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Jerusalem, Book Two: Mansoul

(Jerusalem #2)

Alan Moore (Goodreads Author)

4.09 · Rating details · 54 ratings · 11 reviews

Book two of three.

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Published 2016

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· 54 ratings · 11 reviews

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Mar 06, 2018 Michael rated it really liked it

Magnificent but flawed. I just feel that this and the first part could have been edited fairly heavily for a more enjoyable read. Great concepts and language but veeeeerrrrryyyy lengthy.

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Feb 17, 2019 Shawn rated it it was amazing

Shelves: r-nov-litclmodpo-20th-70-00-own

continuing my intensive reading through JERUSALEM (likely the best modern novel I have read), finished off a double read (visual, then audio) of "Mansoul", the second book.

As I noted in my review of Jerusalem, Book One: The Boroughs, the simple answer to "Should I read this/Will I like it?" is an affirmative, although it is here at the second book that certain types of readers may find themselves beset with a problem.

"The Boroughs" was a series of short stories of various individuals living in N continuing my intensive reading through JERUSALEM (likely the best modern novel I have read), finished off a double read (visual, then audio) of "Mansoul", the second book.

As I noted in my review of Jerusalem, Book One: The Boroughs, the simple answer to "Should I read this/Will I like it?" is an affirmative, although it is here at the second book that certain types of readers may find themselves beset with a problem.

"The Boroughs" was a series of short stories of various individuals living in Northampton, in various times, held together by the framework of Mick Warren's industrial accident which suddenly dislodged his memory of what happened to him when he was dead for a few minutes as a child, after having choked on a cough drop. He told his artist sister Alma everything he had suddenly remembered, and she created a gallery display of a series of paintings inspired by these memories.

"Mansoul," then, is all that Mick remembered - of being a child, of choking, of dying, and then of escaping through a corner of the ceiling and being brought up to "Mansoul" where he participates in a marvelous adventure with a gang of rapscallion urchins - The Dead Dead Gang - that ranges through The Afterlife ("The Ghost Seam") and Heaven ("Mansoul") and back and forward through time (which Mick learns the true shape of), before everything is tied in a pretty knot. And for those that found the unflinching reality of the first book attractive - its depiction of personal, actual, geographical and religious history, its portrayal of human failing, misery and familial joy and despair (despite the occasional ghost and angel) - "Mansoul" may come as a bit of a shock. Because you could call it a "fantasy novel" - although here the "fantasy land" is our own, just seen through two different lenses. And along with ghosts and angels, you are going to get interactions with devils and elementals, time travel (if not in the way one usually thinks of it) and four-dimensional space, visits from historical figures (Oliver Cromwell and Philip Doddridge), a fistfight between archangels in the galleries of heaven, the building of the "Ultraduct", but also the horrors of "The Destructor" and the despair of the sudden realization that everything you hold dear is insubstantial and fleeting, seen from outside of time...

And, here's the thing. This is just as wonderful as the first book - rich with detail, imaginative thinking, fun, laughs, suspense, terror, wonderful charming characters and deep thought - but it's all presented in a linear fashion, while moving up, around, between, through, over and under Heaven, The Afterlife and History - and the thing of it is that, once you grasp the concept of how "Time" works, you begin to realize there is little urgency to the events, that Moore has to keep throwing roadblocks and errant whims into the path of our undead kid detectives in order to keep the plot moving "forward" - in a world where there is no "forward." Which is fine by me, but others (especially those who try to consume this all in one gulp) may find it taxing.

Two things I particularly liked - the occasional chapters in which the POV shifts from Mick to a single member of the Dead Dead Gang, where we learn their histories and see life through their eyes (all while managing to keep some central mysteries still somewhat mysterious - re: Phyllis & "our Bill" or "Bert") - with the sad but heartwarming narrative of Reggie (especially the ending), the melancholy truth of John and his "cowardice", and Phyllis and John's tryst being particular favorites (although I was not let down by the one I most looked forward to - pudgy, bookish Drowned Marjorie's narrative). Also, I like how the underlying narrative is about how England was both dedicated and rededicated, throughout history, as a testing ground for achieving the humane reality of the Christian faith to come to fruition - a test which, thanks to the machinations of the short-sighted, the wealthy and the powerful, is continually failed and a hope betrayed.

And then, of course, there is the corrosive, awe-inspiring spectacle of "The Destructor" in the future, which I was actually dreading getting to, as I listened to the audio book on my second pass through the text. The "hole in the soul," due to which heaven is on fire and in ruins in the future....in truth, only the promise of Mick's triumphant Parade in Heaven ("Thomas à Becket and Samuel Beckett cheer him on, side by side...") made it worth re-taking the grim journey of that cosmic grindstone whirlpool of a chapter...

And now, on to Book Three! ...more

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Feb 08, 2019 David rated it really liked it

The second book in Moore's giant novel is in some ways vastly different from the first, and in some ways very much the same. The Mansoul still has the long (really long) descriptions of the environment characters are in and traveling through. In fact, Moore just likes long descriptions of just about everything.
On the other hand, The Mansoul is kinda like an episode of a Nickelodeon show where 5 kids run around and solve crimes. Only here, its 5 kid-ghosts trying to deal with little Michael, who ...more

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Sep 10, 2020 Mariano Sotillos rated it really liked it · review of another edition

En mi valoración sólo estoy teniendo en cuenta la calidad de la obra, dejando a un lado el fiasco de la edición hecha por Planeta-Minotauro, ni Alan Moore ni nadie se merecen esta falta de respeto.

Lo que hace la editorial en los tres últimos capítulos del segundo volumen no estoy seguro de que no sea denunciable en la OCU. No es que sea una traducción mala es que ni siquiera es castellano, es el resultado sin criba alguna de un mal traductor automático. En mi opinión la editorial debería descamb En mi valoración sólo estoy teniendo en cuenta la calidad de la obra, dejando a un lado el fiasco de la edición hecha por Planeta-Minotauro, ni Alan Moore ni nadie se merecen esta falta de respeto.

Lo que hace la editorial en los tres últimos capítulos del segundo volumen no estoy seguro de que no sea denunciable en la OCU. No es que sea una traducción mala es que ni siquiera es castellano, es el resultado sin criba alguna de un mal traductor automático. En mi opinión la editorial debería descambiar estos libros defectuosos a los consumidores que los hayan adquirido. Sólo decir que, durante la tortura que ha supuesto la lectura de esos tres últimos capítulos, he tenido que recurrir en múltiples ocasiones a la versión original, para tratar de dilucidar de qué narices estaba hablando.

Por lo demás el mundo descrito por Alan Moore es fascinante, aunque este segundo volumen no haya sido tan de mi gusto como el primero. Una obra que merece ser conocida, eso sí, cuando sea tratada con mayor justicia por alguna otra editorial o esta misma se decida a retirar de la venta los volúmenes defectuosos reemplazándolos por otros correctamente editados.

Ojo, no estoy juzgando la traducción, que no debe ser nada sencilla, a juzgar por lo que he podido leer en su versión original. Para mí es un problema de edición porque no se ha leído el material publicado y se ha sacado a la venta un borrador previo de la traducción definitiva, por lo menos en lo referente a los tres últimos capítulos del segundo volumen.

He leído que este defecto parcial en el segundo volumen afecta a la totalidad del tercero, cruzo los dedos porque no sea así. En cualquier caso, en breve lo comprobaré porque, acto seguido, empiezo su lectura.

No suelo escribir opiniones sobre los libros, si lo hago ahora es como aviso para incautos como yo, en las condiciones actuales la editorial debe retirar y destruir esta edición, no está en condiciones de ser vendida ni siquiera rebajada de precio, es sencillamente un timo.
...more

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Jan 15, 2021 John Nelson rated it it was amazing

Ugh. I wish I could give this a 6 or a 7 or a 10. When I finished the first book, I got so distressed and sad. I was never hit by fiction like that before. Completing this felt four times worse. Regarding any reviews that have negative things to say about the style or Moore's need for an editor, they just didn't get it. The book went over their head. The style was that of a surreal journey, or like a dream. Parts weren't supposed to read like typical fiction. It was supposed to ramble. This was ...more

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Oct 18, 2020 Ángel Pantoja rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Si el primer tomo me encantó, con este me he sentido bastante decepcionado. Muchos usuarios comentan (y con toda la razón del mundo) que la cantidad de errores ortográficos desvirtúan la novela y cuesta seguirla de una forma fluida hacia el final del libro.
Añado a eso, y me duele decirlo -Alan Moore siempre ha sido una referencia para mí-, que este libro ha sido de lo más insípido, lento y barroco que he leído en mi vida. Descripciones largas e innecesarias; historias entremezcladas hasta perde ...more

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Dec 17, 2019 Michael rated it really liked it

Shelves: library-books

After struggling with the first book of Jerusalem, I've really enjoyed this book, but I'm only about 1/3 of the way through it and it's due back at the library. Due to the length of Jerusalem and the density of the reading, I've come to realize borrowing it from the library isn't really a feasible route. I guess I'm gonna break down and buy it on Kindle, so I can take my time and savor it. ...more

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Jul 04, 2020 Ryan Lottermoser rated it really liked it

“No, you’ll have to work it all out on your own. For all you know, the bother that you’re so keen to avoid might be your yarn’s most vital element.”

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Aug 21, 2020 Sebastián Trinidad rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: alan-moore

Horrible la traducción en la segunda mitad del libro. Casi imposible seguir la historia con los continuos errores. Una mínima revisión de la editorial habría estado bien

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Sep 05, 2019 Barry Bridges rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

A really enjoyable romp through the upper levels. Great characters, an intricately woven plot and imparted history, wisdom and feelgood in equal measure. But beware the Destructor....

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About Alan Moore

Alan Moore

16,471 followers

Alan Moore is an English writer most famous for his influential work in comics, including the acclaimed graphic novels Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell. He has also written a novel, Voice of the Fire, and performs "workings" (one-off performance art/spoken word pieces) with The Moon and Serpent Grand Egyptian Theatre of Marvels, some of which have been released on CD.

As a comics writer, Moor ...more