"The dark spectre of Melmoth takes you by the hand and makes you bear witness to the dark and mysterious in this thrilling and creepy story."
This book is Melmoth. It's pages reach out, take you by the hand and walks you through each of the character's lives, making you bear witness to moral complexities navigated by each character. The Interweaving narratives introduced with the strange manuscript bound me to this book and didn't release me until the final page. I still feel the tingle on the back of my neck - like the book is nearby, watching and waiting...
Sarah Perry's writing is a lesson in the mastery of the English language, with the poetic fluidity of the River Elbe. Although this book is rather demure, it packs a real punch and manages to combine history, folklore and morality to create a thrilling allegory of ignorance and narrow sightedness.
| Primary Genre | Modern and Contemporary Fiction |
| Other Genres: | |
| Recommendations: |
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Sarah Perry's beautiful writing ensnares you with the tale of Helen, a translator living in modern-day Prague who uncovers the myth of Melmoth via letters and diary extracts from across the centuries. Sleep well...
Twenty years ago Helen Franklin did something she cannot forgive herself for, and she has spent every day since barricading herself against its memory. But her sheltered life is about to change.
A strange manuscript has come into her possession. It is filled with testimonies from the darkest chapters of human history, which all record sightings of a tall, silent woman in black, with unblinking eyes and bleeding feet: Melmoth, the loneliest being in the world. Condemned to walk the Earth forever, she tries to beguile the guilty and lure them away for a lifetime wandering alongside her.
Everyone that Melmoth seeks out must make a choice: to live with what they've done, or be led into the darkness. Helen can't stop reading or shake the feeling that someone is watching her. As her past finally catches up with her, she too must choose which path to take.
Exquisitely written, and gripping until the very last page, this is a masterpiece of moral complexity, asking us profound questions about mercy, redemption, and how to make the best of our conflicted world.
Melmoth features in the following genres: Modern and Contemporary Fiction, Books of the Month, Crime and Mystery, eBooks of the Month, General Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Recommendations
Melmoth is available in Paperback, Hardback, Ebook
Melmoth was written by Sarah Perry and published by Serpent's Tail an imprint of Profile Books Ltd
Melmoth has 270 pages
£8.09
