Review: The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox

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 Reviewed by Christina

Full Title: The Meaning of Night: A Confession

Published: 2006

It's about:  It's a mystery-thriller set in Victorian England.  A down-on-his-luck scholar named Edward Glyver confesses the multiple betrayals that led him, ultimately, to murder at least one person.  

I thought: The cover of The Meaning of Night has a scintillating tagline: "A secret buried.  A love betrayed.  A destiny revealed."  Those three short sentences didn't inspire much hope in this reader.  Why should a book need a tagline, anyway?  Not a good sign.

And that tagline does this book a disservice.  The Meaning of Night is actually much smarter and better-crafted than its cover lets on.  It's written in a mock-autobiography format, complete with a forward by a fictional modern-day scholar who has kindly added footnotes throughout.  I know it's a little gimmicky, but I still like the fake-relic thing when I happen upon it in literature.  And Michael Cox does a great job with Edward's legit-sounding Victorian voice.  So that, initially, earned him a few points in my book.  He earned a bunch more points by showing a huge knowledge base of the time and period.  I love seedy Victorian London settings, and The Meaning of Night is full of exquisite historical details: explanations of current events, slang, and lifestyle tidbits.  Cox does slip into the territory of pedantry, though; there must be at least a hundred footnotes in this book that give nothing but the location of a pub or hotel.  Not every detail adds to the story.

The narrative opens with Edward killing an unsuspecting stranger.  I know this was meant to be an edgy hook, establishing our protagonist as an antihero, but it didn't work for me.  Painting Edward as a murderer right off the bat made him a pretty distasteful character.  I didn't particularly want him to succeed, and so my interest in his story waned.  Given that this is a fairly long book (nearly 700 pages) with a complex plot and mysteries within mysteries, I consider an unlikeable narrator to be a pretty major flaw.  Also, little amusing detail here: Edward's girl is a hooker with a heart of gold and her name is... wait for it... Bella.

Overall, The Meaning of Night is a decent novel, but it's not my favorite genre and it didn't capture my imagination the way it intended to.  It's certainly not a waste of time, but not a must-read either.

Verdict: In-Between

Reading Recommendations:  This one is kinda wintery.  Pick it up when you want something mildly shocking to carry you through the dull cold nights.

Warnings: Some violence and sex, slightly more descriptively told than you'd normally expect if it were truly penned in the mid-19th century.  It's pretty tame, though, by today's standards.

Favorite excerpts: “Non sum qualis eram.” (I am not what I was)   (Wouldn't that be a cool tattoo?)

“The boundaries of this world are forever shifting - from day to night, joy to sorrow, love to hate, and from life itself to death; and who can say at what moment we may suddenly cross over the border, from one state of existence to another, like heat applied to some flammable substance?” 

What I'm reading next:  Anarchy Evolution by Greg Graffin and Steve Olson

Audiobooks Review: The Millennium Series by Stieg Larsson, read by Simon Vance

Audiobooks Reviewed by Christina
(We had a guest review of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo here)

Published: In Swedish: 2005-2007. English translation by Reg Keeland: 2008-2010

It's about: Unless you've been living under a rock for the last few years, you've probably already heard all about this hugely popular series of thrillers. So I'll be brief: the central characters are a determined journalist named Mikael Blomqvist and an antisocial hacker named Lisbeth Salander. Working together and separately they investigate and expose corrupt businessmen, murderers, thugs, and other bad guys.

I thought: Well. There's a lot to say about the Millennium series, and it's pretty much all been said by now. I guess I should start by admitting that I don't read thrillers or mysteries very often, so I'm not in a position to judge this series against others of its type. But I did enjoy listening to these books; the stories and characters caught my attention, and I can understand why they're so popular. The writing style is adequate, not masterful or artful, and I'd say the same about the translation. That's fine with me, and even suits the genre; I don't need flowery prose in a murder mystery.

I like the idea of the activism behind the books; Larsson's goal was to shine a light on the surprising rates of violence against women in Sweden, and the books are peppered with relevant facts and figures. I loved that Lisbeth, herself a victim of said violence, played a major role in obtaining justice for the various crimes perpetrated against women. Lisbeth intrigued me, and I'm sorry there aren't more books about her.

But there are plenty of things I didn't love about this trilogy. The first book is thrilling, but poorly paced, with a denouement that lasts ages. The second, The Girl Who Played With Fire, is the strongest in the series, but the third book has almost no story of its own- it's like an extremely long and boring epilogue for book two. That is, until the actual epilogue to book three, which is when we finally get some action. None of the characters really develop or change throughout the series, though I guess it could be argued that Larsson was planning a broad character arc or two that he meant to stretch through all 10 planned books. (He died suddenly, before completing the fourth installment.) I grew annoyed with several impossible plot points that I can't mention without revealing major spoilers. I also rolled my eyes repeatedly at the way nearly every female character who comes into close contact with Blomqvist throws herself at him and MAKES him sleep with her. Come ON.

BUT! Simon Vance is INCREDIBLE. He is, hands down, the best audiobook reader I've ever listened to. Each character has a distinct voice with a socio-economically and culturally appropriate accent, and that's saying something because there are a LOT of characters in these books. And the difference between each voice is subtle; I can't think of a single one that annoyed me or seemed hackneyed. The women sound like women without being squeaky; the foreigners have accents without sounding ridiculous. Honestly, I was amazed by his versatility and ability to change timbre and inflection at the drop of a hat.

Verdict: In Between. I liked the series, but I can only think of a few people to whom I'd recommend it very enthusiastically.

Reading Recommendations: The new movie from last year is so well done that I'd almost recommend seeing The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo rather than reading it. But if you're looking for a good thrilling audiobook, Simon Vance's performance won't disappoint.
(I haven't seen the Swedish movies yet, but I've heard they're also very faithful.)

Warnings: Language, graphic violence (including sexual violence) and all kinds of disturbing subject matter.

What I'm listening to next: I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith