Our Name Is Melancholy : The Complete Books of Azrael (Book and Pamphlet) [Paperback]

Leilah Wendell (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0944087043 | ISBN-13: 978-0944087046 | Publication Date: January 1992 | Edition: 2nd

Both "The Book of Azrael" and "The View from the Bridge" have been revised and brought together with selections from "The Necromantic Ritual Book", "Shadows in the Half-Light", and treatises from "Infinite Possibilities".

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...somehow enchants in an erotic, disturbing and somehow transporting way...OUR NAME IS MELANCHOLY is illustrated so evocatively..." -- Strange Magazine

"The story told herein (O.N.M.) is nothing short of fascinating...The descriptions of the netherworld are lush, beautiful and enthralling... -- Carpe Noctem Magazine

"There are so many levels of intensity that it renders the fictional works of ... Lee ... Barker ... King pale by comparison! -- Gnosis Magazine

About the Author

Leilah Wendell is the world's foremost recognized researcher of Death personifications and encounters. Author of ten books and scores of articles on the subject, she is also a fine artist, published poet and proprietor of The Westgate Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana, the first and only gallery devoted exclusively to Necromantic Art & Literature and dedicated to the Angel of Death. Born in New York and best known for her ground-breaking title Our Name is Melancholy- The Complete Books of Azrael, and over twentyfive years of research and documentation via The Azrael Project, she currently resides in New Orleans, LA. in what is commonly referred to as "The House of Death".

Product Details

• Paperback: 385 pages
• Publisher: Westgate Pr; 2nd edition (January 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0944087043
• ISBN-13: 978-0944087046
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,644,415 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Still Pondering This One....................., September 29, 2004

By 

An Amazon Reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: Our Name Is Melancholy the Complete Books of Azrael (Paperback)

I am a huge fan of raw channeled work. But even this one raised my brows more than a few times. The poetry in this book is nice, the art work gothic and dark which I liked as well, but it's a hard read at best. There are a LOT of grammar errors in this book. It appears to be self edited by Leilah Wendell AKA Westgate Press, but I have to give her an A for the effort there.

This is a hard read, even for someone like me who holds several doctrines. It is an intimate portrayal of the author and the "Death Angels" relationship. I could have found it plausible had she given some form of validating information, but she did not. You would think that "Azrael" would have given her at least one outstanding futuristic validation, but atlas there are none. I also found the rituals in the back for Necromancy a bit unnerving. This certainly isn't a book for the weak hearted or closed minded :P .

With that said I am giving this book three stars for it's poetry and art work. I would buy at least one future work from this author if she could provide some form of validation in it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not for everybody, December 7, 2005

By 

Stefan Isaksson "www.stefanisaksson.se" (Malmoe, Sweden) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Our Name is Melancholy: The Complete Books of Azrael (Paperback)

Our Name is Melancholy is a strange book, because it's more than just a book. In one sense it's a declaration of love from Leilah Wendell to Azrael, the angel of Death. On the other hand it's a declaration of love from Azrael to Wendell. It's also a biography of Wendell's life and childhood, how and why she founded Westgate and opened the House of Death in New Orleans. Furthermore, it has attributions from Wendell's husband Daniel Kemp. And, it's filled with spiritual discussions about the true nature of Death and what happens when our lives on earth finally come to an end.

Does this confuse you? Good, because it really IS confusing. Put shortly, Wendell's relation with the angel of Death, which she has met both physically and spiritually (whatever that means) is quite unusual. Azrael is her one true love; but in this life in this body she's married to Daniel Kemp, who she lives with in the House of Death.

Not surprisingly, Wendell isn't afraid of death - after all, she and it shares something so special that she's unable to really describe it in words - but still, Our Name is Melancholy is definitely not a pro-suicide book. What Wendell tries to explain is that we don't really have any real reason to fear death, since it's not an evil thing in itself. Whether or not one chooses to believe in this is up to the reader, but the message isn't very much different from other books of the New Age that all talk about how this particular life on earth is but one of many lives).

Hmm... Well, that might be, but the truth is that in case you don't really care much about the New Age in general and spirituality in particular, then Our Name is Melancholy probably isn't the right book for you.

However, the declarations of love that appear throughout the book are written in very beautiful English. The words chosen by Wendell, Azrael (through Wendell) and Kemp are all very delicate and exquisite, and most of the time it feels as if one is reading a collection of love poems. The authors are very skilled in what they're doing, no doubt about that, but is this enough for anyone to invest in the book? Maybe, maybe not. Westgate has published other works that are real collections of poems, and if it's poems you want, than maybe these books are a better choice (for instance Eros in Exile). But in case you want to learn more about Wendell, Kemp, their view of Death, and the House of Death, then the book can be worth looking up.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece!, April 3, 2001

By 

Rev. Lord Dellamorte (Colorado Springs, Colorado United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Our Name Is Melancholy : The Complete Books of Azrael (Book and Pamphlet) (Paperback)

This is one of the very first books that I ever bought regarding Azrael when it was first published! The vast information that graces the pages is invaluable, and the purest knowledge behind the writing is unbeatable. Leilah Wendell has put together a fabulous package here, and it more than worth a few reads if one is interested in Death, Azrael, The Grim Reaper, or just how to commune with an Angel. If you seek information regarding the Azraelites, this book is for you.