of a genius as René. Perhaps more so.

Sometimes the modern language in the dialog is a bit jarring, but not much, and I'm pretty sure the locals of the time had equivalent words. The flashbacks were superbly done, and the end of the book nicely tied all the sub-plots and mini-mysteries together. One does not need to be a student of philosophy to enjoy this book.

Well written with believable characters I would actually enjoy meeting. I highly recommend The Irrationalist to anyone who enjoys literary fiction, historical fiction, or murder mysteries.