Most helpful customer reviews
|
|
3.0 out of 5 stars
The first crime novel?, Jul 23 2003
In his study of the crime novel "Bloody Murder " the critic and novelist Julian Symons made out a persuasive case for Caleb Williams to be considered the first fully fledged crime novel to be published.As a contrast Scott Bradfield ,writing in the book " Horror ;the Best 100 books"(edited by Jones and Newman)included the book as his choice for the best horror title.
I am more persuaded by Symons categorization -although there are elements of the Gothic novel present that lend support to Bradfields assertions and it strikes me as an interesting paradox that such a pioneering work in the crime literature pantheon is one that fundamentally contradicts so many of the values espoused by later crime writers with their social and intellectual conservatism.Caleb Williams is the work of a political radical , an Anarchist and supporter of the French Revolution,many of whose friends and associates were in prison for sedition and treason at the time he wrote the book eg Tom Paine.
Caleb is a young man taken into the employ of the local squire Falkland ,a kind and public spirited man but one who harbours a secret ,which is concealed in a room that Caleb is instructed he must never visit .He disobeys and finds evidence that Falkland is a murderer ,guilty of a crime for which another man was hanged.He is forced to flee to escape Falkland's vengeance ,a flight that sees him throw in his lot with a robber gang amomgst others.
On one level it is a tale of pusuit and flight ;on another it is a swingeing critique of injustice ;an injustice Godwin sees as inherent in any oligarchial political system.
The first part of the book -which establishes Falkland as an essentially kind and decent man-is heavy going for modern readers but as the novel gains pace and Caleb's plight intensifies it becomes a more gripping tale .Recommended for crime fiction devotees who want to see what the pre Poe practitioners were doing ;it will also interest students of the relatively unexplored highways and bye ways of the English novel.
|
|
|
3.0 out of 5 stars
I have very mixed feelings about this one., Dec 17 2002
Today, William Godwin is perhaps best known as the 'anarchist' philosopher who wrote "Enquiry Concerning Political Justice..." It is my understanding that in the 19th century, although his philosophy was popular, his fiction also garnered significant attention. After reading both "Enquiry" and "Caleb Williams," I can see both why his novels were popular then and why they're scarcely in print now. As a story, this novel is pretty good. It is a psychological suspense story of first (teetering on second) rate. The tale is about Caleb Williams's descent from a promising career as personal secretary to an intellectual, to a fleeting criminal that ironically was, at first, innocent. So, while the plot and action are good, these are buried in over-emotional asides and one dimensional characters. You never quite get to know Caleb, Mr. Falkland or anyone else here. All in all, as a story, I give it 4 stars as the plot makes up for any weaknesses. As a political/social commentary, this novel has 2 stars. First, unless she has read "Enquiry Concerning Political Justice," the reader will not pick up on many of the subtle points Godwin makes about the nature of liberty and its preconditions. Second, while trying to show Caleb as victim of a flawed legal system, Godwin created in Caleb a character that was just as villianous. The only way Calebs often villanous behavior could be explained is Godwin's belief in determinism; the theory that our actions are predetermined solely by external circumstance - in other words, Caleb, while increasingly underhanded in his actions, is not responsible for them as he is treated like a criminal anyhow. At any rate, one may not get these points if they've not read Godwin the philosopher. In short, I would reccomend this novel but with hesitancy. First, I would qualify the reccomendation with "but you should read "Enquiry" first." Well, since "Enquiry" is 800+ pages (and out of print in every edition) this is quite an undertaking in itself. However, if the reader JUST wants a good suspense story (minus the philosophical undertones) then this is a pretty good novel.
|
|
|
5.0 out of 5 stars
An adventure in sheer psychological terror., Dec 14 1999
Having never myself been the victim of a wrongful criminal accusation, imprisonment, or torture, I was ill-prepared for the experience of reading "Caleb Williams". I once thought that Orwell's "1984" and "Animal Farm," or the fiction works of Camus, Kafka, or Sartre were more than adequate to address the problem of total alienation and isolation in the very midst of humanity. Even Richardson's "Pamela" carries its heroine through half the novel in a state of claustrophobic paranoia. In 1794, Godwin created a world and a mind no less frightening than the worst and most depraved of the 20th century. That we still toil through issues of basic human and legal rights entering the 21st century speaks to the complexity of these issues and casts a shadow of doubt over our ever finding a suitable solution. In an effort to expose the hypocrisy of a legal system under the complete influence of the "long purse" and the lack of recourse of the common man to justice, Godwin has his hero Caleb suffer increasing terrors, imprisonment, and the threat of ceaseless surveillance at the hands of the ex-thief Gines. Like Richardson's Pamela, Caleb's suicidal fantasies enable him for a short while to claim control over his mind and his situation. Unlike Pamela, Caleb fails to maintain this control, even after he forces the ruthless Falkland to admit to the murder of Tyrrel. In a scene reminsicent of ones in "1984" and Kafka's "The Trial," Caleb relinquishes what little power he has been able to garner over his torturer. Falkland, a frail, physically powerless, demoniacal 'gentleman,' through a constant and pervasive presence in Caleb's own fragile mind has unwittingly reclaimed final power over the novel's helpless hero. By internalizing the social hierarchy since childhood, Caleb is finally unable to bear the disgrace he brings upon Falkland. Ironically, while he is pursued across England and Wales as a thief, he claims innocence. Once he is exonerated of his crime, he is insistent on his guilt. "Caleb Williams" is an endlessly complex and captivating novel, frought with issues of power, levels of narrative, and takes issue with the flawed notion of human justice.
|
|
|
|
