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vasha's review against another edition
I really don't know what to make of this book. It's two tales, the first, "Domnei", is a depiction of the soul of Melicent whose love, in the face of reason, time, trouble, uncertainty, and absence, remained purely unchanging. For this diverse men worship her (worship is to be taken literally). Cabell thought the whole thing ridiculous (with a sort of "and yet.. it's rather splendid" in the background). He claims that there were once men who believed that such a soul as Melicent's could exist, and would believe that the woman they loved (i.e. worshiped) was just the same. I don't know quite why he wrote this story, in part he seems to just be reveling in writing high-flown speeches. And it may be for an equally obscure motive of amusement that he surrounded his pseudo-romance with an elaborate apparatus of pseudo-scholarship.
The second tale, "The Music from Behind the Moon", is a very different fable, quite pleasant to read, about a musician seeking the source of unearthly music that fills him with doubt and discontent while he writes complacently optimistic songs to improve the lives of other people.
The second tale, "The Music from Behind the Moon", is a very different fable, quite pleasant to read, about a musician seeking the source of unearthly music that fills him with doubt and discontent while he writes complacently optimistic songs to improve the lives of other people.
strath's review against another edition
4.0
James Branch Cabell is an American treasure. "Domnei" is one of his best. A wry, ironic, sardonic and witty fantasy that explores the nature of woman's effect on men and on the meanings of "Love" and lust.
Domnei is an adult, wicked, and subversive story of the bitter feud between a knight, Perion, and evil Demetrios for the love of beautiful and pure Melicent. Read to see if you don't gain empathy for the urbane villain as the two men learn to respect each other as adversaries. Read to see if Melicent can survive the curse of being beautiful and wanted so badly and so tragically. Read to discover the many layers beneath the surface of the story.
Cabell is among the first writers of speculative fiction and fantasy. He was admired by writers such as Mark Twain, Sinclair Lewis, and H. L. Mencken. He influenced the work of many more including James Blish, Jack Vance, Robert A. Heinlein, Neil Gaiman.
Treat yourself to a fun read that will stay with you and reveal itself to you long after you put it down.
Domnei is an adult, wicked, and subversive story of the bitter feud between a knight, Perion, and evil Demetrios for the love of beautiful and pure Melicent. Read to see if you don't gain empathy for the urbane villain as the two men learn to respect each other as adversaries. Read to see if Melicent can survive the curse of being beautiful and wanted so badly and so tragically. Read to discover the many layers beneath the surface of the story.
Cabell is among the first writers of speculative fiction and fantasy. He was admired by writers such as Mark Twain, Sinclair Lewis, and H. L. Mencken. He influenced the work of many more including James Blish, Jack Vance, Robert A. Heinlein, Neil Gaiman.
Treat yourself to a fun read that will stay with you and reveal itself to you long after you put it down.
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