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A review by lland
Melmoth by Sarah Perry
3.75
I actually liked this book a lot more than I initially thought I would! I am a sucker for gothic style books and historical fiction though so this was def down my alley. Kind of had similar vibes to The Picture of Dorian Gray which gave it more points in my book. Loved the intertwining of different stories, I also really enjoyed Helen's character and her story. Overall the characters were not necessarily likeable but they were charming in a way, and they felt very human. The writing was lovely, it felt very literary and descriptive yet still had a nice flow and I didn't find myself getting bored by long descriptions or overly extravagant words.
I do wish the question of whether or not Melmoth was real was left with a more ambiguous answer, I think that would've been more impactful. Also, the Cairo Journal and the Testimony of Nameless and Hassan felt kind of unnecessary at the point in the plot at which they were inserted. I didn't dislike those stories themselves but I felt bored reading them because they didn't seem relevant whereas all the other Melmoth documents contributed much more to Helen's plot. The book was also predictable at parts but that didn't ruin my enjoyment of it too much. Overall I def liked this one, makes me want to read Sarah Perry's other books :)
I do wish the question of whether or not Melmoth was real was left with a more ambiguous answer, I think that would've been more impactful. Also, the Cairo Journal and the Testimony of Nameless and Hassan felt kind of unnecessary at the point in the plot at which they were inserted. I didn't dislike those stories themselves but I felt bored reading them because they didn't seem relevant whereas all the other Melmoth documents contributed much more to Helen's plot. The book was also predictable at parts but that didn't ruin my enjoyment of it too much. Overall I def liked this one, makes me want to read Sarah Perry's other books :)