Mordew

Gah. Dit is precies wat ik wou vermijden door alleen nog dingen te lezen die afgerond zijn: een boek dat wel interessant is, maar dat op een cliffhanger eindigt.

Om te beginnen: ik vermijd normaal gezien spoilers als de pest, en lees alleen maar een miniem stukje van de blurb of van non-spoiler-reviews om te beslissen of ik een boek zal lezen.

De eerste lijn van elke omschrijving van dit boek (“God is dead, his corpse hidden in the catacombs beneath Mordew.”) is een monumentale spoiler, in de zin dat die onthulling pas zeer ver in de tweede helft van het boek komt, en een hele reeks dingen van in het begin van het boek duidelijk maakt.

Tegelijkertijd is het ook geen spoiler, in de zin dat de auteur al met onze voeten speelt van op de allereerste pagina:

If, during the reading of Mordew, you find yourself confused by all the unfamiliar things, there is a glossary at the back.

Be careful. Some entries contain information unknown to the protagonist.

There is a school of thought that says that the reader and the hero of a story should only ever know the same things about the world. Others say that transparency in all things is essential, and no understanding in a book should be hidden or obscure, even if it the protagonist doesn't share it. Perhaps the ideal reader of Mordew is one who understands that they, like Nathan Treeves (its hero), are not possessed of all knowledge of all things at all times. They progress through life in a state of imperfect certainty and know that their curiosity will not always be satisfied immediately (if ever).

In any event, the glossary is available if you find yourself lost.

Dramatis personae

Mr Treeves
He was born from a stone weathered in the rain and ice of a winter perched on the Sea Wall. A fault in this stone was eased open by the freeze, and in the spring Treeves père wriggled out, salty and cold and weak. His strength was further wasted fending off frostbite and fish bite and death by drowning. He is now moribund and ineffectual, prey to lungworm infestation. He is Nathan Treeves's father.

Mrs Treeves
Down in the slums she is wife to Mr Treeves, mother to Nathan Treeves, servicer of all comers. A more ignoble thing it would be hard to imagine. Yet who are you to judge? Time will tell.

• many carcasses of butchered animals left to rot


• a child who is all limbs and nothing else


• a child who is made into a ghost


• a child with the face of a dog


• a child, blind in one eye, whose sight is partially returned


• a number of children, beaten


• children that are made into nothing but a spine and a head


• children that come unbidden from nowhere


• children who drink only wine


• a chimney with a devil's head on the top


• cities with odd names


• some clay figures animated by blood sacrifice


• combustible feathers


• a corpse that becomes two corpses


• a corridor suitable only for a child


• a country bounded by white cliffs to its south


• a creature that is transformed from itself into a rat


• creatures that are born directly from the muck


• creatures that live only for a moment, and then fall to pieces


• a crew of sailors, all with Irish names

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