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Nov 03, 2008

Karen L. rated it:

This book from the very beginning was like a supernatural journey to places I have never been. There was absolutely nothing predictable about the book. Page by page, it kept stirring my curiosity. It was well written and the characters were also well developed. T.S. Elliot said of Williams, " "To him the supernatural was perfectly natural, and the natural was also supernatural." Though he was a man of Christian faith, there is no mention of God or Jesus in any of the story. There More...

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Jan 12, 2009

Paul rated it:

This is one of the strangest books ever written. A young woman dies to discover a London that looks right out of Dante. A painter does a portrait of a minister and discovers he has painted beetles, and the minister thanks him for it! A magician sends someone to the future. And somehow, this is all a deeply religious book. Williams, a favored friend of C. S. Lewis wrote this and several other very strange novels. All of them are great reads while being deeply, deeply strange.

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Apr 30, 2011

Julian rated it:

Let me start off with two observations. The first is that this book doesn't scale the heights of masterpieces like The Place of the Lion or The Greater Trumps, that it does not portray so clearly the implacable eruption of supernatural powers into the mundane world and the reaction to them of the worldlings. Rather, like, say Descent into Hell, it shows a world where natural and supernatural coexist and interact, though this book has a more positive resolution.

The second is that More...

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Dec 05, 2010

John rated it:

Of all the books I have ever read, this is the one that had the most profound impact on my life. I call this "the book that started the avalanche that brought me here." It's not the best book every written from a literary standpoint--indeed, Williams has serious flaws as a writer of fiction. I'm not saying it's the book I enjoyed most (PILLARS OF THE EARTH warrants that distinction). I'm saying that this book changed my life direction, and more than any other book I have ever read, it More...

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Sep 13, 2010

Eli rated it:

Charles Williams more or less invented what we'd now call "urban fantasy", and was a huge influence on C.S. Lewis and Tolkien, but his dense, idiosyncratic writing and philosophical/theological obsessions make his books a little daunting. They're all worth the effort, but this one is probably the closest to a successful novel and it's a page-turner too-- sort of the "evil sorcerer, wandering ghosts and star-crossed lovers" story to end all such stories. There are some images More...

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Aug 23, 2011

David rated it:

Charles Williams was one of the Inklings and friend of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. You can see Williams' influence on his Oxford friend in Lewis' That Hideous Strength (the last book in Lewis's space trilogy) and in the Great Divorce. He was also friends with T.S Eliot who wrote the preface to this book. This has to be one of the best books Williams wrote and the first chapter is one of the creepiest beginnings I've ever read. Two of the main characters are dead (although they are unaware of More...

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Sep 26, 2009

Micha rated it:

All Hallow's Eve is an amazing book in that it explores both the question of 'what happens when you die?' as well as 'what is the relationship between the dead and the living?'. The way that Williams interweaves relationships and spirituality is nothing short of genius. Anyone who is even remotely interested in mysticism will really enjoy this book. A warning: it is very deep and very heavy and I could imagine it being a little difficult to understand if you were not raised in the liturgical More...

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Feb 09, 2011

Kim (vnfan) rated it:

This book is not one you can casually read. I'm a fairly perceptive reader and to be honest, I'm not sure I fully grasp it. But there is nothing else like it, and it is an amazing book to work through.

I can see, though, that this book would have been an example of the occultism that Tolkien felt Williams was choosing to make himself vulnerable to -- reportedly one of the reasons for the 'split' between Lewis and Tolkien. The occultism is blatant and is clearly used for evil, but one More...

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Jul 06, 2011

Jeannie rated it:

I also read this book for a class at BYU. This one shook me up more than War in Heaven did. But there were so many amazing spiritual insights to be found as I suffered through yet another fearsome (I'm looking for a stronger word here) battle between good and evil. I remember that my copy was all marked up and had lots of notes in the margins. I lost it along with most of my paperback books when they were stored at a relative's home and termites did their work. Talk about a war between good and More...

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Mar 28, 2011

A. T. rated it:

Definitely not a book for the faint of heart. Strange, ethereal, and downright creepy, Charles Williams (one of the Inklings with C. S. Lewis and Tolkien) was a Christian Platonist and knew how to tell a story. I'm not even sure how to summarize the plot; a young newly wed woman is killed in an airplane crash in London. She dies and is wandering through the archetypal City with a friend (also killed in the crash) who she finds annoying. Meanwhile her widower goes over to a friend's house and see More...

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Mar 26, 2011

Tara rated it:

More like a chess game of metaphysics cloaked in poetry than a novel. It's very beautiful, but I must admit more than a little bit was beyond me. Like everything Williams wrote, one must pay close attention, re-read things as many times as necessary, and sincerely be able to allow him to shatter conventional story-telling while still creating a story. Even with all that I can say Williams seems to have understood things I simply cannot. But his goodness radiates off the page, and is worth pursui More...

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Nov 01, 2011

Helen rated it:

I read this yesterday, in honor of the occasion. Highly worthwhile, as Williams always is, with several passages leaving you feeling a) vaguely stupid for not quite understanding him and b) inspired to read everything so that next time you read the book you might possibly get it. Because there will be a next time.

Also, I found his differentiation between love and compassion/kindness particularly fabulous. Perfect reading for All Hallow's Eve.

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Feb 06, 2011

Linda rated it:

One of my favorite books of all time! Read over 25 years ago and have a copy on my shelf. Breaking down the battle of good versus evil to something as simple as the power of bring a glass of water to a wife...I don't know why this book didn't take off and stand toe-to-toe, if not above Tolkien's Lord of the Ring Series...perhaps he explored the dark side too closely to be palatable to the masses. Read this if you have a chance...

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Aug 03, 2011

Stephen rated it:

One could call it a ghost story. One could call it a supernatural thriller. One could place it in the genre of the "Left Behind" series or "The DaVinci Code" but for its intellectual and literary qualities. Williams' language is a bit dense and his investigation of each character's motives and thoughts slows the novel down, but it is filled with so many ideas that it is better to savour them than to gulp them and rush on to the next bit of action. Williams was one of t... (sh

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Dec 10, 2008

Suzy rated it:

I love Charles Williams, but sometimes he is too much for me. This one was just too much for me (if you're ever read any Williams, you know what I mean) - which is slightly strange since this is his most widely read novel. Many Dimensions was so much better!

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Jul 09, 2011

Tracy rated it:

I was so excited to read this book.....I had read many rave reviews about it......it ended up being one of the worst books I have ever read. It was a very boring ghost story that was really hard to follow. I was pretty disappointed.

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Aug 09, 2011

Bill rated it:

Williams' is like nothing else. Contemporary urban fantasy/horror was born here. Not for all tastes, it reminded me of C.S. Lewis' "That Hideous Strength".

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Dec 27, 2010

Mick rated it:

Wow! Beautiful language describing a horrific tale which mixes the realm of the dead and living seamlessly and with meaning. Strange and difficult sentences become instantly clear with otherworldly wisdom! Magical practices set against a world of love and all-triumphant light. Great book.

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Mar 16, 2011

Cheryl rated it:

Dense and difficult. . .all of Charles Williams books are less accessible than many we've read. Well worth the effort, though.

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Feb 28, 2011

Amy rated it:

CREEEEEEEEEEEPY!!! I love the way the world of the dead and living are combined in this amazing book.

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Jul 17, 2009

Roy rated it:

Charles Williams writes on the margin of the physical and metaphysical and this is the best example of his storytelling. We learn how the characters -- and ourselves as readers -- react when we are touched by the spiritual world. This a wonderful mix of historical fiction, spiritual challenge, and thought-provoking insight into human thinking. His writing draws me in every time and I truly enjoy the art he practiced.

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Mar 02, 2009

Augl rated it:

I first read this book when I was young--12ish?--I remember liking it better then...Although the descriptions of the newly dead learning/adjusting/understanding their new status was at the same interesting and tedious. Gave a new dimension to "the hallows."

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May 03, 2011

Michael rated it:

This is Charles Williams' finest book. It is the culmination of all his other novels. It contains elements of all of them into a true masterpiece. The only downside to this is it lacks the creativity, the newness of his other great novels. If I had read this book first it would have 5 stars, and indeed it may change to have them, because it is an excellent book. This book is one of the easier of his books to read, not a difficult read like some of his others. Well written as always this is a sup More...

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Dec 16, 2009

Penny rated it:

This book was a gift from a friend and I only started reading it to be polite. I was resistant at first, but it sucked me in.

The setting appears to be Purgatory, although that name is never used. The protagonist, Lester, is a ghost circulating in the living world while she comes to understand, repent of, and make restitution for her earthly sins. Her sincere repentance protects her in surprising ways when she encounters some really scary stuff.

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Dec 17, 2008

Bill rated it:

Charles Williams is one of the most confusing, mystifying writers I've ever read... and yet I've read his fiction books over and over again. He weaves Christianity into themes involving Kabbalah, spiritualism and Tarot to a point where you perceive the connectivity of all. He was a gifted, imaginative writer who died much too soon.

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Jul 21, 2009

Ann rated it:

Truly fiction by which one measures all fiction.

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Dec 19, 2009

S. rated it:

I read this for a college theology class and thought it was terrific, and what a genre - the Christian Thriller. Maybe a precursor to The DaVinci Code? Not really, although gripping, it's much more interested in actual theology. I should probably give it four stars, but hey, I'm anti-inflation.

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Feb 07, 2010

Tiffany rated it:

I don't know--it was kind of interesting, but it has that certain inklingness (religious and racial superiority) about it that makes me very uncomfortable. A different kind of ghost story for sure but I just couldn't get over all the references to the "jewishness" of the bad guy.

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Jul 04, 2010

Mike (the Paladin) rated it:

Another great Charles Williams book. We start out walking through a foggy London night, with a recently killed woman...and from there it gets a little weird.

I like Charles Williams, and so far I believe this is my favorite of his books.

Recommended.

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Oct 14, 2011

Stephen rated it:

I'm currently readi ng this in the electronic format downloded from the Gutenberg site, since I don't have a copy and the library copy is at the bindery.

A group of us on the Coinherence-l mailing list are reading it and commenting as we go.

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