authorjbr's review against another edition
5.0
I finally finished this book and all I can say is what on earth did I just read. Absolutely wild. Not like The Monk or Zofloya, but wild nonetheless.
jackalop3's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
ula_mizhir's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
bosermoki's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
The tl;dr of this book is that it's a fascinating premise but gets lost along the way. I strenuously believe that an editor could have trimmed this into a more compact and far better narrative and perhaps this book would be in the same level of popular memory as Frankenstein, Dracula, Dr. Jekyll or even the works of Maturin's nephew, Wilde. Instead, despite being adored by Wilde and Balzac it's relegated to relative obscurity.
The longer discussion is that this book made me think of the movie Inception. Inception is about entering people's dreams to steal or implant information. Melmoth is about a man, the eponymous Melmoth, who sells his soul to the devil for extended life, gets buyer's remorse, and spends the time wandering trying to regift it.
What does a blockbuster from 2010 have in common with a classic Gothic novel from 1820? Well, they both use the notion of a nested narrative. Inception has nested dreams while Melmoth uses nested narratives to explore the Wanderer and his history. And in so doing, they both largely place the action inside of internal static spaces, be they layered dream spaces while on a plane, or in various stories most of which are conveyed during the convalescence or the hiding of Alonzo Moncada.
Also notable is that both works are overlong and are divided between a fascinating premise but get bogged down with a central preoccupation. Inception is basically a heist movie combined with the fantastical imagery available in a dreamscape but gets pointlessly tangled up in questions of how "real" reality is and what 'is' is.
Melmoth has fascinating moments of an infernal-adjacent peripatetic tempter with buyer's remorse who is hoping to cash in on others' FOMO. One early example is the record of him meeting Stanton in an insane asylum or the dramatic fire that saves Alonzo from the Spanish Inquisition. But it gets brutally bogged down by Maturin's central conceit, which is that this sprawling work filled with literary references, including the somnambulist mutterings of a parricide which somehow still include references to the bible, will act as a profound ringing takedown of the Roman Catholic church in support of Protestantism. Now, in the interest of being upfront with my bias, as an apostate from the Catholic church, I'm all for acerbic critique, trenchant commentary, and maybe even some light slander toward the RCC. But in a bit of cruel irony, Maturin's critiques of the RCC, Islam, Hinduism, and Judaism, (a veritable world tour) fail to elevate the virtues of Protestantism and only effectively serve to demonstrate the absurdity of religion in general. Perhaps he should have taken a lesson from Aquinas's own attempts and realized that special pleading does not an argument make.
Leaving aside my own opinions, a personal motive doesn't ruin a narrative. Dante's Inferno is filled with name-dropping and vignettes of personal literary vengeance but it heightens the story and the drama rather than bringing it to a screeching halt. I'm not exaggerating, my copy of this book is ~700pgs and a full third of this book is basically Alonzo's personal story of mistreatment by a convent of ex-Jesuits which barely intersects with the core narrative. Just as much could have been accomplished without completely derailing the pacing. Immalee's reverse "I can show you the world" experience with Melmoth is no less overlong and overburdened with the anti-clerical messaging, but at least does a lot more to flesh out Melmoth himself. The stories about Stanton and Guzman are short and to the point and are worthwhile. It's Moncada's and to a slightly lesser degree Immalee's stories that occupy the bulk of the story while IMO contributing the least.
So, in conclusion, if you're a dork and love slow-meandering Gothic literature, it's worth a read if you're willing to grind, and/or if you're a completionist with a library mindset. Otherwise, this is quite a skippable book.
The longer discussion is that this book made me think of the movie Inception. Inception is about entering people's dreams to steal or implant information. Melmoth is about a man, the eponymous Melmoth, who sells his soul to the devil for extended life, gets buyer's remorse, and spends the time wandering trying to regift it.
What does a blockbuster from 2010 have in common with a classic Gothic novel from 1820? Well, they both use the notion of a nested narrative. Inception has nested dreams while Melmoth uses nested narratives to explore the Wanderer and his history. And in so doing, they both largely place the action inside of internal static spaces, be they layered dream spaces while on a plane, or in various stories most of which are conveyed during the convalescence or the hiding of Alonzo Moncada.
Also notable is that both works are overlong and are divided between a fascinating premise but get bogged down with a central preoccupation. Inception is basically a heist movie combined with the fantastical imagery available in a dreamscape but gets pointlessly tangled up in questions of how "real" reality is and what 'is' is.
Melmoth has fascinating moments of an infernal-adjacent peripatetic tempter with buyer's remorse who is hoping to cash in on others' FOMO. One early example is the record of him meeting Stanton in an insane asylum or the dramatic fire that saves Alonzo from the Spanish Inquisition. But it gets brutally bogged down by Maturin's central conceit, which is that this sprawling work filled with literary references, including the somnambulist mutterings of a parricide which somehow still include references to the bible, will act as a profound ringing takedown of the Roman Catholic church in support of Protestantism. Now, in the interest of being upfront with my bias, as an apostate from the Catholic church, I'm all for acerbic critique, trenchant commentary, and maybe even some light slander toward the RCC. But in a bit of cruel irony, Maturin's critiques of the RCC, Islam, Hinduism, and Judaism, (a veritable world tour) fail to elevate the virtues of Protestantism and only effectively serve to demonstrate the absurdity of religion in general. Perhaps he should have taken a lesson from Aquinas's own attempts and realized that special pleading does not an argument make.
Leaving aside my own opinions, a personal motive doesn't ruin a narrative. Dante's Inferno is filled with name-dropping and vignettes of personal literary vengeance but it heightens the story and the drama rather than bringing it to a screeching halt. I'm not exaggerating, my copy of this book is ~700pgs and a full third of this book is basically Alonzo's personal story of mistreatment by a convent of ex-Jesuits which barely intersects with the core narrative. Just as much could have been accomplished without completely derailing the pacing. Immalee's reverse "I can show you the world" experience with Melmoth is no less overlong and overburdened with the anti-clerical messaging, but at least does a lot more to flesh out Melmoth himself. The stories about Stanton and Guzman are short and to the point and are worthwhile. It's Moncada's and to a slightly lesser degree Immalee's stories that occupy the bulk of the story while IMO contributing the least.
So, in conclusion, if you're a dork and love slow-meandering Gothic literature, it's worth a read if you're willing to grind, and/or if you're a completionist with a library mindset. Otherwise, this is quite a skippable book.
h_berry0410's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
veronikarih's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
aurorepersy's review against another edition
5.0
“‘Fear nothing,’ he added, observing the agony and terror of his involuntary hearers—‘What have you to fear?’”
Awe-inspiring.
Awe-inspiring.
okenwillow's review against another edition
5.0
Gros pavé que voilà mais ô combien jouissif ! Monument du roman gothique, romantique et fantastique, le Melmoth de Maturin nous offre là une fresque recouvrant tous les aspects du mythe de Faust, du suppôt de Satan errant parmi les hommes. Dépaysant et complexe dans sa construction, ce roman a pour héros un personnage quasiment absent, dont chaque récit, écrits, rapportés, offre un nouveau décor, un nouveau thème. Les différents récits nous transportent des geôles de l’Inquisition aux jungles idylliques de l’Inde.
L’histoire de John Melmoth nous met dans l’ambiance, tandis que le récit suivant, L’histoire de Stanton, nous relate l’enfermement d’un innocent dans un asile d’aliéné, avant de nous plonger dans l’horreur avec Récit de l’espagnol, où un jeune aristocrate, destiné à la vie monacale par sa famille, tente de fuir sa triste condition. Un peu longue, cette histoire n’en est pas moins prenante, noire et violente, une dénonciation claire du fanatisme religieux. L’histoire des indiens confronte Melmoth à ses derniers penchants humains, le poussant, par la force de sa condition à corrompre l’amour, dont il fait d’ailleurs une description sublime et inattendue dans la bouche d’un tel personnage. Cette histoire est lumineuse et noire à la fois, l’espoir et l’innocence y côtoient la fatalité. Interrompue par L’histoire des amants, tragique et bouleversante, elle s’achève d’une manière cruelle et violente.
En bref, un roman multiple et un personnage aussi fascinant qu’absent, un style riche et jubilatoire, superbe. Un tour de force littéraire dont il est difficile de parler et qui me laisse béate d’admiration.
L’histoire de John Melmoth nous met dans l’ambiance, tandis que le récit suivant, L’histoire de Stanton, nous relate l’enfermement d’un innocent dans un asile d’aliéné, avant de nous plonger dans l’horreur avec Récit de l’espagnol, où un jeune aristocrate, destiné à la vie monacale par sa famille, tente de fuir sa triste condition. Un peu longue, cette histoire n’en est pas moins prenante, noire et violente, une dénonciation claire du fanatisme religieux. L’histoire des indiens confronte Melmoth à ses derniers penchants humains, le poussant, par la force de sa condition à corrompre l’amour, dont il fait d’ailleurs une description sublime et inattendue dans la bouche d’un tel personnage. Cette histoire est lumineuse et noire à la fois, l’espoir et l’innocence y côtoient la fatalité. Interrompue par L’histoire des amants, tragique et bouleversante, elle s’achève d’une manière cruelle et violente.
En bref, un roman multiple et un personnage aussi fascinant qu’absent, un style riche et jubilatoire, superbe. Un tour de force littéraire dont il est difficile de parler et qui me laisse béate d’admiration.