Thomas’s musings, and articles were the glue that kept this time travel mess together Perry is skillful at writing in styles that fit the eras, and personalities
I think Sarah Perry is a strong writer – I loved The Essex Serpent. Like @mathmom, I wasn’t a fan of the frequent partial phrases in Enlightenment, but there are some sentences I really liked:
He had the ease of a creature never told it was a sinner from the womb (p. 54).
After reading Maria’s diary, Dimi tells Thomas,
“She complains of her broken heart, but keeps it like a pet and wouldn’t mend it if she could” (p. 125).
Which is also a perfect description of Grace!
I have found the proper motion of the stars a comfort. It reminds me that we are all in motion, and we’re never unchanged (p. 314).
In general, Perry gives the best and most thoughtful lines to Thomas.
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Enlightenment also introduced me to the poetry of R.S. Thomas. An excerpt from “The Dark Well” is the epigraph on the first page. Here is the full poem:
They see you as they see you,
A poor farmer with no name,
Ploughing cloudward, sowing the wind
With squalls of gulls at the day’s end.
To me you are Prytherch, the man
Who more than all directed my slow
Charity where there was need.
There are two hungers, hunger for bread
And hunger of the uncouth soul
For the light’s grace. I have seen both,
And chosen for an indulgent world’s
Ear the story of one whose hands
Have bruised themselves on the locked doors
Of life; whose heart, fuller than mine
Of gulped tears, is the dark well
From which to draw, drop after drop,
The terrible poetry of his kind.
Although there is not a direct correlation to the story (no poor farmer in Enlightenment), I think Thomas is a version of Prytherch, facing “the locked doors of life” with “a heart fuller than mine.”
An analysis of the poem on AllPoetry states that “The Dark Well” highlights the contrast between the superficial perception of a man and his true worth as a beacon of compassion and a source of deep understanding.
Sounds on-target to me!
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Remember the meta-ending of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, where we learn the book we are reading is the one written by Henry? I think that’s also the case in Enlightenment.
The first sentence of the novel is, “Monday: late winter, bad weather.”
Later, we learn that Thomas is not just a newspaper columnist; he has three published novels. His editor Nick Carleton owns them all–he “found them elegant and elliptical”–and would like to talk to Thomas about them, but instead:
…he confined himself to glancing sometimes at the cheap green notebooks that attended Thomas like spoor and were now stacked three deep on his desk (Monday, he read surreptitiously, late winter. Bad weather—).
A short while after that, we find Thomas at home, trying to write, feeling blocked, sensing Maria prodding him, and that chapter ends:
Well, then. Late winter, bad weather. As good a beginning as any. Get on with it, Thomas Hart.
Near the end of the book, we learn that Thomas has been stuck on his unfinished book for years:
He’d tried out titles on the cover, then crossed out their decisive capitals as the writer’s doubt set in–ON THE MOTION OF BODIES IN ORBIT. ENLIGHTENMENT. THE BAPTISTS???
And finally, if the above isn’t enough evidence, Nick Carleton notes that in the final pages of all Thomas’ novels, “some confusing event ensued, generally in bad weather.”
That sounds a bit like the scene near the end of Enlightenment, at the Aldwinter Knots. There were strange rituals, strings hanging in trees, people dressed up as animals, frenzied dancing – and I wasn’t entirely sure what the heck was going on. “Confusing event” indeed. (Although the weather was nice).
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Wow! How did I miss that? It’s so obvious! Huh.
I would be remiss if I didn’t bring up comets and celestial bodies and such, since that is such an integral part of Enlightenment:
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Hale-Bopp was one of the most widely observed comets of the 20th century, notable for its exceptional brightness and long visibility (18 months in 1996-1997). It was discovered independently by Alan Hale (in New Mexico) and Thomas Bopp (in Arizona) within two hours of each other. It has an orbit period of 2,399 years. I wonder what kind of earthlings, if any, will be looking up at it when it returns! Sad note: Hale-Bopp is the comet associated with the Heaven’s Gate mass suicide.
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Sarah Perry and her father are both keen amateur astronomers, and she has a tattoo of Halley’s comet over her heart.
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Thomas Hart (and Sarah Perry) are part of a long history of writers, dating back centuries, who view celestial bodies through an allegorical lens. Poet Gale Marie Thompson said:
“We can see and feel the immensity of space when we look up at night, but infinity lies beyond what little we see. Humans—writers—attach so much meaning to these unknown bodies. They are charged, like talismans, with our emotions, our struggles, our relationships…The loneliness of planets, and that contradiction of scale—of feeling infinitely large and small, permanent and impermanent, at the same time—adds to the mystery of who we are, how we connect with others, and what we hope for the future.”
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Wow, didn’t know the Heavens Gate tragedy was related to Hale Bopp comet.
@Mary13 your post beautifully summarizes the cosmic theme, especially the quote! Perfect
I’m watching the The Essex Serpent now, and enjoying it so much more knowing more about Sarah Perry, and having this discussion. Glad I didn’t watch that series til now.
OK, I finally finished the book. My overall rating of the book improved marginally from when I checked in here a few days ago, but that’s it. I know there’s lots of parts I would understand better if I reread them, but honestly, I just don’t care. IMO I shouldn’t have to work so hard to make sense of/appreciate a book. When I was still just part way through the book I had hopes it would end up like “North Woods.” I really didn’t like that book when I started it, or even when I was well into it. But by the end my opinion had done a 180. I remember thinking, “Wow! What a wild ride – in a good way.” There was no 180 for me in this book.
I haven’t read “The Essex Serpent,” and probably won’t be adding it to my “To Read” list. I did see, though, that Perry referenced it in this book by including Aldwinter and the various odd rituals and traditions, as @Mary13 mentioned. (I looked up Aldwinter to see what, if anything, was real about it.)
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A main character named Gracie, similar themes of science vs faith , and Claire Danes as Cora seaborne main character.
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Oh, OK – there’s more overlap between the 2 books than I was realized.
@CBBBlinker, I can see how Enlightenment would have turned you off Sarah Perry, but The Essex Serpent is SO much better.
I felt lukewarm about the mini-series because I thought Claire Danes was miscast as Cora. She wasn’t even close to how I imagined her when reading (and discussing) the book.
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I didn’t like Enlightenment, but I didn’t hate it either. For the most part, I respected the writing and the layering of themes, and the fact that even though I wouldn’t want to spend any time with the characters in real life, they were written very vividly and are taking up space in my brain.
I found a great review that expresses what I feel and sums up both the good and the bad about Perry’s novel. Here are two excerpts:
It can be exhilarating but it can also feel like indulging a charmingly precocious child who has wandered downstairs at night to describe their feverish dreams. Fascinating, delightful, amusing — for the first hour. Then you just wish they’d go to bed.
…palpably real emotions invariably give rise to unreal situations: such as when the mere sight of Thomas’s angry countenance sets off a ridiculous chain of events that somehow cause Grace to abandon all religion, hope and motivation. There is more melodrama too, when a homophobic busybody friend of Grace’s aunt outs Thomas, or when Grace sinks to her knees clutching a bloodstained shirt to make a bargain with God. In moments like these, Perry’s lush, maximalist prose style works hard to construct a beautiful edifice around the contrived conflicts and hollow characters. I can’t remember a novel that elicited such contradictory impressions — that of being stirred so often by the exquisite sentences while being so bored and baffled by the story.
The entire review is worth reading. I liked it better than the book (loved the subtitle 
):
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That was a good article - the comment about being baffled by the story resonated
From the article
“I can’t remember a novel that elicited such contradictory impressions — that of being stirred so often by the exquisite sentences while being so bored and baffled by the story.
Some readers will find all this melodrama more to their taste. I soon palled at the coincidences and strange accidents, the fires and false jeopardies, and reached the end with something like relief.”
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I consider myself reasonably intelligent and there were definitely times I felt baffled by what she was trying to tell me that happened, but I just wasn’t interested enough to figure it out. She’s clearly a talented writer, but I think she tries to hard. I think of Thoreau: “Simplify! Simplify! Simplify!”
(ETA He actually said, “Simplicity! Simplicity! Simplicity!” or “Simplify, Simplify.”
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It’s December 8th, so I’d say this discussion can come to a close – probably a blessed relief for many. 
February is usually our classics month, often with at least a dash of love story. However, now I’m a little concerned about possible choices because I know classics can be off-putting for some and we don’t want another selection that people cast aside in despair.
So if we do go that route, remember that it can be a modern classic. Are there any books you missed (or loved and want to re-read) from 20 or 30 or 40 years ago? (The Prince of Tides [1986], Snow Falling on Cedars [1995], Peace Like a River [2001], etc. etc.). We could also pick a shorter traditional classic, such as (for example) something like My Antonia by Willa Cather. Just brainstorming. Anyway, the floor is open!
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I recently read The Ten Thousand Doors of January - raced through it because I was so eager to learn what happened. I would love to reread it a bit more slowly and carefully. It is a fantasy although those elements develop slowly, but also a love story, a mystery, and more - including the importance of myths and stories. (It’s from 2019 so not a classic.)
In the early 1900s, a young woman embarks on a fantastical journey of self-discovery after finding a mysterious book in this captivating and lyrical debut.
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How about Animal Farm or Cry The Beloved Country?
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Anne of Green Gables
Not classics:
The Correspondent (Being mentioned on the Best Books thread)
Orbital (only 207 pages) + one, if need be (maybe Atmosphere or To the Moon and Back)
Just for fun, I’ll throw in The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough since I want to reread it before my NZ/Oz trip in February. It’s almost 50 years old so at least not modern, and love of various kinds involved.
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I got Orbital out of the library because it got such an enthusiatic review in this thread One of the best books I've read in the last 6 months is . - #9169 by Bromfield2
I’d also like to suggest The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. It’s a modern classic of Spanish literature, beautifully written and beautifully translated. I don’t mind rereading it as I’ll tackle it in Spanish.