The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner
Ratings10
Average rating3.8
15
Ratings10
Average rating3.8
Published anonymously in 1824, this gothic mystery novel was written by Scottish author James Hogg. The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner was published as if it were the presentation of a century-old document. The unnamed editor offers the reader a long introduction before presenting the document written by the sinner himself.
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This is the novel that James Robertson so skilfully pays homage to with The Testament of Gideon Mack, and it is equally as brilliant. Like The Testament, Confessions recounts a mere mortal's meeting with the devil and all its consequences, and despite being published in 1824 it teeters bizarrely on the edge of postmodernism. Hogg's dense, florid writing makes this a challenging read at times but it's worth sticking with, if only to marvel at the fact that such a book could have been written and published at the beginning of the 19th century.
Although this is a relatively short book, it soon wears out its welcome. It becomes evident very early into Robert's story what is going on, but it then takes a long time to get to the end.
A strange mix of gothic horror, morality tale and critique of extreme Calvinism.
