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The Evil Guest (1901)

by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu(Favorite Author)

2.98 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0554126869 (ISBN13: 9780554126869)

languge

English

genre

Horror

publisher

Online Distributed Proofreading Team

review 1: Better to stick with Le Fanu's short stories, I think. This is beyond purple prose—D.H. Lawrence was over-the-top for my tastes, and this novel is even more labyrinthine. Grammatically, Le Fanu allows himself a brace of liberties that challenge even the diligent reader. Asides, parentheticals, supplementary insertions and incidentals all conspire to befuddle and occlude casual comprehension. It is not enough to describe an action: Le Fanu must also pack in the condition of the actor's hair, the cut of their topcoat, what dark imaginings emerge and writhe behind his furrowed brow, the placement of a chair, the weather, what happened this day 25 years ago in baseball history, etc. Even the final few paragraphs of the denouement lapse into meta-commentary, as though the aut... morehor himself were describing his own work to someone about to read it by way of friendly warning.I enjoy Le Fanu's shorter stories, without waiver. Absolutely, his work is a jewel in the world of supernatural fiction and horror. It's just that this novel feels like an unpolished work-in-progress, the first draft in which he'd lavishly enjoyed mugs of hot brandy and indulged in every last grammatical whimsy that came to mind, yet neglected to edit it all down in the next morning's sobering light.This is a great specimen by which to learn new vocabulary words. It's a fun romp through antiquated grammatical structure. It is important for the dedicated student of Le Fanu. But this is not casual reading for the indifferent reader.
review 2: Somewhat difficult to follow at times but was an ok read. Short.Best descriptive quote which takes you back to the title of the book...."Had Ithuriel touched with his spear the beautiful young woman, thus for a moment, as it seemed, lost in a trance of gratitude and love, would that angelic form have stood the test unscathed? A spectator, marking the scene, might have observed a strange gleam in her eyes--a strange expression in her face--an influence for a moment not angelic, like a shadow of some passing spirit, cross her visibly, as she leaned over the gentle lady's neck, and murmured, "Dear madame, how happy--how very happy you make me." Such a spectator, as he looked at that gentle lady, might have seen, for one dreamy moment, a lithe and painted serpent, coiled round and round, and hissing in her ear." Location:151-59So I had to google "Ithuriel". Turned up this..."By touching Satan with his spear, Ithuriel causes the Tempter to resume his proper likeness." less

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