Status
Available
Call number
Series
Publication
Gollancz (2013), 448 pages
Description
Is there more than one history of the world? This is the question Pierce Moffett is seeking to answer when, jilted and newly jobless, he gets off a bus by chance in the Faraway Hills and steps unawares into a story that has been awaiting him there. His search will bring him into contact with Rosie Rasmussen, another seeker marked by loss. And it will lead them both on a path toward the longed-for country of our oldest dreams and most unanswerable desires, toward a magnificent discovery.
Media reviews
Affecting, cerebral, surprising and delightful, this extraordinary philosophical romance suggests an unlikely but thriving marriage between a writer like Anne Tyler and one such as Jorge Luis Borges.
User reviews
LibraryThing member georgematt
Like John Crowley’s masterpiece of fantasy, Little Big, I read Aegypt (now called The Solitudes) in my early twenties and my reaction at the time was disappointment rather then wonder. My immature self was under whelmed by what seemed at heart a domestic ‘realistic’ novel about an academic at
But I loved Little Big, especially on re-reading it in 2002 and as the novels in the Aegypt Cycle have been re-published in America, I thought I would have another go at this acclaimed but sadly obscure book. And what a revelation! This is about a failed lecturer and his relationships in a small American town setting. but it is far more then that. It is also a search (quest) for the magical in both history and the presently mundane. It seems to me (after all this is only the first volume of a series) about nothing less then the roots of the marvellous. It is an elaborate letter of love written by a book lover (John Crowley?) to the object of his affections. It is in other words the quintessential LibraryThing tome; books are everywhere in this novel-books within books. There is very little of the obviously supernatural here unlike Little Big, but if your interest lies with Renaissance magic and such figures as John Dee and Giordano Bruno you will find a lot of material here. Aegypt works brilliantly with detailed, finely drawn characters and setting, but also as a novel of ideas in the Borgeian fashion
And this is only volume one of a four volume story.
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a loose end and his failed relationships with women. The sort of middle-class respectable writing I despised at the time (and still do). I enjoyed the extracts from the imaginary historical novels within the main text of Aegypt, authored by the writer Fellowes Kraft, but where was The Fantasy, The Weird! When the other novels in the sequence appeared very briefly in Britain and then vanished without trace I hardly noticed.But I loved Little Big, especially on re-reading it in 2002 and as the novels in the Aegypt Cycle have been re-published in America, I thought I would have another go at this acclaimed but sadly obscure book. And what a revelation! This is about a failed lecturer and his relationships in a small American town setting. but it is far more then that. It is also a search (quest) for the magical in both history and the presently mundane. It seems to me (after all this is only the first volume of a series) about nothing less then the roots of the marvellous. It is an elaborate letter of love written by a book lover (John Crowley?) to the object of his affections. It is in other words the quintessential LibraryThing tome; books are everywhere in this novel-books within books. There is very little of the obviously supernatural here unlike Little Big, but if your interest lies with Renaissance magic and such figures as John Dee and Giordano Bruno you will find a lot of material here. Aegypt works brilliantly with detailed, finely drawn characters and setting, but also as a novel of ideas in the Borgeian fashion
And this is only volume one of a four volume story.
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LibraryThing member Gwendydd
I'm not sure what I thought of this book. There are things about it that I really loved. As always, I loved Crowley's writing, which is unassuming and simple, and yet incredibly vivid and capable of conveying complexity. I also liked the idea that maybe the current reality hasn't always been real:
However, there are some things I don't think I liked. I didn't find Pierce Moffett, the main character, all that likeable, or even as well-developed as a Crowley character ought to be. The climactic moment at the end didn't seem to be much of a climax. I was never really sure what the book was about or where the plot was going (which is often the case in a Crowley novel, but it didn't work as well in this one).
I'm planning to read the next book in the series, in hopes that as the series progresses everything will become clear.
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that maybe fantasy worlds have been true in the past, but have somehow disappeared. I like the layers of reality, and the quest for the most real one. I liked the books-within-books - there are long scenes where characters are reading novels, and the book contains extracts of a few of those novels.However, there are some things I don't think I liked. I didn't find Pierce Moffett, the main character, all that likeable, or even as well-developed as a Crowley character ought to be. The climactic moment at the end didn't seem to be much of a climax. I was never really sure what the book was about or where the plot was going (which is often the case in a Crowley novel, but it didn't work as well in this one).
I'm planning to read the next book in the series, in hopes that as the series progresses everything will become clear.
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LibraryThing member taz_
"LibraryThing thinks you will love The Solitudes (certainty: high)" Heh. I thought so too, I really did. I adore Crowley's "Little Big" and everything about this novel sounded like just my cup of tea - but I could barely drag myself through the book. It was quite a plodding read for me, though my
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interest usually sparked up a bit during the digressive vignettes... or were the digressive vignettes the main focus and the story of Pierce Moffett just the wrapping? Either way, ultimately there wasn't enough to hang my hat on in terms of investment in any of the storylines - or story fragments, really, and it was only dogged determination that pulled me through to the end. Show Less
LibraryThing member Laurenbdavis
I'm not going to rate this book because I'm sorry to say I didn't finish it. I adored one of his other books, LITTLE, BIG, and looked forward to this one. I do so love a good metaphysical novel and the opening scene held much promise. Then, too, Crowley is a lovely wordsmith. The problem was I kept
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losing interest in the narrative. I didn't particularly care about the characters, and I so wanted to. I fully recognize this may just be a case of the wrong book at the wrong time, by which I mean I may just not be in the right frame of mind for this novel, and perhaps if I pick it up again in a few months my reaction might be different. That's certainly happened before. But at the moment there are SO many books on my to-read table that if a book hasn't seduced me by page 175, I have to bid it adieu. Show Less
LibraryThing member sben
A very intricately-crafted occult history novel, somewhat able to stand on its own but clearly part of a larger work. My hope is that this becomes a five-star ("it was amazing") book in the context of the overall cycle, though that remains to be seen. Pacing is leisurely.
Some chapters of this book
(I read “The Solitudes” from Overlook Press, a revised edition with the title Crowley preferred. I have not yet found any indication of what is different from the original “Æegypt”, if it’s even anything more than typos.)
Some chapters of this book
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have the current-day characters reading histories or historical fiction, and for much of the book I actually found those the more gripping sections. There was a point in the third part of the novel, however, which carefully and then quickly changed my understanding of what had happened in the first part, and which made the current-day sections of the book retroactively more interesting. (Much like Bruno’s shift in understanding when he read Copernicus!)(I read “The Solitudes” from Overlook Press, a revised edition with the title Crowley preferred. I have not yet found any indication of what is different from the original “Æegypt”, if it’s even anything more than typos.)
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LibraryThing member dbsovereign
Not any easy read as there are some rather dense sections chock full of enigmatic rambling, but otherwise I enjoyed this book by the author of _Little, Big_. Suffice to say it's not exactly linear or plot driven. "Once, the world was not as it has since become." When Crowley is good, he's great!
LibraryThing member kencf0618
"There is more than one history of the world." The only book to which I keep returning every few years but have yet to finish!
LibraryThing member juliayoung
This book had so much promise. It's unfortunate that I found the historical novel section extremely dry, and the supernatural and hidden symbol parts just boring.
LibraryThing member crowspeaks
part one of a tetralogy by the extraordinary author of Little Big... if John Dee and Giordano Bruno interest you at all, this (for all its tongue in cheek)certainly will.
cf. The Solitudes, above right.
cf. The Solitudes, above right.
LibraryThing member Eye_Gee
I'm banking on this book grabbing me before too long. I'm nearly halfway though and it hasn't happened yet. It's the first of a 4-part series and I am so sure I'll like it that I've already bought the other three. I'm a big John Crowley fan, ever since reading his classic -- Little, Big -- and the
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reviews and descriptions of this series sound wonderful. Stay tuned... Show Less
LibraryThing member TheCriticalTimes
Pompous, overwrought, overwritten, overdone. This self-congratulatory piece of drivel even starts with a humble-brag in the form of a pre-amble, where the author 'humbly' apologizes that the has used many references and content from other works. Ironically none of it helps to understand the goal
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and supposed nuances of the book. That is, assuming you can figure out what a specific set of paragraphs refers to. Most of the time you will spend decoding the content of this book. Either because it is not clear that the author jumped in time, or place, or person. Or you need to move over to Wikipedia to understand a certain reference. I could write a short paragraph describing what the narrative is about but that wouldn't help anyone. Just because an author uses peculiar grammar and impenetrable language, doesn't mean he actually has something interesting to say. Show Less
LibraryThing member markm2315
Interesting and weird. The idea cannot support the novel.
Awards
Locus Award (Nominee — Fantasy Novel — No. 6 — 1988)
World Fantasy Award (Nominee — Novel — 1988)
Arthur C. Clarke Award (Shortlist — 1988)
Ditmar Award (Shortlist — 1989)
Marble Faun (Ukraine) (2003)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1987-04
Physical description
448 p.; 5.12 inches
ISBN
057508300X / 9780575083004