The best word that I have for this book is "banal." In the right hands, this could have been a horror book that featured interesting characters overcoThe best word that I have for this book is "banal." In the right hands, this could have been a horror book that featured interesting characters overcoming or succumbing to Melmoth, the cursed wanderer who is doomed to live forever and bear witness to humankind's darkest moments. But Melmoth isn't very scary, the stakes are unclear, and the characters are so awfully boring that this book is a chore. I think the characters are boring on purpose, too, which means that we're witnessing "the worst" of humankind through regular old apathy, played out by the dreariest set of people imaginable. I suppose this may be realistic, but it's also tedious.
I would definitely skip this book unless you really loved Sarah Perry's first book and want to give this a shot. I think you will be able to tell if you like the writing and/or the plot in the first 50 pages or so. But be forewarned: this is also a secret World War II book!! There's a story within the story about a German boy growing up in Prague during WWII. I am generally uninterested in WWII novels and extremely uninterested in mediocre and/or bad WWII novels. Your mileage may vary.
- It is extremely Old Testament God to condemn a woman to walk the earth for eternity for lying.
- I never bought the friendship between Thea, Helen, and Karel, particularly because Helen refuses to offer anything up about herself or hold a conversation. Are they really so hard up for English speakers in Prague?
- I guess I'm a cynical monster but I can't believe that we were able to cover World War II and the present immigration crisis in one novel. On one hand I like that the book calls for us to witness what others will not, but on the other it just felt so on the nose that I throw up my hands at it.
- Melmoth was never scary, ever. It seems like the times that she appears to people they are able to have a dialogue - they aren't terrified out of their wits - so why does Josef Hoffman die screaming? Are we supposed to infer that he chooses to go with Melmoth, at the end? What does it even mean to go with Melmoth? To ensure your own damnation? I didn't understand any of the "choices" presented here.
- I have refrained from writing about Helen because she was sooooooo boring. Let me go on the record to say that the sin of Helen Franklin was predictably banal (my favorite word when describing this book) and that I can't imagine condemning someone for assisting a brutally mutilated woman in finding resting peace. Pretty messed up that she allows Arnel to take the rap, but it's also stupid that Arnel shows up in Prague at the end. In fairness I was skimming by this point, so I may have missed something.
- I was never able to sink into the atmosphere of Prague because I found sections of the book too wordy and the underlying premise too silly. That's unfortunate because it's clear that Sarah Perry loves Prague in winter. (hide spoiler)]...more
I really, really liked this book, which follows a fifteenth-century village priest in the days after the mysterious death of one of his congregation, I really, really liked this book, which follows a fifteenth-century village priest in the days after the mysterious death of one of his congregation, Thomas Newman. It's broken up into four sections for the four days before Lent, but you read the days backwards, starting on Tuesday and working back in time to Saturday. This is the rare case where the first-person narration and the structure of the book work seamlessly together to create a compelling story. Our protagonist, Father John Reve, offers a convincing argument near the end of his tale as to why this reverse timeline was necessary. It's certainly possible to find it gimmicky, but I was so drawn into the writing, the characters, and the slow reveal of the cause of death that it worked for me.
Father John Reve tells us the story from his vantage point as guardian of the parish's souls. Oakham is in a difficult spot with the death of Newman - who owned much of the land in the village - because the neighboring monks are looking over at Oakham's land and the village's natural protector, the bishop, is in jail. This puts some pressure on Reve to find out the exact cause of Newman's death, though he's also dealing with his feelings about his sister, who's moved out after getting married. And Reve and Newman were friends, with Newman a worldly man who thinks that one might be able to speak to God without the intervention of a priest (nearly heretical), and Reve the religious foil who's trying to bridge the gap between leading the village spiritually and in matters of business. If the role of the priest is to lead the parish, then shouldn't he be trying to improve their lot, too?
From reading other reviews, it looks like there are some historical inaccuracies. I'm by no means an expert on fifteenth-century England and the comment that Reve should have (view spoiler)[thought more about suicide as a mortal sin (hide spoiler)] is definitely valid. What really drew me into the book was the exploration of Reve's role as the priest. Looking at Christianity in 1491 is looking into a warped mirror, where the villagers' top concern is if Newman died shriven, or if he at least saw the mural of St. Christopher the same day (since that will speed him through purgatory, naturally, and save him some torment). Reve worries about if Newman needed to see the mural, or just look at it, and it's these questions ultimately leading to deeper moral quandaries that I found fascinating, and explored in an interesting way. Reve is the best person to lead us through the village's grief. (view spoiler)[The push and pull between Reve and Newman is revealed gradually and is tantalizing. Reve has to believe that he will be lighter in the boat - but Newman understands both that the town needs their priest to be lighter and that he might need a little help. Is he a man, or a man of God? Is Sarah Spenser there to "test" him? If Reve can twist everything to be a sign, if Sarah's fever is about him, then can we trust anything that he's told us throughout the book? (hide spoiler)] It's not that he's unreliable - it's that he's fully realized and has a real perspective that drives the plot of the book.
Anyway, all of this makes me want to reread this book soon, which is a plus in my opinion but may be a negative for someone else. I will be thinking about this for awhile....more
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