I figured I'd start a thread for this as I'm pretty sure there will be much discussion about the book once it has been released and more people have read it.
I've been a fan of Alan Moore since discovering Watchmen in the early 90s, so when I heard of this book it immediately captured my attention.
I picked up an ARC and had no intention of reading it right away. It's a major investment in time, and rather daunting being that it is 1200+ pages. I read the first paragraph thinking I'd stop there, but I haven't been able to put it down. It's pretty darn amazing. I'm still a ways off from being finished, but I wanted to get the thread started in the meantime.
Is anyone else reading it currently?
BTW, thanks to WeDealInLead and swintek for posting about the book previously and from whom I first heard about it.
My regular-people copy is on preorder and I cannot wait to get it!
08-15-2016 03:19 AM
webstar1000
What is it about Paul?
08-15-2016 07:11 AM
WeDealInLead
Just the blurb from Amazon is making my head spin:
Spoiler:
In the epic novel Jerusalem, Alan Moore channels both the ecstatic visions of William Blake and the theoretical physics of Albert Einstein through the hardscrabble streets and alleys of his hometown of Northampton, UK. In the half a square mile of decay and demolition that was England’s Saxon capital, eternity is loitering between the firetrap housing projects. Embedded in the grubby amber of the district’s narrative among its saints, kings, prostitutes, and derelicts, a different kind of human time is happening, a soiled simultaneity that does not differentiate between the petrol-colored puddles and the fractured dreams of those who navigate them.
Employing, a kaleidoscope of literary forms and styles that ranges from brutal social realism to extravagant children’s fantasy, from the modern stage drama to the extremes of science fiction, Jerusalem’s dizzyingly rich cast of characters includes the living, the dead, the celestial, and the infernal in an intricately woven tapestry that presents a vision of an absolute and timeless human reality in all of its exquisite, comical, and heartbreaking splendor.
In these pages lurk demons from the second-century Book of Tobit and angels with golden blood who reduce fate to a snooker tournament. Vagrants, prostitutes, and ghosts rub shoulders with Oliver Cromwell, Samuel Beckett, James Joyce’s tragic daughter Lucia, and Buffalo Bill, among many others. There is a conversation in the thunderstruck dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral, childbirth on the cobblestones of Lambeth Walk, an estranged couple sitting all night on the cold steps of a Gothic church front, and an infant choking on a cough drop for eleven chapters. An art exhibition is in preparation, and above the world a naked old man and a beautiful dead baby race along the Attics of the Breath toward the heat death of the universe.
An opulent mythology for those without a pot to piss in, through the labyrinthine streets and pages of Jerusalem tread ghosts that sing of wealth, poverty, and our threadbare millennium. They discuss English as a visionary language from John Bunyan to James Joyce, hold forth on the illusion of mortality post-Einstein, and insist upon the meanest slum as Blake’s eternal holy city.
I don't think this would be a good starting point if you were to start reading Moore. The man puts everything into his writing and expects no less from his readers. Your local library should have V for Vendetta, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (just forget the movie existed, OK?), Watchmen (a classic but not my fave of his), The Killing Joke, and goddamn From Hell (again, forget the movie exists.)
08-15-2016 09:28 AM
zelig
Quote:
Originally Posted by pablo
My regular-people copy is on preorder and I cannot wait to get it!
There's an ARC listed on eBay if you want to get a head start.
Quote:
Originally Posted by webstar1000
What is it about Paul?
Kris, I feel as if any attempt I make at explaining what this book is about would fall short and likely never be as good as say that Amazon quote. Or what literary scholars might write about it. That Amazon one does a great job of it. Also, this short blurb on the back of the ARC says it quite well in just one sentence.
"Fierce in its imagining and stupefying in its scope, Alan Moore's epic novel, Jerusalem, is the tale of everything, told from a vanished gutter."
So what's it about? A tale of everything seems quite accurate!
There's also a two page introduction by the editor in the proof which I don't know whether will be in the final book or not, but he does a great job of summarizing the themes of the book.
I tell you, with this book, it's clear that Moore is a master wordsmith and storyteller with an amazing range of writing styles.
I also agree that this may not be the place to start. It requires a commitment and dedication to get through it, not that it's a tough read. It had me captivated since the first word. Anyway, I'm loving it.
08-15-2016 10:01 AM
mattgreenbean
It would appear that unlike the other titles that were mentioned, this is not a graphic novel. Is that correct?
A personal favorite of mine is Promethea. It's a great example of magical realism.
08-15-2016 10:07 AM
zelig
Correct, not a graphic novel.
08-15-2016 10:26 AM
mae
I love long and epic thousand-pagers "about everything", like Against the Day by Pynchon, or the USA trilogy by Dos Passos, or A Moment in the Sun by John Sayles. I know this one will be different but I'm hoping for the same type of feel.
08-15-2016 10:56 AM
zelig
I also like the long epic novels. Now I'm going to have to check out the ones you just mentioned as I have not read those. More books to add to the reading list.
08-15-2016 11:32 AM
mattgreenbean
Quote:
Originally Posted by pablo
I love long and epic thousand-pagers "about everything", like Against the Day by Pynchon, or the USA trilogy by Dos Passos, or A Moment in the Sun by John Sayles. I know this one will be different but I'm hoping for the same type of feel.
The audiobook for "against the day" is 54.5 hrs. Holy moly
08-15-2016 12:08 PM
zelig
Here's an article with videos about the guy who recorded the audiobook for Jerusalem.
Well I just got to the dreaded Lucia Joyce chapter and gave it a gallant effort but I am skipping it. It's basically unreadable. Anyone who actually reads this chapter, give yourself a medal. Can't even imagine how the guy who recorded the audiobook did it.
This is what Moore said about it in an interview:
“Lucia Joyce chapter, which is completely incomprehensible … all written in a completely invented sub-Joycean text”
Otherwise I have been enjoying it. Some beautifully written lines and passages. I'm on page 950 now. Book two was a bit of a slog but it's picking up in book three (aside from the Joyce chapter.) It's building nicely to the conclusion. Will hold my final opinion until I'm done.
08-25-2016 03:30 AM
WeDealInLead
Is it more challenging than the first part of Voice of the Fire? That was hard to read but it was also the most heartbreaking part of the book. I was an emotional wreck after I read the final sentence and it took me months to pick the book up again.
08-25-2016 06:34 AM
zelig
I haven't read Voice of the Fire. I just downloaded a sample from iBooks and read a few pages. The Joyce chapter is more challenging because even though from what I can see in Voice of Fire, the words are disordered, they're still words you can understand and after reading a sentence you can make out what is being said. It does seem challenging though.
With the Joyce chapter, words are completely invented or the spelling of the words has been so completely altered that you don't really know what the word is supposed to be. That's all interspersed with words that do make sense but there aren't many. And some are simply spelled differently but still sound the same when you read them. Put all this together and it's very very challenging to read and to understand what's going on.
08-29-2016 09:00 AM
zelig
Just when I thought I was in the home stretch, I hit a chapter that has no punctuation or paragraph breaks. It does have some commas. It's all basically stream of consciousness writing without punctuation. Moore has used numerous writing styles throughout. I'm guessing this is a nod to Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury. Or maybe others I don't know of. I'm on page 1127. 152 pages to go!
09-04-2016 06:15 AM
WeDealInLead
Oh man, I hate that. I recently gave up on a book because buddy couldn't be bothered to use a period for four pages. When will writers realize that no paragraphs and no periods isn't quite the adrenaline ride they think it is?
That said, I'm hoping Moore does one of his impromptu book signings. I'll get Jerusalem from the library first and bide my time.
09-04-2016 09:32 AM
zelig
I just finished it a few minutes ago. I am so pleased this is done. I feel as if I've been carrying this heavy weight on my back for the past month. Having said that, I am also pleased that I read it as there was some beautiful writing in there.
A few quick thoughts on it. Although a page turner and captivating in parts, it was also a major grind in other parts. Many hundreds of pages were really tough to get through for me. It certainly takes a commitment to read this book.
Of course, there's no doubt Moore is an immensely gifted writer with the ability to write masterfully in numerous literary styles. It's the sort of book that could benefit from a 2nd read, but that isn't going to happen for me. It would have helped if there was a family tree provided of the Vernal family, and I found myself having to create one myself piecing it together from the text so that I could remember the characters.
I will say that I found his observations about Princess Diana toward the end of the book to be surprisingly unsympathetic. At least that's how I interpreted it, and I didn't much care for that.
The book was also a history lesson as Moore explored the lives and times of some famous individuals, by integrating their stories into the one he is telling. I found these parts really interesting.
Overall, the novel is a mythology of loss, a term Moore used in the last few pages of the book, and an exploration of the history of Northampton through the centuries. I also see it as a lament over the decay of his hometown; and through that, as a metaphor for the passage of time and fleeting nature of our lives.
If anyone else gets around to reading it, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.
09-12-2016 05:33 AM
jsmcmullen92
Well dangit Paul... now you are going to make me start reading another author. I think we all know what that means... I have to go out and buy up all the books so I can read them.
09-13-2016 09:07 AM
zelig
Quote:
Originally Posted by jsmcmullen92
Well dangit Paul... now you are going to make me start reading another author. I think we all know what that means... I have to go out and buy up all the books so I can read them.
At least there aren't a ton of books compared to some other authors. If you're going to get into it all, maybe start with Watchmen if you haven't read it yet. Jerusalem will require a serious commitment though.. Enjoy the journey!
09-13-2016 09:09 AM
jsmcmullen92
Quote:
Originally Posted by zelig
Quote:
Originally Posted by jsmcmullen92
Well dangit Paul... now you are going to make me start reading another author. I think we all know what that means... I have to go out and buy up all the books so I can read them.
At least there aren't a ton of books compared to some other authors. If you're going to get into it all, maybe start with Watchmen if you haven't read it yet. Jerusalem will require a serious commitment though.. Enjoy the journey!
I ordered it last night [emoji2] been planning on reading V and LoEG for awhile now too
09-13-2016 10:28 PM
cit74
Quote:
Originally Posted by jsmcmullen92
Quote:
Originally Posted by zelig
Quote:
Originally Posted by jsmcmullen92
Well dangit Paul... now you are going to make me start reading another author. I think we all know what that means... I have to go out and buy up all the books so I can read them.
At least there aren't a ton of books compared to some other authors. If you're going to get into it all, maybe start with Watchmen if you haven't read it yet. Jerusalem will require a serious commitment though.. Enjoy the journey!
I ordered it last night [emoji2] been planning on reading V and LoEG for awhile now too
Not to mention his run on swamp thing, from hell and my all time favorite miracleman.
03-03-2017 11:38 AM
wolfehr
Quote:
Originally Posted by WeDealInLead
Is it more challenging than the first part of Voice of the Fire? That was hard to read but it was also the most heartbreaking part of the book. I was an emotional wreck after I read the final sentence and it took me months to pick the book up again.
It was a struggle to get through the first chapter. I completely agree with you though; I think I was well rewarded for the effort and the end was heartbreaking. I still find myself thinking about that book from time to time :/
