Specify Books Concering The Quincunx
| Original Title: | The Quincunx, The Inheritance of John Huffam |
| ISBN: | 0345371135 (ISBN13: 9780345371133) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Literary Awards: | Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction (1991) |
Charles Palliser
Paperback | Pages: 787 pages Rating: 4.07 | 5921 Users | 556 Reviews
Be Specific About Epithetical Books The Quincunx
| Title | : | The Quincunx |
| Author | : | Charles Palliser |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 787 pages |
| Published | : | November 27th 1990 by Ballantine Books (first published 1989) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Historical. Historical Fiction. Mystery. Victorian. European Literature. British Literature |
Relation In Pursuance Of Books The Quincunx
The protagonist, a young man naive enough to be blind to all clues about his own hidden history (and to the fact that his very existence is troubling to all manner of evildoers) narrates a story of uncommon beauty which not only brings readers face-to-face with dozens of piquantly drawn characters at all levels of 19th-century English society but re-creates with precision the tempestuous weather and gnarly landscape that has been a motif of the English novel since Wuthering Heights. The suspension of disbelief happens easily, as the reader is led through twisted family trees and plot lines.The quincunx of the title is a heraldic figure of five parts that appears at crucial points within the text (the number five recurs throughout the novel, which itself is divided into five parts, one for each of the family galaxies whose orbits the narrator is pulled into). Quintuple the length of the ordinary novel, this extraordinary tour de force also has five times the ordinary allotment of adventure, action and aplomb.
Rating Epithetical Books The Quincunx
Ratings: 4.07 From 5921 Users | 556 ReviewsJudgment Epithetical Books The Quincunx
------------------------------------------------------This book of course sets out to recreate a traditional nineteenth century novel. The language, the plot curves, the characters, the settings, these elements all work admirably towards that end. If you are transported by historically accurate nineteenth century details; if you love very, very complex mysteries; if intrigues and the Gordian knots of family genealogies lure you; if the you are charmed by the reconstruction of pre-Victorian plotCor blimey guv'nor that was a long old read. Weightier than a bag of coal and with more pages than her majesty's coronation. I view my current love of this sort of Victorian era homage with the highest amusement for, despite having recently read and enjoyed The Crimson Petal and the White and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell and now The Quincunx, I am yet to read the books which these so lovingly ape. Not a dash of Dickens or a jot of James has passed my eyeballs.And frankly, after over 1000
If every other novel was like this it would be terrible. I'd never leave the house. I'd call my office : "sorry, can't make it today, I have 450 pages to finish, I'm sure you'll understand, put it down as a family emergency" and eventually they'd email me - "you're fired" - but I wouldn't read the email. My cat would have to become feral. Empires might tumble, Bob Dylan might be chosen as the next Pope, I wouldn't notice.Anyway, fortunately, most novels aren't either this good or this long, so
If every other novel was like this it would be terrible. I'd never leave the house. I'd call my office : "sorry, can't make it today, I have 450 pages to finish, I'm sure you'll understand, put it down as a family emergency" and eventually they'd email me - "you're fired" - but I wouldn't read the email. My cat would have to become feral. Empires might tumble, Bob Dylan might be chosen as the next Pope, I wouldn't notice.Anyway, fortunately, most novels aren't either this good or this long, so
This monumental and brilliantly written novel takes place in England during the 19th century and involves an estate and multiple families over several generations, the relationship between these families being unclear at the beginning. In fact, much is mysterious, including the real name and lineage of the young boy who seems to be the protagonist, John Mellamphy. A few of the chapters are told in the third person by someone I was never able to identify, but most are told by John in the first
At first I thought this was an imitation of a Victorian novel, then a complete recreation of every Victorian novel, and finally I decided it was a parody of and commentary on the Victorian novel. It had every Victorian trope imaginable: the lost inheritance, the fatherless hero, the consumptive beauty, the abandoned manor, the mysterious break-in, the lost birth certificate, the evil money-hungry miser, the intolerable boys' school, the nightmarish insane asylum, the missing will, the charming
This is a masterful novel, both a parody and a celebration of a Dickensian novel. It's set in Victorian London and teems with mysteries, strange enemies, colourful characters, great inheritance... It's an unputdownable, giant of a novel of great complexity and intelligence. It's one of those rare books you wish to read all over again once you've finished it -- despite its great lenght.
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