Melmoth the Wanderer (Penguin Classics)

Wonderful gothic fiction laced within Calvinist theology. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, every depiction of Melmoth was superb and his anti-life sermons were fabulous.

Among the best of the early goths, with a labrynthine plot structure, atmosphere to match the terror, and a memorable villain stalking through its pages. Its only flaws are that it drags a bit in certain sections and is a bit didactic.

Challenging read, but fascinating at the same time. A scathing criticism of catholicism, barely hidden by the story of Melmoth, a poor soul destined to wander the earth looking for someone to pass his curse on and allow him to pass away peacefully.
The structure of this novel is simply evil, with stories within stories within stories. I personally found the tale of the unwilling monk in the Spanish Inquisition times the best - truly horrifying at times.
I lost the plot in the Indian tale - especially during the dreadfully long passages between Melmoth and the soon-to-be Isidora. There are nonetheless fabulous ideas in this gothic novel, the form is however very difficult to follow.

They call it the greatest Gothic novel and Maturin's tale certainly has it all, from intricate talesof horror and romance nestled like tables within the plot, fabulous language and alternate landcapes.
Beginning with the ultimate Gothic introduction - a lonely journey across a windswept plain, the story switches narrators and locations, from Bedlam in London to Madrid and the prisons of the Spanish Inquisition, tropical islands in the Indian Ocean and dire moors in recounting the story of moral Judas Melmoth's struggle to reclaim his soul by enticing an innocent human to take his place as the Wanderer, first emissary of God or Satan.
Facts were the least important for Maturin's life's work, the utmost emphasis to detail comes not in the plot but in the situations and characters themselves, which span all society's class and creed from heretic jews to loyalist battleaxes, spiteful monks and the enemy of man himself.
The novel met with praise and disdain - English critic Coleridge denounced Maturin for blasphemy but French Balzac was so enchanted by Melmoth he wrote an appendix set in the vaudeville of Paris - but its completion was its only reward Maturin ever knew. He died in poverty a few years after its publication and never lived to see it reach the just title of Ireland's finest romance.
Expansive, thrilling and exhaustive, Melmoth is an arduous journey through the tempest of religious morality and human temper, wandering through a complex narration of many voices, peppered heavily with classic references and quotes.
Not for the faint-hearted or impatient, the ultimate reward of reading this novel is a mixed admiration for CRM's translation of his clergyman's imagination and the cold, lonely echo of loneliness all hearts dread.

More anti-Catholic propaganda than you can shake a stick at. By turns compelling and dull, the ending was great, but this has to be taken in large chunks or there's a danger it will never be finished at all.

This book still follows me around in the corners of my mind. A wonderful story within a story within a story set-up that takes you from the dark manors of Ireland through the center of Inquisition to the far reaches of India. (However, give it a hundred pages or so, because one of the first tales about a boy being forced into the priesthood was something of a snoozer...but after that...whoa nelly!)

errrrrr best book ever???? On my third read. Just cannot get enough.

I had disdained his taunts, I had defied and conqered his passion, but as he prayed, I wept

Not daring to lift up my eyes, lest their expression should speak without making language necessary.

And pretty much every other sentence of perfection!

Some brilliant moments followed by lots of tedious stuff. Still, a must-read for fans of the genre: killer monks, buried alive, the Spanish Inquisition, and hellish demon weddings are all served up in great Gothic style.

Nice reinterpretation of the Faust legend, worth a dull afternoon or two

terrific ! amazingly beautiful !