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laurenjpegler 's review for:
Melmoth
by Sarah Perry
This was so boring, oh my god.
I felt like nothing actually happened in this novel? I was constantly thrown back and forth between people's histories. I couldn't make out why I was being told about certain people because they just didn't seem to fit in the wider story (Karel, for example, why was he there?). It was so jumpy.
The very last two pages, where Perry drops that bombshell, were the only riveting part of the book. Truly. I didn't expect it. I thought it was a nice twist. I also like the fact that she wrote Melmoth as an original tale. Charles Maturin wasn't the one who created the figure, he was inspired by it instead. I thought it pretty good for Perry to claim this as her own - it added something to the story.
But, as I said, so boring. Helen was such a pointless character - her backstory was a little interesting, but didn't actually add anything to her characterisation. Thea and Karel, I feel like were pointless, as was the woman Helen flat shared with. I just didn't get it. It wasn't centred around one person, but constantly jumped between people, and Melmoth hardly appeared at all.
I was so hyped for this book after listening to Sarah Perry talk about it at my uni's literature festival, but, man, I am so disappointed. I honestly can't bring myself to rate higher than a one star.
I felt like nothing actually happened in this novel? I was constantly thrown back and forth between people's histories. I couldn't make out why I was being told about certain people because they just didn't seem to fit in the wider story (Karel, for example, why was he there?). It was so jumpy.
The very last two pages, where Perry drops that bombshell, were the only riveting part of the book. Truly. I didn't expect it. I thought it was a nice twist. I also like the fact that she wrote Melmoth as an original tale. Charles Maturin wasn't the one who created the figure, he was inspired by it instead. I thought it pretty good for Perry to claim this as her own - it added something to the story.
But, as I said, so boring. Helen was such a pointless character - her backstory was a little interesting, but didn't actually add anything to her characterisation. Thea and Karel, I feel like were pointless, as was the woman Helen flat shared with. I just didn't get it. It wasn't centred around one person, but constantly jumped between people, and Melmoth hardly appeared at all.
I was so hyped for this book after listening to Sarah Perry talk about it at my uni's literature festival, but, man, I am so disappointed. I honestly can't bring myself to rate higher than a one star.