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Melmoth the Wanderer (Oxford World's Classics)
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Melmoth the Wanderer (Oxford World's Classics) Customer Reviews
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♥♥♥♥♥ |
Rewarding
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| This book is not for the faint of intellect. It is the most challenging book I have ever read. I never thought I'd ever read a more difficult book than "War and Peace" but it was a breeze when compared to Maturin's heavily laced oblique referencing and sub-sub-subplots. This took me a year to read because each chapter would leave me feeling dizzy in trying to comprehend the storyline. The book wasn't at all what I had expected (a linear Gothic thriller). Nevertheless, the book was the most edifying experience I've had in reading a fictional novel. Maturin takes you to the Spanish Inquisition, the Great Fire of London, the craggy shores of Ireland, and to remote desert islands. At the same time he tells you an extensive history of each time and situation. I wish that more horror authors were as dedicated as him in creating eccentrically elaborate plots with extensive research invested into the story. Maturin's research makes the novel incredibly rich in realism and his characters are very believable. My only complaint with the Penguin edition is the thick section of explanatory notes at the end of the novel. I like to get as much as I can out of the text by reading commentary and notes but it was annoying how many times I had to flip back to the 50 page section of notes. Most of the references I didn't really care about or see how they were relevant to understanding the storyline. I can understand why some of the references are there, but for the layman they are mostly unnecessary. Read the references if you're the "scholarly type", otherwise skip them. This book is a challenge. Read it if you like challenging plots. Don't feel bad if Maturin's narrative makes you sleepy. This is far from a page turner. It is a thriller, and terrifying, but not while you read it. It will sink in on a subconscious level and will linger with you for years, even if it takes you years to finish. |
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