Of Men and Angels

by Michael Arditti

God's vengeance on the wicked city of Sodom is a perennial source of fascination and horror. Michael Arditti's passionate and enthralling new novel explores the enduring power of the myth in five momentous epochs. A young Judean exile transcribes the Acts of Abraham and Lot in ancient Babylon; the Guild of Salters presents a mystery play of Lot's Wife in medieval York; Botticelli paints the Destruction of Sodom for a court in Renaissance Florence; a bereaved rector searches for the Cities of the Plain in nineteenth century Palestine; a closeted gay movie star portrays Lot in a controversial biblical epic in 1980s Hollywood. With its interrelated narratives and interwoven documents, Of Men and Angels is both formally inventive and imaginatively rich. Abounding in characters as vivid as they are varied, from temple prostitutes and palace eunuchs, through fanatical friars and humanist poets, to Bedouin tribesmen, Russian exiles and, of course, angels, this is a novel of breathtaking scope, penetrating insight and profound human sympathy.

Genres: Fiction, LGBT, Gay, Historical Fiction, Queer

544 pages, Hardcover

Published April 28, 2018

About the author

Michael Arditti FRSL is an English writer. He has written twelve novels, including Easter, The Enemy of the Good, Jubilate and The Breath of Night, and also a collection of short stories, Good Clean Fun. His most recent novel, The Anointed, was published in April 2020. He is a prolific literary critic and an occasional broadcaster for the BBC. Much of his work explores issues of spirituality and sexuality. He has been described by Philip Pullman as "our best chronicler of the rewards and pitfalls of present-day faith".

Reviews

[Eddie Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took a really long time to read this, but nevertheless did enjoy it very much. It’s a hugely ambitious and poetically written examination of the primary source for Western homophobia over the last several thousand years - the story of Lot and his family fleeing the damned city of Sodom (looked at via the traditions of the three Abrahamic faiths).

Arditti’s novel shows the power of stories to shape our lives, and conversely how we cling to ancient stories - the myth bursts its means of transmission and jumps formats from biblical scrolls to medieval guild plays to Renaissance painting to Victorian antiquarian exploration to Hollywood epic. Societal attitudes to homosexuality change incredibly across time and culture, but are always informed by the original biblical injunctions.

Holding the five stories together and narrating is the angel Gabriel, who Arditti suggests is our own projection, who simultaneously both traps and empowers us.

I particularly liked this novel for its unique exploration of gay themes: it’s not at all the usual type of gay novel. I have read several novels now that explore the same theme through different narratives (David Mitchell’s ‘Cloud Atlas’ perhaps the most notable) & have to say they are pretty tough on the reader - all our initial emotional investment and effort in the novel has to be repeated for each new narrative, and also inevitably there is one narrative less interesting than the others. For me, in this book, the final narrative isn’t quite at the same level as the others, despite its very emotional and poetically powerful climax.

[Nicolas Chinardet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neither the title or the premise of this book seem very sexy but don't let that put you off. In addition to exploring the root-causes of homophobia while denouncing the delusions, contradictions and hypocrisies of the three Abrahamic faiths, using the story of Sodom and Gomorrah and the Archangel Gabriel as unifying threads, this engrossing collection of five novellas is a page-turner in its own right. Funny and moving, richly drawn and vivid, erudite without being ponderous, Of Men and Angels takes the reader through an epic and stimulating journey covering several millennia and three continents. Hop on!

[mylogicisfuzzy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had higher hopes for this book, it had a good review in The Guardian and I liked the idea of it. However, I found the voices through the centuries almost indistinguishable and I didn't like that Arditti's characters only address the fate of women and children of Sodom in passing. Thought the Botticelli/ Savonarola chapter singularly uninspiring but by then, I was pretty bored. Emotionally, the book picked up in the last part and I wander whether Arditti is better writing contemporary fiction.

[Andrew H · Rating 2 out of 5]

Of Men and Angels is a clunky novel. The idea of 5 interlinked novellas, all working with the theme of Sodom, seemed to be a new and exciting challenge. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Arditti struggles to find a prose style that matches the required vision in each novella. By the Rivers of Babylon worked to some degree-- it had a biblical richness and exoticism. The Presentation of the Pageant was largely unmemorable. Bonfire of the Vanities, set in Renaissance Italy, was irritating in the extreme and its cast of famous characters, including Da Vinci and Botticelli, totally unconvincing. The Salt Mountain was enjoyable, however, as Arditti's writing became more natural-- his natural style is closer to that of a Victorian novelist than a Renaissance visionary. By the time I reached the final part, City of Angels, I had moreorless given up. In an attempt to keep the novellas of a similar length, some sections are dreadfully over-stuffed short-stories. Interlinked novellas worked well in the hands of William Golding, but not here, alas.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Arditti takes on three thousand years of homophobia in a series of five long novellas linked by the story of the destruction of Sodom. His genius as a story-teller allows us to absorb the historical background of the exile in Babylon, medieval York, Savonarola's Florence, a 19th century vicar's trip to the Holy Land, and 20th century Hollywood, while his erudition lets us absorb the thinking of modern theologians that the "sin of Sodom" was lack of hospitality to strangers (who might have been angels). The characters leap out of the pages towards us in all their humanity, and there is irony and humour as well as heart-breaking compassion. This is one of the few writers today who takes religion, and people's relationship with religion, seriously.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This worthy and highly original novel deals with the origins of homophobia in the Book of Genesis' account of the patriarch Lot and his escape from the destruction of the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah on the shores of the Dead Sea. It begins with a subtle rewrite of the Biblical text, which shows that the sin of the men of these towns was not homosexuality but their abuse of the laws of hospitality. The novel moves to ancient Babylon during the captivity of the Jews, where a young gay Jewish scribe is tasked with the translation of the sacred Jewish texts for the benefit of the king. His attempt to use the authentic version of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is thwarted by the homophobia of his Jewish relatives.

The novel then jumps to Medieval York, where a similar attempt to write a mystery play, based on the authentic story of Lot, is not only sabotaged by homophobic Christians, but entails the horrific mutilation and execution of gay men. And so it goes on. The story moves to Renaissance Florence where the artist Sandro Botticelli is commissioned to paint four panels depicting episodes from the story of Lot. Then on to the travels of a homophobic nineteenth century English Reverend, determined to visit the ruins of Sodom. Finally, an aging closeted gay movie star, based in Los Angeles during the AIDS epidemic, takes Lot's role in the filming of a movie about the destruction of the twin towns. Bracketing these episodes, the angel Gabriel, one of the two angels to visit the towns in the original Biblical account, addresses the reader with reflections on the changing human perception of the nature of angels through the ages.

For me the novel failed in its repeated change of scene and period. I was frustrated that, just as I had sorted out the proliferation of new names and historical details in one setting, and had become involved in the characters and their fates, the author dropped that story and started a new one. Michael Arditti's breadth of knowledge and erudition are impressive, and his ability to create believable characters in interesting situations undoubted. Yet I felt in each scenario he ran out of ideas to expand the story he had begun, and found it easier to start again with a new story. I would have been happy to read just the first story set in Babylon and expanded into a full novel on its own.

The author deserves credit for his exposure of the injustice and cruelty of homophobia in the Judeo-Christian-Moslem tradition throughout the ages. His book does offer a kind of catharsis and sense of hope in the end. I just wish he had written a series of novels rather than this abridged compendium of analogous tales.

[Chris Flynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not yet finished this novel, so my rating is irrelevant, just a thought on pages 114-15:

‘Walter, blind to how to his favour towards Simon had fanned Edmund’s jealousy, had prayed that the women’s affection would spread to their husbands. Since Constantine’s death, however, he had come to mistrust Edmund’s familiarity with Agnes and urged Ralf to counsel Simon on his duty to govern his wife...whether from faith in Agnes’s innocence or indifference to her guilt, Ralf could not say’

This seems to be a direct allusion to the characters of Arnolphe (Edmund) and Agnès (Agnes) respectively, from Molière’s ‘L’École des femmes’. Aside from the name similarity, the subject matter itself alludes to the ideas within Molière’s text: Arnolphe, not unlike the jealousy of Yahweh in the OT, ‘govern[s]’ his future wife in order to render her incapable of becoming ‘une bête’ and taking part in ‘cocuage’ - cuckoldry. Walter’s suspicions resemble those of Arnolphe: they are afraid their wives will disobey them and, ideologically, afraid of strong and independent women.

REVIEW AFTER COMPLETING BOOK

Wow. I don’t often award 5 stars, but this really deserves it. The wonderful ending, with Frank reminiscing on Botticelli’s ‘Annunciation’ really frames Arditti’s compelling storylines. Although the narratives are all, evidently, linked by the thread of writing/catharsis (through transcribing the destruction of Sodom), Arditti furthers this with denouement, creating a bond between the tales that goes beyond subject matter itself.

Arditti’s epic novel never fails to question the reader’s beliefs, sense of morality, and forces one to think about the relationship between modern-day homophobia and the very foundations of religion – the Old Testament, and more specifically, Yahweh’s destruction of Sodom.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a special kind of historical fiction. Arditti writes with reverence for history and theology which makes this book, while totally critical of biblical and quranic traditions, read like an attempt to liberate this theology and these traditions and instead allow them to serve as a basis for a kind of historical empathy.

It reminds us that struggle (and not progress) is the glue that binds the history of humanity.

[Martin Denton]

I read the first section of this long book about gay sexuality through the ages--about a young Jewish slave in the court of the Babylonian king. Wasn't able to discern what Arditti is trying to tell us with this story; I found off-putting that the main character's sexuality was only about sex; I would have liked to see (and was expecting to find, based on what I had read about this book) something more about love between men. Oh well, I may pick this up again...or not.

[William Lehares · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting viewpoints

Good writing and liked the various times described. Each section makes it a little disjointed and could have been expanded to novels but enjoyed

[Simon Fletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply brilliant.

I can't praise this enough. I didn't think Arditti could better Easter, but with Of Men and Angels, he has surpassed himself.

[Kathryn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not for me

[Graeme Reid · Rating 3 out of 5]

A large book. 5 stories set in different time periods related to Sodom and Gomorrah. Good period detail. Thought provoking.

[Philip Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very moving novel, or more accurately five interconnected novellas, riffing on the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the roots of homophobia in the Abrahamic religions. It sounds hard work, but it’s really not. The stories are all gripping, with beautifully drawn, sympathetic characters and intriguing scenarios. If I were to rank the five sections in terms of how much I enjoyed them, the sequence would be 5, 1, 2, 4, 3. The unashamedly sentimental final few pages of the fifth section had me in tears.

[Davide]

I really wanted to like this book, and while I see why so many people do (the originality of the structure, the importance of the final message, the excellent writing style) I just thought it was plain boring. It’s probably just me, but this book couldn’t captivate me enough for me not to finish it without a sigh of relief.