What God Doesn’t Want Us To Know (Memnoch The Devil - Ann Rice)

Member Name: happybunny75

Product:	Memnoch The Devil - Ann Rice
Date:	25/04/02 (785 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fascinating concept of religion, Descriptive

Disadvantages: None

I am rather surprised that Anne Rice hasn’t already been hung by a mob of religious zealots, or been branded a ‘devil on earth’ by the Pope for her unique and often disturbing novel, ‘Memnoch the Devil.’

For the uninitiated, or for those who haven’t seen either ‘Interview with the Vampire’ or ‘Queen of the Damned’ it’s broadly about vampires (come on, I’m not going to do a complete synopsis of the story so far!).

So, the story so far (ok, ok)….

Lestat the vampire is a very bad vamp indeed. Not only does he kill people to drink their blood (excusable for a vampire I think), but he also breaks all the ‘vampire’ rules – he became a rock star; revealed the secrets of vampires through the published word, and swapped his body for a human’s. And now, poor old Lestat could face his nemesis when he is stalked by ‘the’ Devil a.k.a. Memnoch, who wishes to recruit him to be his assistant in Hell.

One would expect the usual ‘God and Heaven equals Good: Devil and Hell equals Bad’ analogies, but you’d be wrong dear readers.

Rice presents a range of tangible ideas of what God and the Devil represent and an explanation for those who believe, but are unsure of what they believe in.

Memnoch appears to Lestat as an Ordinary Man with the proposition of explaining and showing him why he wishes him to become his assistant. The novel continues with the story of Memnoch: his state of grace with God; his downfall and the circumstances that lead to God becoming his “adversary”. Memnoch takes Lestat through time and dimension from the creation of the Universe to the crucifixion of Christ, and from Heaven and Hell.

The ideas and perceptions of God within the novel might make uncomfortable reading for some. In ‘Memnoch the Devil’ God is neither omniscient (all seeing and all-know
ing) nor self-less. The idea being that the creation of the universe and humans is a form of entertainment and show of power by ‘our creator’, with God not knowing how humans are different from other animals he has created. In an example, with persuasion from Memnoch, God decides to visit the world in the form of Christ. He agrees to discover what makes humans different, and to decide for himself whether we suffer more than any other species on the planet. His ‘idea’ is to sacrifice himself to pain and death and die to ‘prove his love for us’, but with the full knowledge that He is God and will rise to his place in Heaven. In this, Memnoch believes he misses the point, an idea that God refutes.


“…humans cry out against suffering and they are conscious of it when they suffer, but in a sense they behave exactly like the lower animals, in that suffering improves them and drives then towards evolutionary advance…Humans can actually be improved within one lifetime by suffering.”

A God who understands? A God who is non-experimental? A God who is omniscient? A loving God? I find Rice’s concepts in the novel enthralling, and find my self asking the age-old question “Why do we exist?”.

In the novel, it is Memnoch’s love of humans and his doubts about the knowledge and actions of God, which cause his downfall. This is the Devil, which can be sympathised with. Rice’s representation of him is as one who is misunderstood, purely because of the arrogance and ignorance of God. This is an idea, which she has presented continuously throughout her other novels of vampiric tales: There is no singular definition of evil and there can be justification for all acts that are perceived as being evil.

It amazes me every time I read an Anne Rice novel, how thought provoking they are. Before reading Memnoch the Devil, I had my usual perceptions of what God and De
vil I would be reading about. What did I get? A Devil who I sympathised with and a God who knows less than a shopping centre CCTV camera!

Of course this is fiction and is unlikely to wholly represent the views of the author. But how often have theologians, philosophers, the regular church-goer and the antagonists argued over the will of God and our creation (or evolution, if you prefer) and how often do we look for other logical arguments. Many reading the novel will actually find themselves with a great deal to think about.

And Rice’s offering in comparison to her other works?

With her usual mixture of horror and reality, the novel truly encapsulates the best of Anne Rice. Even in her description of Heaven and Hell, she manages to avoid the many clichés and popular myths by creating a vague image of the two realms and allowing the reader to fill in the detail. One might say that Rice has avoided having to write about such a widely-perceived but unproven theme, but as in all literature it is the reader’s imagination that is used to animate a story, and this obviously depends on our own beliefs and imaginations.

Recommended?

Most definitely Memnoch the Devil would appeal to both Anne Rice fans and those who have never read a word from the pen of Rice. Despite it being part of the Vampire Chronicles, the novel could quite easily be read independently.

And life after death? Who knows………?



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