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Loading... The Meaning of Night (2006)by Michael Cox
  
While I really enjoyed the story and the descriptions of Victorian life and society I did not like any of the characters, none of them had any redeeming features so I really didn't care if they got the ending that they wanted or if any of them ended up dead. (  ) KarenDuff | Jun 1, 2016 |  I didn't previously write a review of this book, but it's not because I didn't like it. In fact, I've decided to add it to my favorites list, as it made quite an impression. I enjoyed the style of writing. I see in the other reviews that people said they saw what was going to happen a long time before it did. I think that's part of the beauty of the style. It's like the proverbial situation of being able to see an accident that's going to happen and not being able to do anything about it. Also, knowing those involved don't know what's coming - how will they react? The other strong impression I have is despite the fact the author laid out the flaws of his main character Edward Glyver right from the start, (he's killing someone in the first scene - and there are other negatives too!), I found myself hoping he would avoid his fate! I found myself marvelling at that. Why should I be in his corner? Yes, he had things to be upset about but his response to them was to turn into a vindictive person, and to let that rule his life. I didn't like him, and yet I didn't want him to fall into the trap. I'll definitely re-read this at some point. I would love to listen to this book as an audio book, but do not see an audio edition yet available. (  ) KylaS | Feb 18, 2016 | I listened to the audio version of this novel. Sometimes I wanted to jump through the speakers and shake Edward! He is the most dislikable protagonist but, as I had been warned I would do, I rooted for him the whole way. (  ) bjoelle5 | Feb 10, 2016 | A Victorian thriller. Interesting confessional about a thwarted heir. Good read. ( ) Laurochka | Feb 6, 2016 | Didn't like this as much as I hoped I would, but it was worth the read... I can't disagree with the numerous reviews that mention it could have been a hundred or two pages shorter and not lost anything, but it was still interesting enough to enjoy... not the best historical-fiction-gothic-mystery-type book i've ever read, but not the worst. ( ) BooksForDinner | Jan 27, 2016 |
 "But The Meaning of Night is by no means a sensational Victorian pastiche. It is substandard, ersatz hokum. The only way to stay the course of its 600 pages is to treat the over-egged writing as tenaciously tongue-in-cheek."  "It works on many different levels, being satisfyingly thrilling without the "deadly nullification" of thought and language so attendant on most thrillers (especially Da Vinci Code imitators) ...." "Although a weighty 700 pages, the story is unfailingly suspenseful."  "The Meaning of Night is a gripping adventure story about a man’s thirst for revenge on the nemesis who has stolen his birthright. It is extraordinary because its literary influences are not only obvious, but integral." Instead he is eager to use words like vouchsafe as liberally as possible, so that “The Meaning of Night” has the ornate, curlicued linguistic niceties of a Dickensian period piece. Such affectations have the potential to be either voluptuously pleasing (as they were in Michel Faber’s “Crimson Petal and the White” and Sarah Dunant’s “In the Company of the Courtesan”) or arduously contrived (Elizabeth Kostova’s “Historian”). But in Mr. Cox’s version they are oddly colorless.
Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0393330346, Paperback)The atmosphere of Bleak House, the sensuous thrill of Perfume, and the mystery of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell all combine in a story of murder, deceit, love, and revenge in Victorian England. "After killing the red-haired man, I took myself off to Quinn's for an oyster supper." So begins the "enthralling" (Booklist, starred review) and "ingenious" (Boston Globe) story of Edward Glyver, booklover, scholar, and murderer. As a young boy, Glyver always believed he was destined for greatness. A chance discovery convinces him that he was right: greatness does await him, along with immense wealth and influence. Overwhelmed by his discovery, he will stop at nothing to win back a prize that he knows is rightfully his. Glyver's path to reclaim his prize leads him from the depths of Victorian London, with its foggy streets, brothels, and opium dens, to Evenwood, one of England's most beautiful and enchanting country houses, and finally to a consuming love for the beautiful but enigmatic Emily Carteret. His is a story of betrayal and treachery, of death and delusion, of ruthless obsession and ambition. And at every turn, driving Glyver irresistibly onward, is his deadly rival: the poet-criminal Phoebus Rainsford Daunt. The Meaning of Night is an enthralling novel that will captivate readers right up to its final thrilling revelation. (retrieved from Amazon Thu, 12 Mar 2015 18:12:20 -0400) Convinced that he is destined for great wealth, power, and influence, Edward Glyver will do anything to reclaim a prize that is rightfully his, including a showdown with his rival, poet-criminal Phoebus Rainsford Daunt. |
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