Jerusalem (Moore novel)

Jerusalem
Author Alan Moore
Language English
Set in Northampton
Published September, 2016
Publisher Knockabout (UK), Liveright (US)
Media type Hardcover
Pages 1266
ISBN 978-0-86166-252-4 (UK), 978-1-63149-134-4 (US)

Jerusalem is a novel by British author Alan Moore, mostly set in and around Northampton. Combining elements of historical and supernatural fiction and drawing on a range of writing styles, the author describes it as a work of "genetic mythology".[1] Published in 2016, Jerusalem took a decade to write.[1] At the time of publication it was one of the 10 longest novels written in the English language. The novel is divided into three Books, "The Boroughs", "Mansoul", and "Vernall's Inquest".

Overview

The story develops over centuries, mostly set in the Boroughs, the most ancient neighbourhood in Northampton. The colophon states that the book is based on a true story; it concerns a large collection of characters: some mythical, some fictional, and some historical. Along with his family's oral traditions, life experience,[2] and ideas (such as eternalism) that he had explored in other writings,[2] Moore's research sources included a collection of interviews entitled “In Living Memory — Life in ‘The Boroughs,’” published by the Northampton Arts Development in 1987,[3] as well as old Kelly's directories.[2]

A key narrative arc culminates in 2006 with an exhibit of paintings by one of the characters, Alma Warren — indicated by the author portrait and its caption, present on the book's jacket, to be a stand-in for Moore. Several events in the story are retold with different characters as the focaliser, with the writing style adapted to the focal character's inner voice,[2] in a way that unites otherwise disconnected narrative threads.[4] The book includes chapters in the style of Samuel Beckett, James Joyce, as well as a chapter written in verse, while the entire second Book is somewhat in the style of a children's novel (a "savage, hallucinating Enid Blyton," according Moore in a 2008 interview with the BBC).[5][6][7]

The novel's title is a reference to And did those feet in ancient time by William Blake, which was set to music and given the title "Jerusalem" by Hubert Parry.[1] Prominent themes include "poverty, wealth, history, the evolution of English as a visionary language"[8] as well as "madness, ghosts, and the confusion of dreams, visions, memories, and premonitions."[9]

Editions

Alongside the one-volume hardcover first edition, Jerusalem was simultaneously released in a 3-volume slipcased paperback edition,[10][11] and as an unabridged audio book narrated by Simon Vance, published by Recorded Books, Inc.[12] The front cover (or, respectively, the slipcover for the 3-volume paperback edition) depicts several key scenes and characters from the novel in the form of a diorama.[13] Each of the three Books begins with an epigram and photographic illustration (comprising cover illustrations for the slipcased volumes).

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Creating Jerusalem: Alan Moore on the most important book he has written". 20 July 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Dominic Wells (22 September 2016). "If you read only one Alan Moore Jerusalem interview, make it this one". London, Hollywood.
  3. ↑ "Alan Moore: By the Book". New York Times. 8 September 2016.
  4. ↑ "The Book About Everything - Reading Alan Moore's Jerusalem". 12 September 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  5. ↑ Alison Flood (10 September 2014). "Alan Moore finishes million-word novel Jerusalem". The Guardian.
  6. ↑ Nic Rigby. "Comic legend keeps true to roots". BBC News.
  7. ↑ Parkin, Lance (2013). Magic Words: The Extraordinary Life of Alan Moore. Aurum Press Ltd. pp. 377–378.
  8. ↑ "Narrating Alan Moore's Jerusalem". 10 September 2016.
  9. ↑ "Jerusalem by Alan Moore". 10 October 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  10. ↑ http://www.knockabout.com/featured/jerusalem-by-alan-moore-3-paperbacks-in-slipcase/
  11. ↑ http://books.wwnorton.com/books/detail.aspx?ID=4294992183
  12. ↑ http://www.recordedbooks.com/title-details/9781501931697
  13. ↑ Steve Scoles (8 June 2016). "Jerusalem Cover". Retrieved 13 October 2016 – via YouTube.
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