3 stars for Maturin, 2 stars at most for Sage
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First, a huge caveat for prospective buyers. This isn't really a Faustian novel. What it is (judging purely by volume) is a satire of Catholic monks. As far as that goes, it's an extremely well-written satire, but unless you feel strongly about Catholic monks, the point of the satire might seem somewhat blunted. The tragic aspects work much better, although a deeper insight into Melmoth himself (he comes across as a one-dimensional bogeyman-with-a-sinister-mirthless-laugh) would have strengthened the novel immensely. Let's face it, the real attraction of Faustian fiction is the Faustian character, and Melmoth is a sideliner in his own book. Victor Sage's notes range from helpful elucidations of obscure references to (far too many) irritating explications of the "multiple layering of the text" --- as if anybody really cares about such nitpicking academic twaddle. Seriously, Sage's primary concern is the "fracturing of narrative," not the worth of the story itself. He's symptomatic of That Type of literary critic who leaves his piece strewn like a disassmbled Swiss watch that will never run again.
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"He will certainly be damned-"...
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Melmoth was presented with an oppurtunity perhaps a bargain to "...go conquering and to conquer,..." the world ageless and omnipotent for 150 years. However, at the end of this hourglass, like Faust, he must enter the folds of his dealer. Melmoth the wanderer is a cursed man. He hasn't choices yet chooses. Maturin holds mirrors at the world reflecting vertiginous glimpses of beauty, injustice, greed, malice, and fear somehow marrying them all. Melmoth is a questioner and his actions are the answers. Convolutions are real. Beliefs wed and divorce. Men fear what they consist. A vast novel well worth the read. Alchemic, Poe, the sea, olive green winds...
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Melmoth - The Anti-Quixote
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Maturin's "Melmoth the Wanderer" is a brilliantly constructed work of gothic fiction. One hundred years after Jonathan Swift, Maturin takes up his Irish predecessor's gift for harsh, even malevolent satire against any and all offenders - organized religion, government, lovers, warriors - even making broad, devastating comments on humanity in general. Maturin and his characters are quick to point out that this is not 'Radcliffe-romance' gothic, in the direct style of works like "The Mysteries of Udolpho". They are right. Rather than the seemingly landscape-obsessed, rationalistic Radcliffe, Maturin takes his direct gothic influences from the claustrophobic psychological terrors of Godwin's "Caleb Williams," Lewis' "The Monk," and M.W. Shelley's "Frankenstein." Unlike "The Monk," however, Maturin's novel does not rely heavily on Lewis' supernatural machinery (ghosts, demons, bleeding nuns, etc.). Instead, he offers several apparently unconnected stories that concentrate on families in desperate straits and individuals in extreme crises, pushing the limits of man's inhumanity to man. The connecting element, the wild card with the wild eyes, that pops up just when the characters most/least need him, is Melmoth the Wanderer. "Melmoth" also draws heavily from Cervantes' "Don Quixote," which provides a great point of comparison for the main character. Where Don Quixote was a wandering knight, pledged to help the helpless, Melmoth is a wandering agent of evil, whose mission is to prey on the helpless. Melmoth has 150 years to tempt the indigent and desperate into selling their souls for wealth, power, or simple relief, and trading places with him. Again looking backward to "Quixote" and forward to Stoker's "Dracula," "Melmoth" is also heavily concerned with it's own construction as a text. The various stories are pieced together by eyewitnesses, interviewers, and ancient manuscripts, often at several removes from their originals. There is even one gentleman in the novel who is collecting material to write a book about Melmoth the Wanderer. This is not a book for everyone. Maturin often provides almost excessively long preludes before any action occurs in his nested narratives. The traumas he inflicts on Melmoth's targets can drive you to the point of insanity yourself. However, if you are a admirer of the psychological thriller without all the show of your standard gothic-terror text, "Melmoth the Wanderer" is sure to keep you busy for days, if not weeks.
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Defend or damn Melmoth for yourself
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Maturin's novel relates the story of Melmoth, a scholar who traded his soul to Infernal powers in return for answers to all of his questions about the Universe. He has 100 extra years to live; in that time, if he can find someone to volunteer to take his place in Hell, he is free. Otherwise, at the end of the 100 years, Melmoth will be damned. Melmoth the Wanderer is a Gothic novel in the highest tradition of the Romantic period. It's structure, however, makes it unique. It folds in upon itself, beginning with the present and ending with the future, but somewhere in between moving progressively backwards as the narrator tries to unlock the secrets of Melmoth's life, just as Melmoth tried to unlock the secrets of the Universe. The characters, Melmoth, Emmalee, the many Jews who help Melmoth, are beautifully written and engaging. The novel is worth reading for Maturin's virtuoso touch with structure alone, but also for the wonderful touches and passages, particularly where Melmoth struggles with his conscience and reveals that even fiends have a soul. The novel questions what it means to search for knowledge, to have a family, to be in love, and to accept responsibility for your own fate. Melmoth the Wanderer asks questions about why mercy is so hard to find, why supposedly pious people often cause the most suffering, and what it might take to redeem a minion of Hell. An ambiguous ending caps off the novel and allows you to answer these questions for yourself.
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The best Gothic novel ever written
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"Melmoth the Wanderer" is a tour de force of Gothicism, however, the psychological profundity of each character distinguishes this novel from typical examples of the genre. The multi-layered narrative, while occasionally confusing, is worth the concentration as Maturin weaves a complex and gripping tale. Of particular interest is the Tale of the Indian, which is concerned with the influence of Melmoth over Immalee, an innocent girl, alone on an Indian island. The description of her innocence is magnificent in its simplicity and effectiveness. An absolutely astounding, challenging and exciting book.
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