Customer Reviews

Paradise Lost

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have other editions of Paradise Lost, many with lengthy and preachy introductions, but this one has become my favourite. The design is beautiful, with a great cover, blood red inside covers and red ribbon marker. The original engravings that illustrate the story are a unique feature and look great.

The introduction and notes on all chapters written by Philip Pullman are short, refreshing and suprisingly funny. Even if you studied Paradise in depth, his comments may shed new light on this classic work. As he reminds the readers, these are his views as a fan rather than a scholar, and he tries to clear some cobwebs that gathered on Milton's opus and bring it closer into focus for the modern readers. Among his references are Alfred Hitchcock's movies and novels of Frederick Forsyth. And he tackles that age old dilema- if he is so evil, why do we find Lucifer so damn likeable...?

If you want to read Paradise Lost for the first time, possibly after/before devouring Pullman's own Dark Materials trilogy, look no further than this beautiful edition. And even if you have other copies, this is a great addition to your home library. Nothing wrong with a good looking book, when the content matches the design in quality, as it is the case here.

Interesting but skimpy comments from Philip Pullman, but the real attractions are a very clean and historically sensitive page design and the Michael Burghers engravings from the first illustrated edition of 1688. I own other PL's, but from now on this is the one I will take down to read.

This is an excellent edition of "Paradise Lost" to own. The binding and dustjacket are nice, a red ribbon bookmark makes reading it handy, there are gorgeous illustrations before each chapter, as well as introductions by Philip Pullman before each chapter. To understand Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy, it is essential to understand "Paradise Lost." Of course, Pullman has his own unique views on Milton's masterpiece, and not everyone will agree with them, but they are interesting to read in any case. Anyway, this is an essential read for anyone who wants a grasp of modern English literature.

The Kindle Oxford Milton PARADISE LOST has no notes, and the Afterword explains that this was deliberate but that notes are nice to have, and you can get them in other places.

Meanwhile, if you don't want to pay extra for Philip Pullman's excellent introduction and sparse personal comments before each book, as well as 12 Dore illustrations which normal Kindles won't make much of -- then you might prefer to pick up an ebook freebie from Gutenberg or Amazon itself.

Sorry to have to be so specific about what edition I'm reviewing, but as you can see all the PARADISE LOSTs get jumbled together in the review sections.

No one but no one could resist the charm and beauty of Milton's Paradise Lost and Philip Pullman, best known for "His Dark Materials Trilogy" makes us fall in love with it all over again with his delightful introductions.

This appealing hardcover version in red and black throughout with illustrations of the twelve engravings from the first illustrated edition published in 1688, plus a red ribbon marker is beautifully produced. It also boasts Philip Pullman's delightful and illuminating general introduction and an introduction on each of the twelve books of the poem.

This has to be one of the very best on the market which is an absolute delight to own even if you have hundreds of other versions. The twelve great books of poem of the biblical epic is a must for all classics lovers and Milton's Satan/Lucifer is still the most irresistible and charismatic Devil ever.

I reluctantly studied this at university but once I started reading I could see how wonderfully rich the text was. There was so much to it. Milton took a section from Genesis where there was little description and he gave great thought to it. Perfection was not a simple issue, and paradise was not a simple place. Milton, in some ways, "filled in" what wasn't mentioned in Genesis. Perfection and paradise are complex ideas that we probably can't completely comprehend (since we're all imperfect).

And then the all time issue of Satan vs God... I thought Milton did a great job of representing this.

All in all, I highly recommend this great epic.

This is "the" Paradise Lost to own... If you are new to Milton, Pullman's comments will guide you along.

What a beautiful edition. Classic illustrations; perfect fonts; Satan himself could never produce such a great volume.

First off, I love this book. I discovered it when I was barely thirteen and have reread it almost a hundred times. It inspired me to read more, write my own stories, and major in English. What I do not like is this edition. Some one is lying. The images provided do not match the book. Maybe it's my edition and if that's the case, then some one needs to give this inferior edition a new ISBN to separate it from the edition with Doré and Blake engravings, if that does exist.Don't get me wrong the artwork is good, the amount detail on the angels and humans is stunning; but of course Satan looks like he was hit in the face with a shovel. Where in the poem did it say Satan's hair is made out of snakes? or that he has horns that look like elbow macaroni? I was expecting illustrations of grandeur and rebellion and instead got these stiff and sorry excuses. Be forewarned, you are in for a let down if you are expecting well known illustrations. While these might have been the illustrations from the first illustrated edition,they are not the best.

This magnificent book was recommended to me by a dear friend through another review here on Amazon.com. For that recommendation I am grateful due to the pleasure that I have received from it. I enjoyed the audio book rather than the printed version, and as one who listens to hundreds of audio books, I can say that this production through the talent of Anton Lesser, produces dramatic results.

The book, this epic poem, is so beautifully written that it would be a pleasure to read, or listen to, even if the actual content was in some way lacking. But, the content is anything but lacking. For me, Milton points out that God is vengeful, jealous, and ego-driven, almost as though he were human. What father would pronounce the death sentence on his child for eating fruit from a tree (albeit "forbidden fruit")? What father would banish their child from Eden for that same offense? None that I know. Milton shows the God of the Genesis to be harsh and cruel while staying true to scripture.

If you are looking for a book that is beautiful to read, and thought-provoking to ponder, then look no further.

Best wishes, Kevin

When presented with a choice between a free and a cheap ($2) Kindle edition, I usually go with the cheap edition. But here, there was also a "moderate" priced Kindle edition, with a critical introduction. I chose the third, not for the benefit of the introductory essay or even for the pictures, although both were welcome. I picked this one because it had both hard copy page number and the line counter. There is nothing worse than having someone give you a reference by line number, and you can't find it, because your edition left off the lines. Of course, you can usually find the reference by searching, but for really common words, like "Satan", for example, that can be tedious. The only improvement I can imagine would be if this were an annotated edition, which it is not. But since it is in English, the main questions are to what events of the day may Milton be referring. For that, I have a good annotated paperback edition.

So, this is the Kindle edition of choice for Paradise Lost!