
It has been years since Helen Franklin left England. In Prague, working as a translator, she has found a home of sorts—or, at least, refuge. That changes when her friend Karel discovers a mysterious letter in the library, a strange confession and a curious warning that speaks of Melmoth the Witness, a dark legend found in obscure fairy tales and antique village lore. As such superstition has it, Melmoth travels through the ages, dooming those she persuades to join her to a damnation of timeless, itinerant solitude. To Helen it all seems the stuff of unenlightened fantasy.
But, unaware, as she wanders the cobblestone streets Helen is being watched. And then Karel disappears. . . . (Summary and pic from goodreads.com)
My Review: I thought this book had a lot of promise right from the
start. Normal life situations that take a dark turn? Check. Creepy old lady
from fairytales stalking modern day people? Check. People unsure of whether or
not this lady actually exists or they’re just experiencing bad luck? Check. I
mean, its fairytale invading modern life gold, right? Unfortunately, this
didn’t actually happen in practice.
I wanted to like this book a lot. I love the fairytale
genre that has been happening of late (I just barely reviewed this fairytale
that I think you should check out), and I had high hopes that this would be one
in a long line of very cool books to add to that. In some ways, it was. I did
enjoy the story. The people were haunted, the old crone, Melmoth, was always skulking
in the sidelines throughout history. That was compelling. I enjoyed that
Melmoth was a fairytale (and almost a threat) passed down through generations
to scare kids into behaving. It just didn’t pull through as well as I had
hoped. There were a couple of reasons for this, I think. First off, Melmoth
just wasn’t as scary was I wanted her to be. I wanted her to be real and
present and actually scary. It turned out that although she was there, she was
almost just a bystander. That’s not nearly as effective as being an actual
creepy old crone who brings bad luck to those who see her. Secondly, there were
some genuinely bad and unfortunate situations that happened to the characters,
but I’m not sure they warranted bringing Melmoth into it. Melmoth was almost
just a name for bad luck and nothing more. A really scary fairytale character
would be able to bring ever-present danger and misfortune, not just stand
around watching while it happened. I think I could compare Melmoth to Angela
Lansbury in Murder She Wrote. Although
I was never personally invested in this show (I missed it by a few generations,
I think), my grandma was, and when she visited I would watch it with her
sometimes. Although Angela Lansbury would never actually commit the murders,
she sure was around them all the time and had the worst timing ever (and none
of her friends ever noticed, but we’ll leave that for another time). So it is
with Melmoth. I don’t think she actually caused anything, she just happened to
be there at the wrong time. Maybe she, too, turns into a teapot and sings about
a beast in another lifetime.
I think my main disappointment in this book is just that
it had potential but didn’t reach it. The story had such promise, and yet it
just didn’t pack the punch it could have. There is nothing more disappointing
than a weak sauce realization of a really good idea. That being said, the book
wasn’t bad, the writing was decent, and the story did have some interesting
characters. Maybe you like not-so-ominous old crones who are more watchers than
causers.
My Rating: 3 Stars
For the sensitive
reader: This book is rather tame with some language and mild situations.
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