This is my blog about books and only books. :) I love to read and love to share it with people. I just finished The Meaning of Night: A Confession by Michael Cox. Here is my review:
This book starts out as thoughts from the main character Edward Gylver. Or is that not his real name? Edward is seeking revenge from an old school chum back in the 1850’s and practices killing another man first to see if he can even follow through with the plan. Then Edward tells about his past and that there is a secret to who his parents are and he must find out in order to reclaim a huge inheritance. Edward seeks out information and tells lies a lot to get what he needs to. But will it all work out in the end?
This is the first book I have read by Michael Cox and I enjoyed it immensely. His vivid telling of the events in the book as well as how the characters could express themselves eloquently was delightful to me. The time period of the book meant the characters had certain rules to follow to be proper but that didn’t slow down the book. Michael Cox has a way with words that really gets to you. I felt the descriptions were needed and enjoyed all the footnotes on each page so I could understand the terms and current things of that time.
I enjoyed the character of Edward Glyver but never was sure what his name really was, but that is probably all part of the story. Each character had their place and filled it well. There were villains and damsels and things you might associate with that time. But the thing I liked most of all was the passion. It was deep whether it was passion to do good or to do bad. The motives of each character had passion behind it and that is not always seen in a lot of books today. But it just wasn’t passion of the sexual nature, it was passion for life and for love. Edward changed throughout his re-telling of the events and that was central to the story. But when truth came out on all sides, true colors emerged and I didn’t like what I saw but that is something that is in real life even today.
This book captivated me from the beginning even though at times I was confused. Everything was explained at the end and I understood the motives of the characters for their personal gains. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read books from other time periods. I found this one to be just what I needed. It is dark sometimes but I found it difficult to put down. It was written as a confession and all is confessed at the end like it should be.
I would give this book a 4 out of 5. It was good but sometimes it felt like it was dragging. :) I just started The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud. I am not sure how far I will get into to it tonight cause I have a bunch of other stuff I need to do. :)
