Anthony Burgess (1) (1917–1993)

Hard to imagine a large market for a contemporary book written in authentic 16th century English prose! Your reward for taking up the challenge is a tale that is at once scholarly, erudite, philosophical, metaphysical, historical, literary and deeply engaging.

Burgess's 100% commitment to authenticity has the feel of a doctoral student who has spent so long immersed in their topic, they've lost all perspective of what passes for "normal" interest in their area of obsession. For this isn't just a fictionalized account of Marlowe's adult life, focused particularly on his intellectual meditations, his sexuality, and his flirtation with espionage, but also a deep (deep, deep, deep) dive into the world that he inhabited, a chaotic tintinnabulation of religious bickering, political chicanery, literary experimentation, scientific revelation, philosophical musing, global exploration, xenophobia, corruption, violence, plague, and genius.

Some tips for those who may be considering taking the plunge:
* DO maintain a glossary of players, because Burgess's cast of characters tend to reappear in multiple acts, playing multiple roles; maintaining a "cheat sheet" will keep you from having to continually double back to recall the relevancy of each;
* DO sketch out the family trees, because this will help clarify motives and affiliations;
* DO look up the arcane vocab/investigate the historical references/translate the bits in Latin, because if you don't you'll miss out on important connotation;
* DO take your time! Give yourself permission to linger over the language, which is extravagant, evocative, and exceedingly clever; to absorb the Elizabethan ambiance that Burgess conjures with alchemical artistry; and to consider the dense philosophical, religious and political issues that Burgess introduces, an astonishing number of which feel as relevant today as they were back in 1580. (Politicians stoking xenophobia to suit their own purposes ... sound familiar?)

Will admit that I wouldn't recommend this to the vast majority of my acquaintances. Had I not gone into this armed with a degree in English specializing in 16th-17th century literature + a decent familiarity with Kit Marlowe's bio + credentials as a researcher/analyst, I'm not sure I would have gotten as much out of it as the effort I put in. Even with the benefit of this foundation, still ended up devoting 3 full weeks to working my way through this, involving as many as 5-6 annotations per page clarifying arcane language, obscure historical references, and/or literary allusions. But I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of the journey, and am grateful to Burgess for this stunningly unique homage to Marlowe's complicated life and genius.… (more)

I recommend this wonderful book to anyone who wants to approach either "Ulysses" or "Finnegans Wake". Burgess was a great admirer of Joyce. In this book his enthusiasm shines through, and Burgess does admirably in going out of his way to encourage readers to go beyond any initial hesitancy they may have, and to search out the magic in Joyce's masterpieces.
Burgess' elucidation of "Ulysses" would be an invaluable help to have alongside one while reading the novel. As for "Finnegans Wake", Burgess does his best in teasing out the thousand fold threads that permeate and tangle the dream-scape of this thundering monster. He is the first to admit limitations, but he ought to be congratulated in doing his best. The final chapter is a stout defence of Joyce in face of his detractors, who accuse him of unintelligibility. Burgess' point is that "Dream-literature, breaking down all boundaries, may be more concerned with the phenomenon of language" than "Waking literature (that is, literature that bows to time and space)" which "is the exploitation of a single language".… (more)