| Rating: | ★★★★★ |
| Category: | Books |
| Genre: | Horror |
| Author: | Anne Rice |
It was a little more than 10 years ago when I first had a taste of the vampire realm created by Anne Rice. I was turning nineteen. And pretty much like most people in their late teens at that time, I was into so many things. But Anne Rice wasn't among them.
A friend who randomly picked up this certain book shoved it in my face one day and said, "hey you're a little off-normal. Maybe you'll like reading this." I read the cover: Memnoch the Devil. It was a paperback copy and in the very center of it, a small illustration of a silhouette of a caped man walking in the snow. It was love at first sight.
I know that it's weird to have started with the fifth book in the series but being deployed in a rural area as part of OJT left me with so very few options. Besides, I was too addle-brained at that time to not have realized that Interview with the Vampire (the movie) was connected with that gem of a book I held in my hands.
Enough of that. On with the story. Needless to say, Memnoch the Devil started my Anne Rice frenzy.
First off, a warning and a disclaimer:
This uhm.. review contains considerable amount of spoilers. Well I'll try to leave the meaty details but if I may suggest, read the book first. Anne Rice works best with an unsuspecting mind.
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JUST THE GIST OF IT
The story started off with Lestat stalking and killing this mobster named Roger, and falling in love with his televangelist daughter, Dora. Roger's ghost asked Lestat to watch over Dora (I know, lucky woman!). At the same time, Lestat was being stalked by a certain "man," sending him off in a spell of unsubstantiated fear.
Eventually his stalker introduced himself as Memnoch, the Devil. Memnoch took Lestat to an impetuous journey of Heaven and Hell and everything in between, in an effort to gain Lestat as an ally in his quest against God and His silence. The undeniably proud Brat Prince, though he disclaimed belief in either God or the Devil, was left in confusion whether or not to believe Memnoch's side of the biblical story.
Lestat saw the suffering souls in hell and the fall of Those Who Question God, witnessed the temptation in the desert, and beheld Christ's crucifixion, among other things. He lost one eye in hell, drank from The Christ himself, and brought home Veronica's veil. Dora showed the veil to the already frantic believers. Armand, upon seeing the veil, went into the sun to convince the world that a miracle had happened.
The story ended with Lestat getting his eye back and losing his mind. Maharet had to chain him and lock him up under the St. Elizabeth convent. When he was finally released, he went into a prolonged coma on the floor of St. Elizabeth's.
**Please do not read beyond this point if you haven't read the book**
MY $0.02 WORTH
Memnoch the Devil exhibits Anne Rice's storytelling prowess once again. I've read the book three times and I still can't get enough of it. It was just too bad that I hadn't slept a wink the night Anne Rice Philippines held the Memnoch Gathering. I was literally undead and unproductive. Anyway...
With this novel, I can't help but feel like Anne had created a massive fan fiction of The Holy Bible. With so much guilt, I enjoyed the way she represented God, The Christ and The Devil - that God and The Devil are more like friends than adversaries. I don't know how many times I've exclaimed "Oh my God!" and "why the hell not!" first time I read this book.
A warning to fellow Christians: if this book does not fascinate you, it will anger you!
There were so many instances when I agreed to Anne's "fictional" take on God's silence (oh you've heard of it - "you will find out, in God's own time"). There was a lot of times when I was on Memnoch's side. Well here, The Devil means The Accuser of God and not really God's adversary (like what Lucifer is in The Bible). Memnoch even mentioned the names of other fallen angels here, explaining that they are capable of feeling envy as much as they are well known for loving.
An even more interesting facet of this novel is that it implies that God created life and the entire universe to help Him understand His own existence. That in creating figures like Him He might be able to know more about His own self. It made me lose my mind I'm telling you. I was a mad(wo)man.
And oh, read through it and you'll find out how controversial, not to mention, blasphemous, The Temptation in the Desert and The Crucifixion were retold! Honestly, the serpent did make a lot of sense to me. And how about the part where Lestat actually drank from Christ Himself? Of course I took it down with a grain of salt.
I guess that's the reason why I love this book the most. It made me ask questions, flirted with my doubts, mocked my understanding, and eventually brought me even closer to home.
And what's with Lestat? Was he really that crucial of an ally? Was it necessary for him to join Memnoch to defeat God? Of course not. Memnoch just happen to know that Lestat would do what he'd need him to do. You know our Lestat - predictably rebellious. Everything is an adventure to him. He's every inch The Brat Prince.
Of course Memnoch knew from the start that whatever the outcome is, God always wins. Lestat, with so much confusion in his head, had to run from one realm to another, not realizing he'd already been working for Memnoch all along. When Lestat realized it, he went out of his mind.
So what exactly did Lestat do for Memnoch? He helped him usher more souls into heaven, and proved Memnoch's point that man need not suffer to strengthen his faith and love for God.
The way the story ended left me begging for more. I know most of us asked the same question: why did Armand go into the sun when he saw Veronica's veil? And more importantly, why did Lestat go into coma?
Armand was reunited with his Christ. The same Christ he abandoned centuries ago, before he became the ruthless leader of the coven who punished the vampire child. Seeing the veil, his doubts were erased. Going into the sun was his way to redemption. If I hadn't read The Vampire Armand, I wouldn't have realized this.
Lestat, on the other hand, lost his mind because he just couldn't accept the fact that all those things happened. Seeing his lost eye and reading a note from Memnoch confirmed that they did take place. Lestat, the ever so proud prince of darkness, The Damnedest Creature, just had the greatest adventure of his entire existence, and he didn't want to believe it. He doesn't believe in the existence of God nor the Devil and yet, he believes that The Devil was following him. Ah, how much more can I ever love you, Lestat.
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Next review: The Vampire Armand.
Watch out for Anne Rice Philippines' Azriel Gathering. Coming soon.
