Love & Sleep

Name your field - real or pseudo - and you'll find it explored, and maybe explained, in this tetrology. Pierce Moffett, our main character is still searching for that mystical power from the past that is still around today - perhaps. We journey into the past, into the spiritual, and a present that may not be our present. We meet philosophers, priests, professors , the prayerful and the perplexed. We study the mysteries of life and the hope of resolution. Memory systems are investigated. I've sensed while reading this series that it has the feel of something else I've read. Just now it came to mind: Hermann Hesse's Magister Ludi (aka The Glass Bead Game). Of course, I don't know if it influenced Crowley, but the mental acrobatics I've had to perform in reading both authors are eerily similar. This is not a stand alone novel. The four books in the Aegypt Cycle are merely physical separations of one story. I've been highly entertained by the first two and I heartily recommend them.

I loved the Appalachian lore worked into the intricate plot and the window into Pierce's childhood. It is constantly surprising, rich in detail, and beautifully written throughout.

Volume two of Crowley's vast novel "Aegypt": I alternated between rapture and discomfort while reading this. The first third, relating some episodes from the main character's childhood, is exquisite by any standard; but the rest of the book suffers as a reading experience from jagged transitions and maddening enigmas. Great set-pieces and superb bits of writing are to be found in it--as well as a jaw-dropping shock for anyone the tiniest bit prudish--but the overall impression is that the book is adrift. There is no specific flow or flavor to "Love & Sleep" as a whole, like there is in "Aegypt"'s astonishingly great first volume. These were my thoughts, reading it. I went on with reluctance to "Daemonomania", only to find it wonderful. In addition, it provided enough perspective on the events of "Love & Sleep" to make them wonderful for me in hindsight. Here's the thing: this is not a "tetralogy". It is ALL ONE BOOK, one already somewhere between "War & Peace" and "Clarissa" in length. There are certain organic divisions within the book, but they don't always neatly match the cut-off points of the volumes. The latter two-thirds of "L & S" flow right into "Daemonomania", and most of the many mysteries introduced in it are developed to fullness in that volume. The tone of "L & S" is purposely difficult: the characters are lost, their worlds fragmented. "Aegypt: The Solitudes" is something of a book of youth, of discovery and gathering power; "Love & Sleep" deals with setbacks, detours, bafflements. "Daemonomania" continues these but shows people gradually putting themselves together within the chaos, and discovering ways of coping with a reality that does not love them. The book ends with the foot finally back on the path, and knowing, finally, how to stay on it. Crowley takes ridiculous artistic risks, especially in writing depression depressingly, but they all pay off: he deserves your trust and patience. This volume haunts me as much as the others of this amazing work. I expect it will reread exquisitely.

The first sequel to AEgypt, Love & Sleep chronicles lovelorn and adrift Pierce Moffett as he stands upon the cusp of a magical change in history. Simultaneously, we view the brief encounter between Giordano Bruno and John Dee at Mortlake in the late 16th century, Pierce's own childhood in the Cumberland mountains, and begin to see deeply into the lives of Pierce's two roses (Rose Ryder and Rosie Rasmussen). This book seems to have been unpopular with some Crowley fans, perhaps because it almost entirely lacks any sort of action, and is instead a lyrical, brooding meditation on change and age. It is also true that some of the Renaissance scenes are over-long, windy, and at times do not quite ring true. Further, it is a sequel, and what's more will have two more sequels of its own; the third book in the series, Daemonomania, is already out, but who knows when book 4 will appear? Although I would grant all these criticisms, it is Crowley's graceful prose that makes this book such an extraordinary achievement. AEgypt was a bit unfocused, seemingly unsure where it was going; Love & Sleep takes wing and soars. Crowley's ear for modern speech is exceptional, and he also manages to clutch us emotionally without ever dipping into maudlin or pathos. Furthermore, the way he weaves together oddities of Renaissance magical history and mythology with the modern world is breathtaking --- Bobby Shaftoe's werewolf father is hauntingly real, human, and deeply felt. For me, this is Crowley's best book since Little, Big, but it's certainly not for the quick reader. Love & Sleep requires a good deal of effort and time from the reader, and we must be prepared to surrender to the homely, slow pace of the prose.

A 4 book work in progress, starting with "Aegypt". Dealing with 2 plots, one in the current time (Pierce Moffat), one in the past (Bruno). Bruno discovers, in the middle ages, the 20th century explanation of how the universe works, speaks out about it and gets persecuted by the Inquisition. John Dee talks to an angel thru his "shew" stone. The sections for the books are the latin names of the houses of the zodiac. We can therefore look forward to another 2 books with 3 houses each. This is a hurculean effort. Lets hope John Crowley doesn't run out of plot before he runs out of houses. It took about a decade between the publishing of book one and two. Lets also hope that he will not need 40 years to finish the story. The quality is too good.