There are women in distress and supernatural elements too. You get omens or some type of prophecy that is going on. It’s more a sense of atmosphere and dread that takes place in the settings of the book. I saw some readers complaining this wasn’t very horror-like and I think people get confused by what Gothic means. It reminds me a bit of “The Woman in White”. The writing does a great job with the Gothic elements I have to say. At different points of the story you follow those who are haunted by Melmoth who witnessed characters during the reign of Queen Mary, the Armenian genocide, and even German collaborators in Prague during World War II.

The story shifts a lot and through manuscripts, letters, and other writings you follow the story within a story that Perry lays out. Helen proceeds to read the writings of a man named Hoffman who spins the tale of a biblical figure named Melmoth and what he has done in his past that has him believing she is waiting for him to take her hand. When Karel insists that Helen read something that has come into his hands she indulges him. Karel seems very changed, and it doesn’t just seem to be because of the stroke that Thea had which has left her changed from the woman that they both know and love. When Helen runs into Karel on the streets of Prague after the holiday she is alarmed by his presence.

Helen though has managed in spite of her best efforts to make two friends, Karel and Thea. She really doesn’t interact with people much and it almost seems as if she is punishing herself for some mysterious reason. Helen moved to Prague about 20 years ago and spends her time translating the most banal things. I loved the idea behind the “final witness” who is there to judge us in the end. I l do want to say that I loved the idea behind those who “witness” and stand by when something reprehensible is going on. Things do eventually pick up, but once again, I got to the ending and I just did not believe it. I do not want to read the word jackdaw again. Also, the writing starts getting very repetitive. By the time you hear of Helen’s story I felt quite bored. The main reason why I didn’t give this 5 stars was that towards the end, the book just drags. I felt like I was on the streets of Prague with a figure in black quietly watching me. I thought the writing for the most part was spot-on. Just like with that book, Perry pushes the Gothic elements all the while telling several stories within the main story. She took her own spin on Melmoth the Wanderer Novel by Charles Maturin. I didn’t care for the Essex Serpent at all and worried I wouldn’t like this book, but I thought Perry did a good job with this. So this was a 3.5 star read that I rounded up to 4 stars.

Melmoth by sarah perry