Jerusalem

Alan Moore

Sep 2016 · Liveright Publishing

About this ebook

New York Times Bestseller
Named one of the Best Books of the Year by NPR, the Washington Post, Kirkus Reviews, and Library Journal
Winner of the Audie Award

The New York Times bestseller from the author of Watchmen and V for Vendetta finally appears in a one-volume paperback.

Begging comparisons to Tolstoy and Joyce, this “magnificent, sprawling cosmic epic” (Guardian) by Alan Moore—the genre-defying, “groundbreaking, hairy genius of our generation” (NPR)—takes its place among the most notable works of contemporary English literature. In decaying Northampton, eternity loiters between housing projects. Among saints, kings, prostitutes, and derelicts, a timeline unravels: second-century fiends wait in urine-scented stairwells, delinquent specters undermine a century with tunnels, and in upstairs parlors, laborers with golden blood reduce fate to a snooker tournament. Through the labyrinthine streets and pages of Jerusalem tread ghosts singing hymns of wealth and poverty. They celebrate the English language, challenge mortality post-Einstein, and insist upon their slum as Blake’s eternal holy city in “Moore’s apotheosis, a fourth-dimensional symphony” (Entertainment Weekly). This “brilliant . . . monumentally ambitious” tale from the gutter is “a massive literary achievement for our time—and maybe for all times simultaneously” (Washington Post).

Ratings and reviews

You can really tell where Alan Moore cut his teeth as a writer with this book and that is not a good thing. Alan Moore as you are probably aware is one of the best comic book writers alive. He has demonstrated a unique ability to add drama and thought provoking content to stories we thought we knew. The problem here is that this is not a comic book. We do not have the illustrations of a talented artist to tell us what is going on but the descriptive abilities of Mr. Moore to guide us. In my opinion, this is where this book falls down. There is a good story in this book but it is so overflowing with needlessly long winded descriptions and set ups for different scenes that by the time you reached a meaningful part of the plot you are lost. I love Alan Moore Comics but this is not something I like.

Hashish and Superiority

Classic

About the author

Alan Moore is a magician and performer, and is widely regarded as the best and most influential writer in the history of comics. His seminal works include From Hell, V for Vendetta, and Watchmen, for which he won the Hugo Award. He was born in 1953 in Northampton, UK, and has lived there ever since.