Zuleika Dobson by Max Beerbohm (novel #224)

Zuleika Dobson, Or an Oxford Love Story by Max Beerbohm

 

Death cancels all engagements. ~ the Duke of Dorsett to Zuleika

 

This will be brief; I didn’t like this novel.

 

I am attempting to follow John Updike’s first rule of literary criticism: “Try to understand what the author wished to do, and do not blame him for not achieving what he did not attempt.”

 

In Beerbohm’s own words, he did not see this work as a novel but rather "the work of a leisurely essayist amusing himself with a narrative idea.” Hopefully, he succeeded in that.

 

The title character, who, though “not strictly beautiful” held universal allure over the heart and mind of any young man she met, looks forward to visiting her grandfather at Oxford…

 

…for it was youth’s homage that she loved best – this city of youths was a toy after her own heart.

 

She’s an instant sensation, literally a femme fatale, inspiring thoughts of suicide to scores of Oxford undergraduates, each of whom despairs of life if their love is not reciprocated.

 

That’s really about it. It’s a farce. I found the characters utterly unbelievable, ridiculous, or contemptuous in Zuleika’s case. Hopefully, Beerbohm achieved his purpose and amused himself. My score below is not a criticism, merely a measure of my enjoyment.

 

 

My Rating: 2 ½ out of 5 Stars

 

 

This novel satisfies the title beginning with Q, X, or Z category in the What’s in a Name 2023 Challenge, and with it, I’ve completed the challenge.

 

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