Customer Reviews

The Merciful Women

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

On a dark stormy night, a group of people holidaying by Lake Geneva gather to read out their stories. It is a competition devised by the dashing Lord Byron, to see who can write the most horrific and terrifying story... one of these people is Mary Shelley....

This book is a fantastic parody of the Gothic genre; the dark stormy nights, the mysterious castle and the heaving,storm-tossed lake... all in all, a tremendous read for anyone who enjoys Gothic tales or their parodies. Although sometimes graphic, the story is gripping and the elements of historical truth are enough to keep you interested right up to the thrilling and unexpected end. The book is filled with dark irony, and the intertextual references to the Gothic genre and the creation of that monstrous, classic tale Frankenstien, are witty and clever, but the book can be enjoyed on many levels. I would highly recommend this book, and have bought multiple copies for all of my friends.

I picked this book up, as it was on sale, and the synopsis sounded interesting. Some of my favorite writers, stormy nights in Geneva, it sounded right up my alley.

Very quickly, I found it wasn't. Byron, the Shelleys, and Claire were only barely relevant to the plot. They were simply a ploy to beef up a lackluster story. The tale centered around awkwardly written sex scenes, and not much else. They don't do much to further the story, and the overall plot is weak at best. It may have fared better as a short story rather than a novella, giving it a chance to be entertaining rather than tedious.

Set during the legendary period that inspired Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley to write "Frankenstein", Federico Andahazi's "The Merciful Women" uses as its central character John Polidori, the neurotic, despised secretary and personal physician to Lord Byron. One dark and stormy night a challenge is issued by Byron to his three guests, Shelley, Percy Bysshe Shelley and Claire Clairmont: write an effective supernatural tale. Though he is not invited to participate, the despised Polidori, longing to belong to the group, takes up the challenge. This challenge is made easier when Annette Legrand, the hideous and secret third member of the theatrical Legrand Sisters, offers to provide Polidori with an original manuscript she guarantees will ensure his literary immortality. But, of course, Polidori must provide something in return.

"The Merciful Women" is a fun book for those who enjoy mock-Gothic writing and literary mysteries. It has moments of true horror (some not for the squeamish), but it all leads up to an ironic ending.

Good idea for a story--Mary Shelley and P. B. Shelley himself, plus Lord Byron and a woman named Claire, all up in the mountains on a lake in the rain, much like the famous place where Mary S. wrote the first "Frankenstein"--but the writing is slow and tedious and burdened with too many words, and the characters are lame.
Also, the sensibility didn't work for me. Are we supposed to identify with the poor servant Polidori? How is it possible that he is young and stupid and treated poorly, on the one hand, and yet on the other hand an erudite scholar, a known intellect, and a doctor? How does all that fit together?
The characters are weak. Polidori runs all over the castle, frantic, because he finds a letter that he doesn't expect. Why doesn't he just open the damn thing? He finally does open it, and then, unfortunately, we have to read it. It goes on and on forever.
Then he gets upset because the woman who wrote the letter can see the light in his window. Oh boy, that would upset me. Shiver-shiver. She's far away across the lake. How lame. He flicks his light off and on, and this woman across the lake flicks her light off and on. Then he is so nervous he can't sleep. Oh boy. Pretty scary. But really. My God. How lame.
Inside the long boring letter, we get to read grisly descriptions of children born with monstrous deformities. These descriptions are not horrifying, they are disgusting. They make you want to barf.
At one point, Polidori throws himself off the balcony, for no good reason. Is that supposed to be intriguing? It might be if it made any sense.
I found the novel tedious, boring and disgusting. I struggled through 63 pages. And it was a struggle. That was more than enough.
Grade: D-
Score: -5 on a scale of -10 to +10

Inspired in the narrative of the Romanticisme, this novel is, at the same time , ironic , intelligent and plenty of humour , is one of the most creative book I ever read.

andahazi's delightfully quirky novel about the birth of the gothic novel, the authors involved and thier dark muse has not surprisingly cut readers down teh middle. a quick look at teh earlier ratings suggests that readers have either loved or hated it.

i, thankfully, belong to the former group and must admit that i thoroughly enjoyed this devious tale written with sublime black humour. this book is clearly not for the faint or heart or the squeamish but if you are willing to be led down some sleazy alleys andahazi delivers his goods. the translation by alberto manguel is top class and it is hard to imagine this was not written in english.

the book does no offer much breadth of scope but what it promises it delivers.

Byron and the Shellys are minor supporting characters in this thin, tedious tale. The author shows his hand early on, and from there the story declines predictably towards its conclusion. Yes, its vaguely witty at times, but the Vampyre-like parallel of swapping blood for another bodily fluid is hardly scandalous, or even provocative. I felt that I'd been sold a bill of goods. The book did not deliver what the review described.

I was drawn into the novel right away by its gothic style. Once the plot was revealed, it maintained my interest mostly due to the character of the secretary. Overall good.

This novel is an extreme example of the Argentinian ego: I guess only men from Argentina could possibly dream that the semen they throw away after jerking off will feed --by a dark and horrendous coincidence--, the life of two beautiful women. To make it short, even the semen they throw away is able to give life to another person, how glorious they are!!
The review of Donna Seaman above is absolutely ridiculous. John Polidori did exist and he is the author of "The Vampyre," the novel that paved the way for all the future vampyre novels, with Bram Stoker's "Dracula" at its peak. From where does she believe that Polidori is an original Andahazi character can only be explained by laziness: the first five results after querying google for John William Polidori tell the whole story.
I only write this review to prevent other readers to spend their time and money in a silly and disgusting book.

This is one of the worst books I've ever read. I don't know what should be good about this [book]. Weak storyline, no suspense, and not a very good use of language. Don't buy this!