The Meaning of Night

Some books are meant to be savored slowly rather than devoured. One can put them down, not because it is boring, but because the pages just read need to be thought through and wondered about before taking the next bite. I found myself thinking about the psychological aspects of the characters and where they were headed while in the car, at the grocery store, and (gulp!) while in church.

The slower pace might have been excruciating for some and I was initially dismayed, but once I relaxed and let it flow like it should, it was worth the longer ride.

The story starts at the end and through Edward's Glyver confession to his friend Le Grice, takes the reader back through an unusual life that pits Edward again and again against his nemesis, Phoebus Daunt. The victim of a severe injustice that robs him of deserved opportunities, Edward plots revenge for years before learning a startling truth about himself that changes and broadens the scope of those efforts and almost justifies them. It slowly builds to it's conclusion and although I wasn't very surprised at the outcome, getting there was a satisfying trip.

The obsessions of Glyver, who worked under the alias of Glapthorn for years are complicated and I found myself going back and forth on the wisdom of holding on to them for so long. Edward Glyver is an extremely intelligent bibliophile and can converse on almost any literary subject imaginable. However, he is deeply flawed and uses his bad experience as an excuse for the actions and inactions throughout his strange career. To say he underachieves would be putting it mildly and his personal vices are many and varied. I loved his explanation of his personal philosophy when his love Miss Carteret brought up common beliefs of Heaven and Hell.

'That was what I was brought up to believe,' I replied, 'but as I have been deficient in perfection from an early age, it has never seemed to me a comfortable philosophy. It is so ridiculously easy, don't you think, to fall into sin? I prefer to believe that I was predestined for grace. It accords far more closely to me own estimation of myself and of course it relieves one of the tedious necessity of always having to do good.'

Edward also does some acts of incredible compassion including saving a young woman from a life of prostitution. But how much injustice, how many secrets, how much plain old bad luck can one person handle after all? What does it take to finally resort to murder?

Anyone who loves Victorian history or literature will find this book a dream come true. Michael Cox presents a staggering amount of information on old books, colloquialisms, dress, places, and other historical references. There are footnotes on almost every page.

I highly recommend this novel.