Define Books In Pursuance Of The Meaning of Night (The Meaning of Night #1)
| Original Title: | The Meaning of Night: A Confession |
| ISBN: | 0393062031 (ISBN13: 9780393062038) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | The Meaning of Night #1 |
| Literary Awards: | Costa Book Award Nominee for First Novel (2006) |
Michael Cox
Hardcover | Pages: 703 pages Rating: 3.71 | 8719 Users | 1076 Reviews
Ilustration As Books The Meaning of Night (The Meaning of Night #1)
Convinced he is destined for greatness, Glyver will stop at nothing to win back a prize that he knows is rightfully his. A story of betrayal and treachery, of death and delusion, of ruthless obsession and ambition.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 extraordinary 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.
Specify Regarding Books The Meaning of Night (The Meaning of Night #1)
| Title | : | The Meaning of Night (The Meaning of Night #1) |
| Author | : | Michael Cox |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 703 pages |
| Published | : | September 17th 2006 by W. W. Norton Company |
| Categories | : | Historical. Historical Fiction. Fiction. Mystery. Victorian. Gothic |
Rating Regarding Books The Meaning of Night (The Meaning of Night #1)
Ratings: 3.71 From 8719 Users | 1076 ReviewsJudgment Regarding Books The Meaning of Night (The Meaning of Night #1)
Perusing Goodreads or Amazon reviews written by readers ( not only about this book but about many others), I came to the conclusion that people sometimes dont know why there is a scale from one to five stars as they easily give books one star (if they didnt like something in the book not considering its other aspects) and five stars (if they enjoyed it even if it didnt deserve that five star rating). So I am in awe with some one star reviews I came across about this book: ok, I agree that theMichael Cox's The Meaning of Night is fantastic. It mixes the Victorian novel with the noir crime thriller to make for a completely engrossing reading experience.While the story never leaves England, it has an epic feel. It follows the cursed life of Edward Glyver from birth in Dorset to troubled academic career to fixer for a London law firm. The tortuous path allows Cox to describe a wide range of English scenes from the hellish London to the idyllic Evenwood, home to Glyver's greatest enemy.
Fellow not-so-gentle readers ripped this book a new one. Why? Mainly because it was "long". This seems to be a very common complaint in our contemporary culture. Everyone cries out for an editor. We seem to prefer our prose tight and terse and conveying "just enough".This is another reason why my tastes are so helplessly out of my time. I enjoy wallowing in description. I actually don't mind if the author runs on a bit (or even more than a bit) if the story grabs me. In the case of this title I
Not only is this as "intelligent as it is beguiling", to paraphrase The New York Times review, but it is geniusly plotted. The opening of Edward killing a complete stranger in order to find out if he is capable of the act of murder, so that he may kill his lifes long enemy, not just pulls you into the narrative it curls its finger around your collar and drags you in. As the story then slowly moves back through Edwards history, somehow Cox makes him a man we are not replused by. We forget Edwards
I absolutely loathed this book up until the last few pages.Its a Victorian mystery/suspense, but the suspense is clunky. ie: the protag meets with someone who can answer the giant mystery. The protag hears half the story, but right when it is getting to the good stuff, the visitor announces it is late and that the protag should visit him tomorrow. On the way home the visitor is killed Stringing things along This happened a number of times and was annoying rather than suspenseful. Everyone seemed
Dani asked me why I gave this three stars, so instead of pulling out the reading journals I've been keeping since 2000, I reread it. The book is a great homage to the Victorian thriller that Cox had long edited and admired. What I found distracting were the footnotes.The novel is one of those "true" manuscripts that has become popular in books, and to make it believable there is a bunch of footnotes that tell the reader things. There are too many and they disrupt the follow of the book for me.
This book started out great. The first line, "After killing the red-haired man, I took myself off to Quinn's for an oyster supper." really hooked me. As the book continued it proved interesting, a tale narrated in the first person by a man of obvious derangement convinced of his own rationality and the fact that he is justified in any action taken towards furthering his own ends. Cox does an excellent job of capturing the feel of a Victorian novel, and I think that may ultimately have been the
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