Melmoth audiobook

Using the architecture of the Victorian Gothic novel, Perry weaves a tale that keeps one spellbound. Through letters, diaries and narrative, we are privy to encounters with a soul damned to walk the earth for eternity and bear witness to the secret evil we commit and the repercussions of our actions. Look closely! Inquisitive Jackdaws caw their questions, seed pearls fall like tears, feathers hint at movement from this world to the next and singing signals an imminent arrival. Highly literary, this magnificent novel explores the notions of intention, sin, guilt and redemption. Aren’t we all “prisoners of our own device”? A captivating and stunning achievement.

Melmoth by Sarah Perry is a 2018 Serpent’s Tale publication. I have not read ‘The Essex Serpent’ so I had no preset expectations for this book. The main draw for me was the advertised Gothic tone. The book delivers on that front, in spades! The folklore is exquisitely utilized in this crackling good tale of horror and suspense. Melmoth is a legendary figure said to have witnessed Christ’s resurrection, but then later denied the truth of what she saw. As such, she is now doomed to wander the earth in eternal loneliness, witnessing the dark deeds of humanity. Misery loves company, so Melmoth offers her hand to those at the crux of their darkest moments of despair, imploring them to join her. Helen Franklin, is an unassuming woman in her forties, working as a translator in Prague. Suddenly, her friend, Karel, hands her a manuscript describing encounters with Melmoth the Witness. The he suddenly disappears, and Helen begins to feel as though she’s being watched. As the story progresses, it becomes clear that our humble Helen Franklin is hiding a dark secret as she finds herself drawn into the fantastical tales of lore contained in the manuscript. Oh, my goodness! What a deep, heavy, atmospheric story!! This book is supposed to be based, at least in part, on the 1820 Irish Gothic novel ‘Melmoth the Wanderer’ written by Charles Maturin. I am only slightly familiar with the premise of that book, so obviously, it is not necessary to have read it in order to enjoy this book- although I am very interested in reading it someday. This is the type of story I can get lost in. It is a very creepy story that continually kept my nerves on edge. The setting and scenery couldn’t have been created a better atmosphere. The spine-tingling horror is delicious, but there is also an exploration of profound topics. The story is about seeing, witnessing and about accountability and redemption, with a conclusion that will knock your socks off. The writing is superb, capping off this finely layered deliciously chilling story!! 4 stars

Click here to watch a video review of this book on my channel, From Beginning to Bookend. A brooding atmosphere shrouded in mystery, enfolded with dark lore and stitched together with secrets. Melmoth speaks to our most shameful transgressions and the longing for redemption; it whispers and taunts and beckons with a crooked finger, drawing its audience on puppet strings to the final page where a haunting conclusion awaits. Look! A jackdaw - blue-eyed and black-winged - sits at the window, peck-peck-pecking at the glass . . . She came near and I smelt her then - sweet as lilies in summer, rotten as spoiled meat. [. . .] She came slowly to me and said nothing and then she fell to her knees at my feet. Her eyes hung in the bones of her face like spheres of smoky glass and they contained every wickedness imagined or acted on.* -*Note: Quote taken from an Advanced Reader Edition.

This is Sarah Perry’s first book since the much heralded “The Essex Serpent”. That book followed on from her debut novel “After Me Comes the Flood” and continued her style of writing a modern, water-based take on the English Gothic tradition.This her third book – continues her Gothic tradition as it is an explicit reimagining of the relatively little known Gothic novel – Melmoth the Wanderer (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melmoth...) in which the titular character sells his soul for an additional 150 years of life. However it is also very clearly influenced by two months that Perry spent in 2016 (between the completion and publication as a “writer-in-residence” at Prague and has broadened out her English focus.The book in fact opens in wintery Prague – a city that Perry conjours up brilliantly in the opening pages from “overhead the low clouds split, and the upturned bowl of a silver moon pours milk out on the River”, Christmas markets where “women from Hove and Hartlepool clasp paper cups of steaming wine” or a protagonist who “has never exchanged her money for a set of nesting dolls in the scarlet strip of an English football team” (which is more than can be said for this reviewer). Perry's ear for language and description continues throughout the book.Our main character is Helen Franklin – a 40 something Englishwomen living in Prague in self-imposed exile and asceticism (clearly due to some action 20 years previously for which she seems to be punishing herself). Helen is a translator from German to English although not of “Schiller .. [or] A New Edition of Sebald” but “An instruction manual for Bosch Power Tools”.(Although having said that Helen is our main character – the omniescent (perhaps more omnivient) narrator here is also a strong character, addressing the reader directly and particularly often drawing our attention to background scenes.)One of Helen’s two friends is Karel – a University researcher in a relationship with a retired English barrister Thea (who has recently suffered a stroke). Karel, normally an easy going character, tells Helen he is haunted by a document passed to him by an older man, Hoffman, that he met in the library, a document he passes to Helen and which is reproduced in the book, along with a number of other older documents sourced by Hoffman or Karel.The documents introduce us to the legendary folklore figure of Melmoth – here altered to be one of the witnesses in the Garden of Gethsemane but who having denied what she saw is “cursed to wander the earth without home or respite... always watching, always seeking out everything that’s most distressing and most wicked, in a world which is surpassingly wicked, and full of distress.” – praying on those who have committed terrible acts and trying to draw them into despair so that they agree to be her companions.And in turn we learn the stories of those that are haunted by Melmoth and the terrible secrets that a number of them committed in stories which take us from the Protestant Martyrs under Queen Mary, to the Turkish bureaucrats responsible for the Armenian genocide, to Nazi collaborators in World War II Prague and even to the deportation of refugees in present day England. We also find more about the incident that has haunted Helen.Perry herself has written about how she was suffering from severe pain mitigated by opiod drugs when writing this novel (https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...) and I was able to see a number of influences from this article in the book: most obviously the “highs” from her treatment clearly come out in the fantastical elements of the book – particularly the terrible black figure of Melmoth, materialising first as smoke and liquid, with a smell of lilies and decay; further pain is a recurring element of the book – either the pain inflicted on others by people’s acts – one of Melmoth’s signature techniques is to show her intended companions the terrible suffering of their companions – but also the fear of pain which induces those acts; but also her pre-pain admiration of Casaubon, his ascetic life and priggishness is reflected in the early character of Helen.As an aside, while Essex Serpent had many qualities I appreciated, my main criticism was that the “Cora character does not really convince as one so remarkable that all the others base their lives around hers.” By having such a fantastical central character, Perry cannot be accused of the same here.The themes of the book are clear. Firstly the depths to which humankind can and does sink, the individual actions as well as deliberate evasions which lead to and allow terrible suffering and injustice, the hidden secrets at the heart of many lives. But this dark message is also offset by a redemptive one: In the case of Hoffman of a single good action which goes some way to offset his single terrible one; For Karel the realisation that rather than the roles of Melmoth as first a false and then a condemning witness, and those of others who turned and still turn a blind eye to injustice, can instead be transformed into being an outspoken witness to injustice and a campaigner for reform; For Helen the hard won realisation that her own selfishness was offset by the self-sacrifice of another, a sacrifice she should have celebrated as a gift that was offered to her, rather than wallowing in her own self-condemnation and then the final acceptance that both self-forgiveness and forgiveness by those she wronged are possible.Overall while not a flawless book (the juxtaposition of gothic fantasy against 20th Century atrocity is a difficult balancing act which does not always quite succeed), this is a powerful one – one which I read in a single sitting but which I think will remain with me and one I expect to see on a number of prize lists over the coming months.

‘Melmoth the Witness is watching me !’Melmoth by Sarah Perry is her third book. It is a literary mix of gothic and horror.Helen is a plain, ordinary woman going about her life in Prague when her usually calm friend, Prof Karel, spots her on the way home from work and insist she accompany him to a bar. Here flustered and agitated, he pushes a battered leather folder he has been clutching towards her. He asks Helen in hushed tones ....... have you heard of Melmoth ? Melmoth is know as.....Melmoth the witness, the wandering woman, the punished one, the lonely one! After finishing this book I looked up the story and found the author has reworked a gothic classic by Charles Maturin, Melmoth the Wanderer...... He writes, ‘As a silent, lonely figure with bleeding feet stalks the guilty and conscience-racked, Melmoth provides a chilling portrait of life poised between absolution and the darkness that calls.’Overall I loved this book, there were times when I found it slow, but generally it was a eerie read that will stay with me long after I’ve finished.I also loved reading about Prague, a place a visited a few years ago around Christmas time and would love to go again when we are all free to travel. A solid 4 1/2 stars.

Translation widget on the blog!!!O carte intensă, captivantă, cu o atmosferă gotică, de-a dreptul lugubră. O poveste plină de mister și suspans, care ne vorbește despre mituri și legende. O colecție de povestiri reunite în acțiunea cărții ce o are în prim plan pe Helen și un document care o pune pe gânduri. O carte interesantă, dar nu la fel de bună precum Șarpele din Essex, după părerea mea.Recenzia mea completa o găsiți aici:https://www.delicateseliterare.ro/mel...

"Do you see her? Has she come?" "What sins do you have to confess?"This exquisitely woven novel is the story of individuals from different eras who were haunted; haunted by Melmoth or by things in their past? It is based on a novel written in 1820 by Charles Maturin.Beginning with Alice Benet in the 17C.,we meet a street beggar called Nameless and his brother Hassan during the Armenian genocide, Josef Hoffman in Nazi occupied Czechoslovakia, and Karel Prazan and Helen Franklin in modern day Prague. All meet Melmoth. All, with the exception of Alice, are burdened by former transgressions.. Is it that shadowy figure that haunts them?With all the embellishments of a gothic mystery, it is hard not to feel the impending danger, evil, and doom. Whether it is the lurking figure in black or the jackdaws sitting on every ledge or crashing into the windows, it is obvious Perry uses this much maligned bird symbolically. Legend from early Christianity claimed these birds were once white but took black plumage in mourning after the Crucifixion of Christ. (Melmoth was punished for her actions at the Crucifixion.) Once thought to be portents of death (among other things), jackdaws are attracted to bright objects. Hitler had the nickname "the jackdaw of Linz" due to his art-theft campaign. Sarah Perry deftly uses the omnipresent jackdaw to build suspense, often while beautifully detailing historic buildings and areas of Prague.Recently science has determined that guilt can have disastrous consequences on our health. But the baggage of guilt has been known for centuries. Plautus, a B.C. Roman playwright said, "Nothing is more wretched than the mind of man conscious of guilt." Shakespeare also had much to say about guilt. "They whose guilt within their bosom lies, imagine every eye beholds their blame." He also said, "The mind of guilt is full of scorpions."Sarah Perry is not only writing about personal guilt but also the collective culpability of humanity. Melmoth is not just malevolent, she is that which reminds us of our better selves. We can face our transgressions and change our life, both on a personal level and as a nation and world.The Essex Serpent showed Perry is an excellent writer; Melmoth reveals her brilliance. This buddy read with Paula is one of my favorite books so far this year."Do you see there- beyond the shining window, coming down the steps; coming over the road, the tram tracks, the gleaming cobblestones; coming closer, with a steady implacable tread, with a head withdrawn inside a soft black hood, a watchful figure at the door?"

Sarah Perry's third novel takes the structure, and many of the stylistic flourishes, of 18th-century gothic fiction and wraps them around a mostly modern story which incorporates narratives set in 17th-century Britain, early 20th-century Turkey and WWII-era Europe. The central, connecting tale takes place in present-day Prague, where dowdy translator Helen Franklin – self-condemned to a frugal and uncomfortable life for reasons initially unknown to the reader – finds herself unwillingly thrust into a mysterious dilemma. Her friend Karel is troubled. He tells Helen an elderly academic of his acquaintance, Josef Hoffman, has suddenly passed away, leaving him in possession of a folder of documents relating to someone called Melmoth – 'she who watches'. When Karel himself disappears, this dossier passes to Helen, and to us.Melmoth (also known as Melmotka, Melmat, and other variations on the name) is a fearsome spectre. Her roots are biblical: after denying the resurrection, she was cast out and cursed to walk the earth alone. She is the unseen witness to her victims' darkest, most pitiful moments, their most shameful deeds. At their lowest ebb, she will hold out her hand and implore them to join her. In the folder, we learn of Hoffman's own encounter with the monster, via an account of his youth in Nazi-occupied Prague. We also find her in the letters, journals and stories of others throughout history. Meanwhile, Helen faces up to her own demons, and we will eventually learn the secret she has spent twenty years trying to outrun.As a figure of myth, legend and folklore, Melmoth is incredibly successful – I looked up the name not once but several times, online and in the books I own about fable and mythology, finding it difficult to believe 'Melmoth the Witness' didn't have roots somewhere other than Sarah Perry's imagination. The character is, her origins are, so rich and complex that it took me some time to accept that (as ridiculous as this seems when I write it down, since it's the entire concept of any novel after all) Perry just... made it all up.When I read Perry's breakout second novel, The Essex Serpent, I was a little disappointed that the titular serpent didn't have a bigger role to play in the story. No such problem afflicts Melmoth, which basks in the decadence afforded by its gothic trappings. A scene in which Helen and friends go to the opera is portrayed with description so lucid it creates almost cinematic visuals; the image of an impossibly held note, pearls frozen mid-fall, audience turning en masse, is still stuck in my head. I had guessed something about someone (no spoilers) before it was revealed, but the reveal is nonetheless spectacular in all its dark drama. Throughout, the atmosphere is powerful and palpable, and Prague comes alive in frozen splendour.The worst I can say about Melmoth is a criticism that was also levelled at The Essex Serpent: that it too obviously incorporates modern political perspectives into historical narratives. For the most part (as in Serpent) these elements are tightly woven in – the research and detail too good for them to actually seem unrealistic – but there were a few moments when I felt they came off as slightly preachy. I sometimes grew tired of the florid style of Helen's narrative, too (it can be a bit much in large doses) and couldn't quite believe in Arnel's actions towards the end.As I write about Melmoth now, though, these few minor irritations are fading into insignificance as I think about the book's many strengths. In true gothic tradition it encompasses romance and death, religion and horror; it is both charming and chilling. Perry's best, in my opinion, is still her debut After Me Comes the Flood, which remains a close-to-my-heart personal favourite – but what will matter to most readers is whether or not Melmoth is as good as The Essex Serpent. In my opinion it's significantly better.I also really, really, really (really!) want to go to Prague in winter now.I received an advance review copy of Melmoth from the publisher through Edelweiss.TinyLetter | Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr

Brilliant story of redemption and self-loathing with huge Gothic vibes. Various historic events meet in exotic Prague. I definitely enjoyed it better than The Essex Serpent

There’s something so invitingly intoxicating about the way Sarah Perry blends the tone of classic Victorian literature with a modern sensibility. Her previous novel “The Essex Serpent” was actually set in the Victorian era and new novel “Melmoth” is set roughly in present-day Prague. But they both employ a self-conscious authorial control over the narrative that contemplates many moral questions while (most importantly) telling a riveting gothic-inflected story at the same time. “Melmoth” centres around the story of Helen Franklin, an English woman with a guilty secret working as a translator of mundane manuals in the Czech Rep. But the novel also includes many fictional documents from the past detailing Nazi occupations and the forced migration of different ethnicities. All these accounts are tied together with occasional sightings of a figure called Melmoth, a dark-clad woman with bleeding feet who legend claims roams the Earth for eternity seeking to assuage her piteous loneliness. As Helen surveys these documents from different cultures about individuals who make dubious choices in times of political unrest, she gradually confronts her own past and the possibility that Melmoth is now pursuing her. Perry creates a menacing sense of atmosphere filled with unsettling natural phenomena and things which seem to be lurking in the shadows just out of sight. Read my full review of Melmoth by Sarah Perry on LonesomeReader

"Oh, my friend, won't you take my hand? I've been so lonely!"Helen Franklin is a quiet and unassuming women, but this placid exterior is a self-imposed one she uses as a sort of self-inflicted purgatory to resides inside of. This purgatory allows her a measure of escape from the past mistakes that haunt her but these long-buried secrets prove never far from the surface when a mysterious manuscript appears and demands Helen to confront not only the horrors of her own past, but also of history's.This book appealed to all my Gothic sensibilities and listening to the audio, whilst reading along with the physical edition, provided an extra creepy reading experience. I was fully enraptured throughout and went through the entire spectrum of emotions whilst reading it. The lyrical writing was sublime and Perry perfectly encapsulated the sorrow and suspense of the proceedings.

“All my life, I’ve wanted to write a great monster — my Frankenstein or Dracula — but I wanted mine to be a woman.” That’s a sourced quote from Sarah Perry, who, in writing Melmoth, imagines a cursed female monster who wanders the earth in eternal loneliness without home or respite, always seeking out everything that’s most distressing and most wicked. But is Melmoth real? Or is she us?In The Essex Serpent, surely one of my favorite contemporary books of all time, Sarah Perry explored the chasm between faith and rationality, focusing on whether faith is a form of antique superstition. That book was enchanting and ultimately uplifting; this one decidedly is not. Although the theme is similar, Ms. Perry plunges the reader into a world of despair, from an Ottomon bureaucrat who eschews his moral obligation in World War I to a jealous child who betrays his friends in World War II to—in a prescient move—the demonization of the refugee. The reader cannot help but sense the tendrils of Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, Daphne du Maurier or Henry James in the grim atmospheric settings and the intensified feeling of foreboding. The bulwark of the book is the meek Helen Franklin, an English translator residing in modern day Prague, who is the recipient of a disturbing document and who ultimately begins to believe she is in Melmoth’s crosshairs. We know she has somehow sinned but we don’t know how.And so the book functions as an outstanding addition to Gothic literature that chafes against realism. Yet it also – and for me, more rewardingly – is a sort of morality tale. As one character states: “There is no Melmoth, there is nobody watching, there is only us. And if there is only us, we must do what Melmoth would do: we must be seen – bear witness to what must not be forgotten.” It makes each of us peer into our soul and ask ourselves: am I a fraud or imposter? Do I have the courage to bear witness? Or will I take Melmoth’s hand when she says, “Won’t you take my hand? I’m so lonely!”

I need to wait on this to write a review. It was a good read, however there were untidy things in it.I loved the overall stand of the story. We are all Melmoths. Witnessing, watching, doing nothing. Review soon...

Spellbinding, mesmerising and very atmospheric, Melmoth was quite unique. The writing was sublime, so much so I didn't mind the supernatural, fairytale-like aspect of it, in the form of Melmoth the Witness, an obscure legend found in folklore and legends. Through Melmoth and our main character, Hellen, a British ex-pat living in Prague, we hear the stories of different people, from different eras, all bowed down by their shame and regret. Perry's beautiful writing style soothed and impressed me, so imaginative and intensely descriptive but it didn't feel like an exercise in creative writing. I've had The Essex Serpent on my kindle for a while, after reading this, I'm keen to read it sooner rather than later.I'm convinced that Emilia Fox' divine narration contributed a great deal to my overall enjoyment of this beautiful novel.