Grand Orbit in Three Revolutions

This is the second in a series of novels called the “Revolutions Trilogy". I've read the first two and suspect that these two, if not all three, are based on a template which Banville has developed.

Most of my review of n  "Doctor Copernicus"n could apply word for word to "Kepler" – in fact, I'm sorely tempted to cut and paste the whole of my previous review (including the comments about Banville's affection for alliteration and sibilance, of which some more examples are assembled below):

n  
n  "the pilfering postmaster, whose lugubrious ghost still loitered in his lost domain...he was touched by her sad ungainly state...the breadth and balance of the buildings...a comic bugle blast...this rage to work, this rapture of second thoughts...sortilege and star magic...scissors and paste and strips of coloured paper...his head humming with fever, he felt something sweep softly down on him, a shadow vast and winged...countless small lakes and perennially flooded lowlands...a priestly pustular young person, haggard with ambition and self-abuse...an ashen awakening from a dream...the gateman, a fat fellow in furs...mild amaze...a clockwork simulacrum of tenderness...what impossible blue vision of flight...a kind of quietly splendid equilibrium...my little bag of bats’ wings..."n

"Eschew This Passionate Excitement!"

The trilogy concerns the plight of three astronomers who advanced the science of heliocentrism in the face of opposition from the Catholic Church. The protagonists were seeking to promote truth, whether or not it conformed to religious faith.

I’ve seen this novel described as pseudo-biography. This might well be true. It's definitely an informed fictionalisation of the life of an historical figure. Banville acknowledges his debt to biographies of Kepler and Tycho Brahe, as well as Arthur Koestler's "The Spleepwalkers" and a study of "The Rosicrucian Enlightenment".

The novel captures the impact of ideas on the private and public lives of an astronomer dependent on the patronage, financial support and good grace of the Emperor and various state and municipal administrators.

Kepler suffers enormously for what today wouldn't pass for academic freedom. It is still remarkable to witness how the Church (which you would expect to be primarily concerned with the spiritual and pastoral welfare of its congregation) could pronounce so prescriptively (under penalty of excommunication and death) about issues that strike us as purely scientific.

The Church seems to have positioned itself in opposition to the truth of science, for fear that scientific method might undermine religious doctrine and dogma, as well as the authority of those who uphold the worldly power of the Church.

The Chancellor writes to him:

n  
n  "If you love me, then eschew this passionate excitement."n

"Everything is Told Us, But Nothing Explained"

We learn little about Kepler's discoveries and ideas from the novel. ("Everything is told us, but nothing explained.") It pays to read his wiki entry, so that you have some scientific context for the narrative of the novel.

Kepler is described variously as a mathematician who has selfishly embarked on a "lunatic adventure", "a little man, wet and weary, dithering at a fork in the road", "a modest stay-at-home, an armchair dreamer", "a lover of truth", and "a sodden old dolt dozing in his boots, maundering over the lost years."

The Emperor describes his religion (Kepler seems to oscillate between Lutheranism and Calvinism – "the heresy of Protestantism") as "an embarrassment" (presumably not just to Kepler, but to the Emperor):

n  
n  "It was as in a dream, where it slowly dawns that you are the one who has committed the crime."n

Kepler avoids the intolerance that characterises Catholicism. He is kind to and supportive of a nonconformist friend, about which a mutual friend comments:

n  
n  "You had regard for him, sir, you saw his worth, as I did."n

The Perception of Harmonia Mundi

If there is one unifying thread in Kepler's life and endeavours, it's a desire to understand and promote harmony in the extended world. His book "Harmonia mundi" recognises how:

n  "[...harmony is] that which the soul creates by perceiving how certain proportions in the world correspond to prototypes existing in the soul.

"The proportions everywhere abound, in music and the movements of the planets, in human and vegetable forms, in men's fortunes even, but they are all relation merely, and nonexistent without the perceiving soul.

"How is such perception possible? Peasants and children, barbarians, animals even, feel the harmony of the tone. Therefore the perceiving must be instinct in the soul, based in a profound and essential geometry, that geometry which is derived from the simple divisioning of circles...

"Now he took the short step to the fusion of symbol and object. The circle is the bearer of pure harmonies, pure harmonies are innate in the soul, and so the soul and the circle are one.

"Such simplicity, such beauty."n

The Achievement of Perfection

Religion consolidated that which "had been wrong all those years". Kepler's obsession has been:

n  
n  "...to destroy the past, the human and hopelessly defective past, and begin all over again the attempt to achieve perfection: that same heedless, euphoric sense of teetering on the brink while the gleeful voice at his ear whispered jump."

"Such a dream I had...Such a dream. Es war doch so schön."n

In the same way, you could argue that the novel represents the triumph of beauty over authority, whether civil or religious.

SOUNDTRACK:

Daniele Garella – “Preise dem Engel die Welt”

https://youtu.be/yHl7a7M56Ck

The book tries to capture the personality and times of one of the most famous scientists. There were some interesting interplay between Kepler and other famous personages, primarily Tycho Brahe and Galileo.

While sections of the book are compelling and well written, the overall structure leaves a lot to be desired. While it is generally chronological, there is a section of letters in the middle that represents some years. It isn't clear whether these are real or fictional, and why there is no narrative for this time period. The inclusion of this leaves the book disjointed, as there is no transition or explanation for the change in format and style.

Generally, this book is of interest to those liking either history, science, or mathematics.

Vividly portrayed

It was such a great surprise this book, good mix of fiction and non-fiction while I learned so much about Kepler and his work.
Since I'm in Prague I guess it's time to visit some places.

[HU - Kindle]

John Banville is one of my favorite writers, a leaning reinforced by his historical novel Kepler, about the 17th century mathematician & astronomer Johannes Kepler. Math and astronomy are not among my usual haunts, but Banville writes so well and so precisely, he can infuse anything with interest. Part of the strength of his writing is his talent for choosing the right word. It doesn’t have to be a big $10 word, it might just be two somewhat usual words put together unexpectedly.

“Looking now afresh at the form of this little book, I am struck by the thought that perhaps, without realising it, I had some intimation of the troubles to come, for certainly it is a strange work, uncommonly severe and muted, wintry in tone...”

His writing sometimes reminds me of the poetry of Lucie Brock-Broido, who embroiders amazing sentences and syntaxes, as in the poem “Death as a German Expert,” from which I include here an excerpt just for interest:

**
. . . Always the dead will be lined as sad
And crookedly as fingerling potatoes in root-cellars dank enough
For overwintering. In Luckenwalde a young girl slides a needle

In the turnip-purple soft fold of her inner arm and this, too,
Transfigures a kind of joy.
**

Kepler the novel is above all a book about intellectual striving. Kepler believed man was made in God’s image, and thus should be able to understand the universe God created, and he tries so hard it puts all of us to shame.

It is amazing that anyone could figure out the laws of planetary motion just by observing the sky through a telescope, especially someone like Kepler who spends adulthood hounded by religious persecution and besides that seems to be feeling ill most of the time. Poor guy. I liked him, but not too much.

There are other interesting if somewhat flat characters, like Kepler’s potion-mixing mother, his dimwit brother, a dwarf, a Jewish lens maker, astronomers, emperors, and of course the female interests - Barbara, Regina and Susanna.

En su Trilogía de las Revoluciones, John Banville hace algo más que novelizar las vidas de tres astrónomos - Copérnico, Kepler y Newton - en realidad nos quiere explicar cómo estas tres personas pusieron los fundamentos de la visión actual del mundo y también nos muestra la lucha contracorriente que ello significó en su época. Una auténtica revolución.

En esta segunda entrega vemos cómo Kepler, en la Alemania del siglo XVI, persigue su idea del orden y la armonía del cosmos, mientras está rodeado por el caos absoluto, tanto a nivel social como familiar, un caos que incluye luchas por el poder, enfermedades, miseria e inseguridad. Como otros hombres de ciencia, Kepler depende enteramente de la generosidad aleatoria y cambiante de nobles patrones y reyes para poder desarrollar su trabajo. También ha de enfrentarse a la Iglesia Católica, empeñada en obstaculizar cualquier progreso por miedo a que el conocimiento socave los cimientos de la fe.

Todo esto lo narra Banville con pasión, con desmesura, nos sumerge en el caos, para explicarnos el milagro que ha supuesto salir de la oscuridad y llegar a donde nos encontramos. Definitivamente, tengo que leer las otras dos entregas!

As the title implies, this is historical fiction about the famous mathematician and astronomer Johannes Keppler. Banville brings his signature precision of language and gift for creating character and atmosphere to this novel. I can not evaluate the historical accuracy of the story since I knew nothing of Keppler’s personal life and only the most basic highlights of his professional achievements. But, I enjoyed this unique subject.

A really good read even though it was a piece of fiction it evoked images of years gone by and the struggle between astronomy and religion.

DNF. Just couldn’t get into it.

This was my first contact with John Banville whose name I knew from the literary pages of the Irish Times. He was editor there for many years. I remember enjoying the book, but, being young and very unsophisticated, I'm sure I didn't understand a third of what he was doing in it - and I wasn't even aware that it was part of a trilogy. Innocent days.

The second, after Copernicus, in a trilogy of science-based novels, Kepler's story evokes the times (late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries) well and the characters are well drawn. The drawback is that the timelines and the discoveries (for example, that the planets do not circle the sun as Copernicus thought, but glide in ellipses) are not sufficiently moulded into a compelling story but seem to be more narratives, thoughts and speeches upon a history. Perhaps the best character is the seldom remembered Dane, Tycho Brahe, whose many observations of the planets formed the bedrock of later work.

I had actually never heard of Banville before... my loss. He is a great writer! Really enjoyed this one and ordered his Copernicus book for next! (My philosophy of science professor thinks this is his best on the scientists).