Book of the Damned, the - The Secret Books of Paradys One (original 1988; edition 1989)

This work (like one or two others by Tanith Lee) has been simultaneously fascinating and baffling me for years. For instance, I’ve just read it through twice in succession, and I’ve read it a couple of previous times over the years, yet I’m still not sure if it is a novel in three parts or three, separate novellas on a common theme.

Her characters move through different ages of her fictionalised version of Paris: a mediaeval cutthroat of the dark alleys and the night; a dissolute, self-destructive bohemian writer; an Edwardian drag queen. But her characters are often not what they seem – or, if they are, they are liable to not stay that way, metamorphosing into something else; for, in whatever age, the world of this novel is one where the supernatural is a reality. In fact, allied to my confusion over whether this is a single work or not, it’s difficult to work out how many separate characters there are – some may or may not be single beings reincarnated.

I strongly suspect Ms Lee of allegory and symbolism, though I’m not even sure of that; so I’m simply offering for consideration the idea that the theme of the book could be the selfish, destructive passion and desire for possession we can have for another human being; the kind of passion that will do neither you nor its object much good but which makes for great opera or drama (or novels). Then again, a theme could be gender roles; for this is a world where characters are liable to move across gender boundaries in a variety of ways. The book is rich with rather oblique cultural references, too. You can catch a half-allusion to Joan of Arc, say, or a poem by Poe, and then you puzzle what, if any, may be the implication.

One thing I am sure of is the quality of Ms Lee’s writing. She writes a colourful, poetic prose, rich with metaphor and simile, which carries your imagination through the book even while your intellect is struggling for meanings and patterns, and she can put striking pictures before your mind’s eye with just a few brush strokes. She has created a work poised somewhere between fantasy and fin-de-siècle and dark (very dark on times), gothic horror. If that appeals to you and you don’t mind being challenged and puzzled, I strongly recommend it. ( )

The title of this one is apt- I admit I found it highly disturbing. Tanith Lee is the author of a few of my favorite books, but this one definitely doesn't make that list. It focuses on three different characters (two of whom begin to seem connected towards the end), who seem to be connected primarily by their combination of masculinity and femininity. The books have more of a swell of emotions than a story and are both gory and sexual. ( )