Lilith

By J.R. Salamanca

Book Overview

Soars above the world of mundane reality and lures its readers into a world of sinister fantasy and haunting unreality.--Orville Prescott, The New York TimesR This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• ISBN: B000M6FQ38
• Release Date: January 1967
• Publisher: Bantam
• Weight: 0.49 lbs.

Customer Reviews

An American Magnum Opus...

"Lilith" Simply put, this is one of the finest novels I have ever read and I have wondered, as have others before me, why this book is not recognized as superlative, right up there with any other novel (by any novelist) that one cares to name. I first read it is a teenager in the 1960's. It has stayed with me ever since and from time to time I come back to it. As an artist I've drawn much inspiration from this work. It is at once disheartening and yet uplifting, full of dark underpinnings and at the same time it is full of light, exhausting and inspirational. It also stands as functional poetry. I once had a chance to see the movie but declined. I could see no point to trying to capture such perfection of prose and such insight to emotion via the medium of film. The book is one of those rare works where, indeed, the words are worth more than pictures. It was out of print for a while and during that time I scrounged around used book stores and at garage sales, and periodically I would find a copy. These I presented to several friends over the years. I have been thanked repeatedly ever since by those who received the book and, to the very person, each claims it to be indispensable. Spread the word. Then or now, this work deserves far more recognition than it receives.

A Haunting Novel That Won't Let You Go

I have one minor complaint with this novel, and it centers around the somewhat misleading cover of the book, which describes the story as "one woman's electrifying obsession." There certainly is an obsession in this book, but that belongs to the narrator, Vincent Bruce, not to Lilith, as the cover would have you believe. After finishing the novel, I blacked out the "wo" which just left "man's obsession," which seemed to me to be a more accurate description of the story within.Vincent, the main character, uses the telling of his story as a way to absolve and purge himself of his experiences with Lilith, a patient he cares for at the mental center where he works. He not only falls in love, but becomes "obsessed" with her. The second half of this novel mostly centers on his attraction to her, and how he compromises his duties as Lilith's caretaker with his feelings of love for her, a woman she herself describes as "mad." I don't want to give away too much of the story, but the prose in which it is told is both excellent and sensitive. I can't tell you how this book got under my skin! This novel succeeds in disturbing the reader, such is the brilliance of the text. It is seldom that a book really affects me as this one did. Salamanca portrays the story as if it really happened, as if it is a work of truth rather than fiction. It's a sad story, but one conveyed through beautiful language. Indeed, there were many passages where I felt like crying while reading them. As much as a reader can, you care for Vincent, and you care about what happens to him, and worry (as he does) about his ultimate destiny. He's a directionless figure, who just wants to succeed at something, and make a good life for himself filled with meaning, as his absent mother wished him to do. I urge you to read this book. And I ask, as another reviewer here does, "Why is this book neglected?" Perhaps you will read it and ask yourself the same question.

"knives wrapped in silk.."

This book did to me what no other has ever done. I became obsessed with it and read it over and over again for weeks. This was five years ago and I still pick it up once in a while to become engulfed by the enchanting fantasy it brings alive. It is the most beautiful and poetic thing I have ever read. Salamanca is a master of language.

a masterpiece

When I first read this book at age 15, borrowed from the local library, I was completely shattered. I thought then, as I still do, that it is one of the most evocative and hypnotic novels ever written. But when I went to borrow the book again a month later, it had disappeared. I then spent nearly 30 frustrating years trying to find another copy on my travels around the globe. I now have 5, to be safe. I also discovered Robert Rossen's sublime film of the book with Jean Seberg and Warren Beatty. I cannot think of a finer American film (one fortunately still available on video).I have now read J. R. Salamanca's other novels, including his recent and glorious That Summer's Trance. To all those who have not read Salamanca, please consider doing so. Lilith is the perfect start; you'll be hooked for life. And then, perhaps, the monumental Summer Light Ð another indisputable masterpiece of American literature.

The most monumental book ever written

I read this book twenty years ago and it had a profound effect on me as a person and as a writer. Having managed to find an available copy in my native England I am, again, captivated by its mesmeric imagery. It is a magical experience of peak creativity. Beautifully poetic with magical overtones. The descent of man into the pit of insanity that is Lilith is by far the greatest piece of written work it has been my pleasure to have read