[JVH]≡ PDF Free The Meaning of Night A Confession Michael Cox 9780393062038 Books

The Meaning of Night A Confession Michael Cox 9780393062038 Books

Download As PDF : The Meaning of Night A Confession Michael Cox 9780393062038 Books

The Meaning of Night A Confession Michael Cox 9780393062038 Books

I've never been a big fan of Victorian styled novels and here I've read Thirteenth Tale and The Meaning of Night virtually back to back. Of the two, I'd rate The Meaning of Night as clearly the better of the two.

While it can be argued that the book tends to drag at times, I was never bored and was ultimately captivated for the final 200 pages. Though, as I stated, I'm not a big fan of the genre, Michael Cox certainly delivers an excellently written and developed story.

In a nutshell, the narrator has, throughout his life, been bedeviled by a scheming scoundrel who has succeeded in attaining the highest levels of British literary and cultural society, many times at the direct expense of the narrator. This novel tells that story and the story of the narrator seeking the ultimate revenge.

Though some of the plot twists are easily foreseen, the novel is nonetheless well worth the readers time, even for those such as myself who do not normally delve into Victorian literature.


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The Meaning of Night A Confession Michael Cox 9780393062038 Books Reviews

I'll be darned. Cox really pulls it off. So many period novels, told in the voice of a main character, end up clunky, or overly stylish, or just unconvincing, but Cox's narrator is utterly believable and engaging. From the outset, the reader feels like he or she is listening to a fully-realized individual complex, surprising, and deep. The plot is somewhat complicated, and the narrative sometimes jumps around, but this is all handled irectly and well and is never confusing -- the book advances steadily and relentlessly. For me, at least, the conclusion was not particularly exciting or surprising, and normally that would be a big disappointment, but the reader's journey, and that of the narrator, is so interesting in and of itself along the way that we're not really looking towards an ending. I am hyper-critical of these kinds of period pieces, but I think Cox pulled this off brilliantly.
Have you ever read a novel that was so well written that you continued to read it even when you would have liked to put it down? That's where I found myself with "The Meaning of Night" by Michael Cox. This author has an incredible talent for conveying atmosphere, drama and character development. My problem came during those times when I felt the novel proceeded so slowly that it bordered on boredom for me.

Edward Glyver (just one of his names) was a completely fascinating character in the beginning of this novel because of his complete lack of remorse for what he had done. He was portrayed initially as being totally amoral, blinded to everything except achieving his goal. As the story went along, he did begin to show remorse for one incident in particular, but felt himself completely justified for every other unscrupulous thing. The major grievance he felt had been done to him made him rationalize that nothing he could do in retaliation would be monstrous enough to count act that. I began to lose the sympathy I had originally felt for this character when the author was not able to convince me that everything Glyver felt had happened had been an intentional slight or done to him purposefully.

The setting of this novel in the Victorian era means that there was a richness to the language which is not easily mastered, yet Michael Cox managed to keep this "confession" set very firmly within the language, social strictures, and physical parameters of Victorian England. This is an intense reading experience which takes much attention and commitment to do it justice. I did continue on reading to the ending to find out just what price Glyver would have to pay for his first completely random act of violence. I'm glad I read the book and stand in awe of the writing abilities of Michael Cox.
This remains as one of my favorite books of all time. Cox is a brilliant writer, who was able to keep my attention page after page. As much as I abhor the main character, I understand his frustration, and found myself identifying with many of his problems.

Do not be put off by the "literary" aspects of this book, it's really a wonderful page turner, but with incredible depth and beautiful writing.
I am not one to be put off by wordy, descriptive books. I also love a good Gothic thriller/mystery. However, this book barely held my interest until the second half when the story finally took off. I wanted to like it, I really did, but it almost felt at times as if the author was trying to prove how knowledgeable he was about obscure, rare books, rather than develop his story. The second half of the book was more interesting, but only mediocre. The (anti-)hero is a bit whiny, and rather unlikable. There was none of the building of atmosphere, of say, a Du Maurier novel. None of the tension or anticipation, except merely for the book to be over. I'm sorry, Mr. Cox.
Upon his mothers death Glyver discovers that he has an inheritance much greater than he could have ever imagined. From that moment he is determined to claim what is his.

I really wanted to enjoy this book. It is well written and when reading I totally felt that I was stepping into Edwardian England. Unfortunately, I hated the protagonist! I really couldn't develop any rapport with Glyver which kept me emotionally distant from the story. As well, this is a book that relies on you being anxious to turn the next page because you want to find out what happens next. I thought that it was pretty clear where the story was going to go so there was never any moment where I found myself surprised by what were supposed to be 'aha' moments.
I've never been a big fan of Victorian styled novels and here I've read Thirteenth Tale and The Meaning of Night virtually back to back. Of the two, I'd rate The Meaning of Night as clearly the better of the two.

While it can be argued that the book tends to drag at times, I was never bored and was ultimately captivated for the final 200 pages. Though, as I stated, I'm not a big fan of the genre, Michael Cox certainly delivers an excellently written and developed story.

In a nutshell, the narrator has, throughout his life, been bedeviled by a scheming scoundrel who has succeeded in attaining the highest levels of British literary and cultural society, many times at the direct expense of the narrator. This novel tells that story and the story of the narrator seeking the ultimate revenge.

Though some of the plot twists are easily foreseen, the novel is nonetheless well worth the readers time, even for those such as myself who do not normally delve into Victorian literature.