Paradise Lost: The Novel

by Joseph Lanzara, Gustave Doré (Illustrator)

SOON TO BECOME A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE!
John Milton's monumental epic of warring angels, Satan, Heaven, Hell, and the ultimate tragic love story of Adam and Eve. "Lanzara paraphrases the original text very closely; this novel version seeks to overcome the anxieties of those intimidated by [the poem's] complex language."
- The English Association, The University of Leicester "An ambitious and intriguing undertaking."
- Society for Values in Higher Education "Readers will immediately be impressed with Lanzara's flowing style, his clarity of language, and his simplicity in expression."
- Dr. Richard L. Summer, Cedarville College "Lanzara has smoothed the convoluted epic lines into twentieth century prose....Despite the new genre, Lanzara's book is anything but vanilla narrative. His writing has an invisible poetic quality, an elevation of language that honors the original."
- Inklings

Genres: Fiction

255 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1994

Reviews

[Michael Brookes · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is precisely what the title states - a novelisation of the original poem. It's not a line-for-line transliteration so not quite as useful as a direct introduction to the poem. However, for those interested in the story and not in the original then this is a decent alternative.

Even though it loses the original's structure the novel's style does retain a flamboyant and archaic style that does carry the tale well. I'll confess that it took a chapter for me to break through the feeling of reading a historical novel, but once in the flow it worked just fine. Unfortunately, it highlights an issue with modern languages for this type of tale in that it contains concepts that shouldn't be familiar or even exist for the characters in the story (except maybe God I guess).

In truth, this is caused by how Milton creates backstories for the divine characters - especially the fallen angels and the personalities before becoming the Fallen. This naturally leads on to how any of it could have happened in the first place but that's a bit beyond outlining the merits and issues of this book.

I found two issues in particular problematic. The first was that the narrative flow of the story is rearranged into chronological order (sort of, although technically it's probably an order of causation as time didn't exist for the first part of the story). I understand why the author made the change, but for me, it felt unnecessary as it's far from convoluted in the original and in doing so loses some of the drama and immediacy of the poem.

This version loses a lot of the metaphors and references that Milton was so fond of. Now, this does simplify the text and so easier to comprehend but also loses some of the richness and mystery. There's an odd paradox here that while Milton wrote this Christian origins tale to promote that particular theology those historical connections grounded it more solidly within the wider world's history.

That all being said the novel does represent the plot and characters of the story well. The pacing is good and if you just want to experience the story or want a gentle introduction to the poem then this is well worth a look.

[Dylan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not a fan that Joseph Lanzara told the story in a different chronology. I was very excited to read this, since I thought I could then share it as an accessible way to read Paradise Lost (like the fantastic graphic novel). However, right off from the beginning, Lanzara tells the story in a different order than Milton. I think that is disappointing. Beginning with Satan is so important for the story, since it establishes him as his own hero. It makes more sense in the way Lanzara writes it, in a cold logical way. I don't think that it is the story of Adam and Eve and God and Satan that is all that amazing. It's the way that Milton told the story that is wonderful. It's as if someone wanted to tell the story of The Odyssey or Frankenstein in chronological order. Ew! Odysseus telling about how he became stranded on Calypso's Island is much more impactful than us reading about him doing this and that and then getting stranded there. I believe that by reordering Paradise Lost to a much more direct way is, to be poor with words, lame. That is my one exclusive complaint. I think having Satan falling from Heaven in the beginning still could have made sense. That's the allure of not knowing what in the world is happening. At least to me.

I think the prose and the rest of this was great. I am glad someone made this effort to make a difficult text easier to read. Obviously, the prose does not read as fanciful and epic as Milton's poetry. I like that it is accessible, since I genuinely do not think almost anyone (outside of academia and writers) needs to read these difficult texts, and a good adaptation of them can get the job done well. I personally think it is better for more people to read these old stories in an adapted way than not at all. Unfortunately, I will not be recommending this to anyone who is interested in the story. I feel that the changes make it more of a 'Bible story' rather than an 'epic poem novelization.'

[Jeff Ford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have attempted Milton’s Paradise Lost and failed. I couldn’t follow the story buried beneath the pages of monologue. I found this retelling to be a much easier read allowing me to grasp at the epic work from afar. Even in this less grandiose version the scale remains fantastic. The author has done a superb job.

However now that I can grasp the underlying story, I was a little disappointed with it. In trying to elaborate on Genesis Milton seems to lose sight of its details (and more than a little of its theology). The way he presents the Holy Trinity and God’s apparent negligence in the circumstances of Satan’s fall and subsequent escape did not sit right with me. Nor did I care for the way he chose to elaborate on the fall- he seems too sympathetic to Adam.

Milton’s skill in formulating the character of his Satan anti-hero is intriguing and, along with the epic scale and imagery of the story, is the genius of his work. This is well represented in this retelling but I am disappointed in that I feel I could have done Satan’s subplot better my self. I cannot see Milton’s plot explaining Satan’s conversations with God in the book of Job and in the Gospel.

[Eric Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Masterful retelling of the first three chapters of Genesis. Milton offers many faithful insights to the text, though Milton's Pelagian sensibilities are evident. The battle scenes and Satanic adversary make the work compelling throughout, while Lanzara's translation/paraphrase makes it accessible to young readers, who should certainly be instructed to read this book given its continued influence on Western culture. The work culminates with Adam's dispair being turned to hope through a vision of the coming Messiah, the true hero of the work and, again, wonderfully portrayed.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can really tell reading this that it's a great story. I wish I could read the original, but the language isn't the easiest (seriously, I find Latin easier). But even though the language in this tries to make it somewhat archaic, to be closer in spirit to the original, characterization comes through, and I ended up really feeling for the characters and the story. Epic in scope, an interesting landmark in English literature. They should make a movie.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have often tried to read the bible beginning of course with Genysis and the story of Adam and Eve. This book took that story and put it into language and context that was very understandable and entertaining.

[Stan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found it to be very insightful. It reminds me a little of the feeling I got from The Screwtape Letters and the Divine Comedy. I'd likely read it again.

[Raven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Child Version of Paradise Lost